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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 40 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Moscow
| There is no doubt that St Basil's Cathedral is one of the 'musts' for any tourist visiting Moscow. It was built in the sixteenth century when Ivan the Terrible ruled Russia. What happened to Ivan's architect , when the building was completed in 1561? | More About Moscow
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he was blinded so that he would never be able to build anything of the same splendour. It may be legend , but the rumour persists.- The identity of the architect is not very clear. Some suppose he was Italian. There having been two architects: Posnik and Barma, is another hypothesis.
| The Romanov Czars are said to descend from Boyars. What were Boyars? | More About Moscow
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top ranking administrators. There also was a Council of Boyars for some time. Boyars had high ranks in the administration but also in the army.Mikhail Romanov became Czar in 1613. The House of the Romanovs on Ulitska Varvarko 10, had been built by an ancestor of his.
| Not only Joseph Stalin but also most of the Czars were very autocratic and ruled with a steely fist. The worst terror practices however are definitely linked to Stalin's Secret Police. What was the name of their infamous prison and interrogation centre? | More About Moscow
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Lubianka. GUM= State Department Store on northeast side of Red Square. - The Arbat is a popular area in the SW of Moscow , which at a given moment had developed from an area with plenty of craftsmen into a haven for artists and intellectuals. --Feliks Dzerzhinsky(1877-1926) was the chief of the hated Tcheka , the precursor of the KGB.
| Which Soviet author was given the honour to be buried inside the Lenin Mausoleum and now shares that burial place which such celebrities as Yury Gagarin, Yury Andropov, Leonid Brezhnev and Joseph Stalin? | More About Moscow
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Maksim Gorky. Bulgakov wrote 'The Master and Margarita', which was published posthumously.-Gorky was popular with the Soviet authorities. Stalin later accused one of his KGB chiefs of assassinating the author of such works as 'My Childhood 1913-1914' {;'In} the World 1915-1916' and 'My Universities 1923'. - Menshikov was a prominent politician during and after the reign of Peter the Great.
| One of the most typical examples of the so-called 'Stalin-Gothic' architecture is the high-rise building of the University of Moscow. How many floors has it got? | More About Moscow
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36. Has also been classified as wedding-cake style.
| After the Communist take-over the Kremlin area had to be adapted to the needs of the communist party and of the new bureaucracy. Even after Stalin the area underwent modernisations that art lovers may regret. Who added the modern 'Congress Palace' to the Kremlin buildings? | More About Moscow
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Nikita Khrushchev. Congress Palace was built during Nikita Chrutshev's rule.1959.-Andropov ruled for 15 months from November 1982 on. - Yeltsin became President of Russia after winning the first presidential elections in post-communist Russia.(1990)-Khrushchev managed to eliminate Beria and Malenkov, and slightly softened the hard Stalinist style of communism.
| What is the Russian Parliament called? | Moscow
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Duma. Rada is in Ukraine.The House of Lords is in the UK.
| Which year was the Moscow metro open? | Moscow
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1935. When the Metropolitan opened at first there were only 13 stations, now there are over 150 stations. This year a new and the first station was opened outside the road of MKAD.
| What is the Russian currency? | Moscow
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| Which hotel is located on the Kutuzovskiy Prospekt opposite the White House? | Moscow
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Ukraina. This hotel has four stars and is located in a very prestigious part of Moscow. It is close to the Kievskiy station and is not that far away from the Red Square. Across the bridge on the Arbat you can find some very attractive souvenirs.
| What are the three colors of the Russian flag from top to bottom? | Moscow
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white, blue, red. In the times of Soviet union the flag was red with a hammer and sickle in the top left corner
| How many airports are there in Moscow, that are open to the public? | Moscow
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four. Vnukovo, Bikovo, Domodedovo, Sheremetyevo 1&2 it is one airport but two terminals, that's why we consider it as one airport
route taxi. It is one of the ways of getting around in Russia (not just in Moscow). It is fairly cheap and you can ask the driver to drop you off where ever you want.
| What year was Moscow established in? | Moscow
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1147. Yuriy Dolgorukiy is the official founder of Moskva.
| How do you say good in Russian? | Moscow
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horosho. zdrastvuyte is hello, gde is where, za vashe zdorovyeis a toast
| When is the Constitution Day? | Moscow
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December 12. It is a non working day in Russia on the 12/12.
| Which of the Moscow highways you should follow if you are traveling to Kazan'? | Suburbs of Moscow
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M7. It is a around 800 km long, you will pass through Vladimir, Nizhnij Novgorod, and Chebakhsary.
| How many lanes does Rublevskoe highway have, traveling in one direction? | Suburbs of Moscow
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1. It is considered a very high security road because all the high ranked officials use this road everyday, to get to their houses, located near Rublevskoe highway.
4. They are Bul'varnij Circle, Sadovoe Circle, 3rd Circle, MKAD circle.
| What is the street that starts a highway called Warshavskoe Shosse, that ultimately leads to Warsaw in Poland? | Suburbs of Moscow
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Tul'skaia. Tulskaia St. is near the center of Moscow and if you follow the street, you will eventually end up on Warshavskoe Shosse which eventually will lead to Warsaw the capital of Poland.
1 hour. It is only 40-60 min away from centre of Moscow and can be reached by taking a bus ride.
| The first destination of most travelers to Moscow would be the airport! What is the city's international airport called? | Peggy Louisa Visits: Moscow
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Sheremetyevo. Sheremetyovo is situated about 30km north of the city. It has two terminals, one for domestic flights (operated by Russian airline Aeroflot) and one for international flights.
Vnukova and Domodedova are Moscow's two other airports, the first to the southwest and the second to the southeast of the city. Pulkovo is St Petersburg's airport.
| One building that most tourists want to see is the colourful onion-domed cathedral, whose image is synonymous with Moscow. After which saint is this cathedral named? | Peggy Louisa Visits: Moscow
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St Basil. The Cathedral of St Basil the Blessed is situated at one end of Red Square. It has eight unique domes and was designed by architect Postnik Yakovlev. It was completed in 1560 and had been ordered by Tsar Ivan IV (better known as The Terrible) to commemorate a military victory. Legend has it that the Tsar was so afraid that Yakovlev might build an even more beautiful cathedral elsewhere for another patron that he had him blinded (or, in another version of the tale, beheaded)!
St Basil was a Muscovite, a "Holy Fool", who had been buried in the previous cathedral that stood on this site. The cathedral's official name however is The Cathedral of the Intercession of the Virgin by the Moat!
St Isaacs is a St Petersburg landmark.
Source: Moscow.Info Website
PS In real life, St Basil's is actually smaller than it looks in photographs.
| If you fancied an evening of cultural entertainment, where would you likely go to see Moscow's most famous ballet company perform? | Peggy Louisa Visits: Moscow
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Bolshoi Theatre. If you knew that Moscow's premiere ballet company is the Bolshoi (meaning large, grand or big and pronounced "bal-SHOY"), then you would have been correct in guessing that they would be named after the theatre in which they perform. The ballet is not always in residence in Moscow, though, as they travel throughout the world to perform.
I've never had the opportunity to see the Bolshoi myself. I did, however, get to see the fantastic Moscow City Ballet perform "Romeo and Juliet" in the Palace of Congresses in the Kremlin. This venue housed the Soviet Parliament by day and was a venue for culture by night. It is now called the State Kremlin Palace and is Moscow's largest concert hall.
The Maly (small or little) Theatre is situated, along with the Bolshoi, on Theatre Square.
The Moscow Arts Theatre is the place to go if you wish to see a dramatic production. This theatre is strongly associated with Stanislavski (famed for his acting methodology) and the playwright and author Chekhov. The theatre's symbol is actually the seagull after Chekhov's play of that name.
The Tchaikovsky Hall (in case you haven't guessed) is where you would go to enjoy a classical music concert.
Red Square. Red Square: the place that conjures up all sorts of images and has so much history associated with it. Many Westerners would probably think that the good old Soviets decided to call the square "red" as it's the colour associated with Communism. However, the place was known as Red Square long before the Communists came along. Historically, the word "krasniy", which now means "red", meant "beautiful". Therefore, the Square was known as "Beautiful Square"!
Prior to the middle of the 17th century, the square was called "Trinity Square", named after the cathedral that was the predecessor to St Basil's. Popularly it was also known as "Fire Square" due to the frequency with which Moscow burned down! (Source: Moscow.Info Website)
For your information, Red Square is actually more of a rectangle than a square!
Moscow. No, I didn't invent the Moscow (Moskva in Russian) River to trick you! It is actually the city's main river, although one of its tributaries, the River Yauza, also runs through the north east part of the city. The Moscow River is a tributary of the Oka River (which is in turn a tributary of the Volga) and is 503km (312 miles) long.
The Volga is the best known of Russia's rivers and is actually Europe's longest river at nearly 3,700km (2,300 miles). It empties into the Caspian Sea.
The Neva is St Petersburg's river and the Don is another of Russia's main rivers. At nearly 2,000km (1,200miles) in length, it rises to the south east of Moscow and empties into the Sea of Azov.
Source: Wikipedia
| One attraction I can remember being quite struck with was a massive bell in the grounds of the Kremlin. By what name is this bell known? | Peggy Louisa Visits: Moscow
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The Tsar Bell. The bell is situated at the foot of Ivan the Great's Belfry and gets its name from the fact that it is the world's largest bell. It weighs 200 tons and was created by a father and son team, Ivan and Mikhail Motorin. It was cast between 1733 and 1735, which sounds like a long time to produce a bell in my opinion! Sadly, during a fire not many years after it was completed, it became extremely hot. When the firemen doused it in water a large chunk weighing eleven tons cracked off. Both pieces rest together at the foot of the belfry.
Source: Berlitz Travel Guide
| I studied at the University of Moscow and would take the metro there each day. When I exited the metro station, which other famous building did I see apart from the university? | Peggy Louisa Visits: Moscow
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The New Circus. The circus! Another of Russia's famous exports. If you ever get an opportunity to visit, I highly recommend the Moscow State Circus. I last saw them when they were touring the UK in 2004.
Anyway, enough of the commercial break! The circus is a popular attraction in Moscow with Russians and tourists alike. There are actually two circus locations in the city: The Old (in the city centre) and The New (near the university). There is something for everyone to enjoy: acrobatics, feats of strength, performing animals, the slightly creepy clowns and optical illusions second to none.
The Tretyakov and Pushkin (as their names suggest) are both art galleries, and if you're an art lover I'm sure that they're worth visiting. The Tretyakov has a fantastic collection of religious art and the Pushkin concerns itself with the history of world art. (Neither subject interested me as a 20 year old, so I never darkened the door of either gallery!)
The Russian Parliament building is known as "The White House" and was famously damaged during the 1991 coup.
| Many tourists like to go shopping! Moscow's most famous department store is opposite the Kremlin. What is it known as? | Peggy Louisa Visits: Moscow
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GUM. GUM in English (I'm not going to bore you with the Russian and I find transliterating tiring!) stands for State Department Store. It is really more of a shopping mall than a department store, though. The internal architecture is beautiful and it's worth a visit just for that. GUM is known for teeming with international designer brands.
TsUM is the Central Department Store and is situated just next to the Bolshoi Theatre. MGU is the Moscow State University and VDNKh is the former Exhibition of Economic Achievement of the USSR. This was a permanent exhibition showing off the glorious achievements of the Soviet Union.
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