Today marks the 75th anniversary of the end of World War II, or the Great Patriotic war, as it is known in Russia, with the signing of unconditional surrender of the Nazis (the German Instrument of Surrender ). And, yet, today there will be no public gathering or celebratory parade or march in Russia. This is not... Continue Reading →
In many cities with hundred or sometimes thousand years of history, modern skyscrapers have started mushrooming around historical buildings and monuments, often creating interesting and unexpected contrasts. In this case, though, Russia is once again a little "different" as looks can be very deceiving when trying to guess the age of what you are seeing.... Continue Reading →
The Russian people have a lot of space. Not just because their country is the largest in the world, with almost 11% of the world's land mass, but also because the population density of 8.4 people per square Km (or 21.8 per square mile) is one of the lowest, by far the lowest of ant... Continue Reading →
A couple of posts ago, I wrote about the late XIX century Art Deco power plants you can find in the center of Moscow. I also mentioned that The second oldest power plant of Moscow, GES-2, is currently undergoing an incredible reconstruction, which will infuse it with a new, different, life. That's the subject of... Continue Reading →
The News of the Week seems to be the tragic fire that destroyed the roof, the spire and some of the interiors of the Norte-Dame de Paris Church, in the French capital, and the worry that it will be extremely hard to restore it to its former glory. Russia, sadly, suffered the destruction of many... Continue Reading →
Deep, deep under the Victory park (Park Pobedy in Russian) on Poklonnaya Hill, lays's Moscow Metro's deepest station. At 84 meters underground, according to the official figures, it is the deepest metro station in Moscow and and the third deepest in the world by mean depth, after Kiev Metro's Arsenalna and Saint Petersburg Metro's Admiralteyskaya, and the very deepest station by... Continue Reading →
On 28 May 2017 the Russian made airliner Irkut MC-21 made its successful maiden flight in Irkutsk. Developed by the Yakovlev Design Bureau and produced by Irkut, it is the largest design bureau project in 40 years. The previous record holder was the Yak-42, the first airliner produced in the Soviet Union to be powered by modern high-bypass turbofan engines. The first of three Yak-42... Continue Reading →
In Russia it is often the case that the museums themselves (meaning the buildings where they are housed) are as beautiful and as interesting, if not more, than the artwork they display. One of such examples is, I think, the State Historical Museum of Russia in Moscow. Housed in one of Russia's most recognisable structures, wedged... Continue Reading →
Every year the Russian capital spares no expenses when it come to Christmas lights. This has been particularly true since 2015, with the first Moscow Christmas light festival. That first year the festival comprised 100 km of garlands and 8,000 different decorative elements, along with 20 luminous art objects by famed international artists. The festival has steadily... Continue Reading →
Russia Through The Lens 