Moscow, the capital of Russia, is among the world’s largest cities. Located on the Moskova River, it is one of the northern-most and coldest cities on Earth as well. The city has served as the capital of a progression of states. These include The Grand Duchy of Moscow in medieval times, the empire of the Tsars, the Soviet Union, and the present-day Russian federation. 

Moscow is the major political, economic, cultural, and scientific centre of Russia, and the home of Russian artists, scientists and sports icons. 

Moscow is one of the oldest and one of the most beautiful Russian cities. The city has absorbed many different styles that strike the visitors with their variety. The great number of churches and cathedrals in the Russian capital amuses Moscow visitors. Magnificent stone churches and cathedrals with multiple golden, blue and white domes towering everywhere over all other buildings and structures. 

Even in the heart of Moscow, in the Kremlin, old churches compete with the immense Congress Palace for space. Despite its size (about 900 square kilometres) and the scale of many of Moscow buildings and avenues, the general layout is easily grasped - a series of concentric circles and radial lines, emanating from the Kremlin - and the centre is compact enough to explore on foot.  

In its historic core is the Kremlin, a fortified complex that is home to the President and the treasures of the former Tsars. Outside its walls is the Red Square, the country’s symbolic centre and site of Lenin’s Mausoleum, the State Historical Museum and St. Basil’s Cathedral, known for its colourful, patterned, onion-shaped domes.  

The famous St. Basil's Cathedral was commissioned by Ivan the Terrible and built on the edge of Red Square between 1555 and 1561. Legend has it that on completion of the church the Tsar ordered the architect, Postnik Yakovlev, to be blinded to prevent him from ever creating anything to rival its beauty again. St. Basil's was built on the site of the earlier Trinity Cathedral, which at one point gave its name to the neighbouring square. 

In the small garden outside St. Basil's stands an impressive bronze Statue to Minin and Pozharsky, who rallied Russia's volunteer army during the Time of Troubles and drove out the invading Polish forces. They were an interesting duo - Dmitry Pozharsky was a prince, while Kuzma Minin was a butcher from Nizhny Novgorod.     

In Moscow, the ancient and the modern exist side by side, making it a fascinating study of contrasting extremes.