Places to Visit in Russia

RED SQUARE
This was always Moscow's square of squares. It appeared at the end of the 15th century after a fire, separating the Kremlin from the trading quarters. Starting in the seventeenth century it was known as Red, which in Old Russian meant 'beautiful'. The centre of the square once saw lively trade as well as celebrations and ceremonies.

CHURCH OF THE VEIL O F THE VIRGIN (ST. BASIL'S CATHEDRAL)
The cathedral was built in the years 1555-1561 by the architects Barma and Postnik on the orders of Ivan the Terrible to celebrate victory over the Kazan' khanate. Legend has it that tzar Ivan, upon seeing the cathedral, ordered that the architects be blinded so as never to repeat this wonder elsewhere. The cathedral was to be made up of eight separate churches, symbolizing the days of decisive battles for Kazan'. The builders interpreted their task in an original way, creating a unique and intricate composition.
The cathedral was built of brick, with the foundation, pedestal and certain details made of white stone. In 1588, on top of the grave of the yurodiviy (a holy fool of sorts) Vasiliy (or Basil), esteemed in Moscow, a side-chapel of St. Basil was built, which gave the entire structure its second name. Since inside the cathedral is quite small, services on high church holidays were held at Red Square, with a lectern erected on the podiym of Lobmoye mesto, and the Cathedral of the Veil acting as a kind of an altar.
Today, the Cathedral of St. Basil is a branch of the State Historical Museum. There is also a small museum housed in the cathedral; the exhibition, which includes rare icons, is likely to be of special interest.

LOBNOYE MESTO
To the left of the cathedral is the Lobnoye Mesto, a high podium of white stone behind an iron fence. It is situated on a steep rise that juts out of the ground like a forehead (lob in Russian; hence Lobnoye mesto.) It was the pulpit for tzars and (church) patriarchs, and the place from which public criers announced the most important government decrees. Once a year, the patriarch would descend from Lobnoye mesto and board a donkey, making a ceremonial procession to Uspenskiy Cathedral - this is how old Moscow celebrated God's Entry into Jerusalem.