Photo Excursion - Part One

Kellye and the little kids were at school today and my lesson finished at noon which left me with an afternoon to kill. It was actually the kind of day that I have been waiting for. Over the past few days the city has been blanketed with around 5 inches of snow and we continued to have a light snowfall when I left the apartment this afternoon. My goal--a photo excursion in the center of the city. I tried to capture some of the "essence" of living in Moscow and to do that I shot close to 200 photos of places, people and everyday life. So, since a picture is worth a thousand words, here is part one of my latest photo essay.





This is the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, one of the largest Orthodox cathedrals which was constructed by Tsar Alexander to commorate Russia's victory over Napoleon and was dedicated in 1883. During communism Stalin had the cathedral blown up and the foundation was used as a public heated swimming pool for several decades. It was reconstructed in the 1980s and restored to use in 2000.


This soviet hammer and anvil is one of many cast into the ironworks of a bridge that crosses the Moscow River. From the bridge you can see a breathtaking view of the Kremlin and if you look closely you can see one of the Kremlin spires in the background.


These mounted soldiers were patrolling the outside wall of the Kremlin in the new-fallen snow.


One of Moscow's many "babushki" (or "grandmother") taking a rest on a snowy park bench just outside of the Kremlin.


This is Russia's Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, dedicated to the Soviet soldiers killed during the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. It is located at the Kremlin wall in the Alexander Garden.


A statue of Lenin which sits outside of the Lenin Library in Moscow. It's size and importance are comparable to the US Library of Congress. It is the national library of Russia.


This statue is located in the garden outside of the Christ Our Savior Cathedral and is officially called the Monument to Emperor Alexander II, the Liberator Tsar. An inscription at the base listing his accomplishments says that he "freed millions of peasants from centuries of slavery." The 16-foot statue sits atop a 16-foot pedestal. Alexander was assassinated in St. Petersburg in 1881. The Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood was built on the spot where he was murdered in memory of the Tsar.


Sometimes there is nothing better than curling up with a good book. This is one of the many bronze reliefs adorning the outside of Christ our Savior Cathedral.


The view of the Kremlin, Kremlin Palace and Red Square from one of the bridges crossing the Moscow River.

Facts and information contained in this essay are taken from Wikipedia.com.