7 Best Sights in Moscow, Russia

Famous for the grand military parades staged here during the Soviet era, this vast space was originally called the Torg, the Slavonic word for marketplace. Many suppose that the name "Red Square" has something to do with Communism or the Bolshevik Revolution. In fact, the name dates to the 17th century. The adjective krasny originally meant "beautiful," but over the centuries the meaning of the word changed to "red," hence the square's present name. The square is most beautiful and impressive at night, when it's entirely illuminated by floodlights, with the ruby-red stars atop the Kremlin towers glowing against the dark sky. There are five stars in all, one for each of the tallest towers. They made their appearance in 1937 to replace the double-headed eagle, a tsarist symbol that is again an emblem of Russia. The glass stars, which are lighted from inside and designed to turn with the wind, are far from dainty: the smallest weighs a ton.

The ancient center of the Kremlin complex is framed by three large cathedrals in the old Russian style, the imposing Ivan the Great Bell Tower, and the Palace of Facets. A changing-of-the-guard ceremony takes place in the square every Saturday at noon in the summer months.

Now called by its prerevolutionary name, this circular "square" had been renamed Dzerzhinsky Square in 1926 in honor of Felix Dzerzhinsky, a Soviet revolutionary and founder of the infamous CHEKA, the forerunner of the KGB. His statue once stood in the center of the square but was toppled in August 1991, along with the old regime. It now resides in the sculpture garden next to the Central House of Artists in the Kropotkinsky District. Instead, a slab of stone now stands in the middle of the square, as a tribute to those who were oppressed by the Soviet government. The stone comes from the Solovetsky Islands, once home to an infamous prison camp. The large yellow building facing the square, with bars on the ground-floor windows, was once the notorious Lubyanka Prison and KGB headquarters. The KGB Museum, which chronicles the history of espionage in Russia, is in an annex of this building. However, it has been closed for several years, fittingly, for an undisclosed reason.

Along one side of this square, cars race along the Garden Ring, the major circular road surrounding Moscow. If you approach the ring from Bolshaya Nikitskaya ulitsa or Povarskaya ulitsa, the first thing to catch your eye will be the 22-story skyscraper directly across Novinsky bulvar. One of the seven Stalin Gothics, this one is 525 feet high. The ground floor, home to a grand supermarket in Soviet times, is now occupied by clothing stores and a cafeteria called Central Restaurant House—this is worth peeking into to admire the towering ceilings and stained-glass windows inside. The rest of the building contains apartments. This area saw heavy fighting during the uprisings of 1905 and 1917 (the plaza was previously called Ploshchad Vosstaniya, or Insurrection Square). The Barrikadnaya (Barricade) metro station is very close by. Cross the ulitsa Barrikadnaya and bear right and down the hill; you'll see people streaming into the station to your right.

This square was named after the vorota (gates) of the white-stone fortification walls that once stood here. On one side of the square is a modern building with square windows; this is the office of ITAR-TASS, once the official news agency of the Soviet Union and the mouthpiece of the Kremlin. In the park in the center of the square stands a monument to Kliment Timiryazev, a famous botanist.

The busy road intersecting Bolshaya Nikitskaya ulitsa at one end of the square is the Bulvarnoye Koltso (Boulevard Ring), which forms a semicircle around the city center. It begins at the banks of the Moskva River, just south of the Kremlin, and after curving eastward, then south, it reaches the riverbank again after several miles, near the mouth of the Yauza River, northeast of the Kremlin. Its path follows the lines of the 16th-century white-stone fortification wall that gave Moscow the name "White City." The privilege of living within its walls was reserved for the court nobility and craftsmen serving the tsar. The wall was torn down in 1775, on orders from Catherine the Great, and was replaced by the current Boulevard Ring. The perfect way to get a good view of the inner city is to slowly walk along the ring—this is best done on the weekend or late at night to avoid traffic on the boulevard. Running along its center is a broad strip of trees and flowers, dotted with playgrounds and benches. Summer brings out a burst of outdoor cafés, ice-cream vendors, and strolling lovers along the boulevard.

The most popular meeting place in town is located at the intersection of ulitsa Tverskaya and the Boulevard Ring. Every evening in good weather you will see crowds milling by the bronze statue of Alexander Pushkin (1799–1837), which stands at the top of a small park. It's the work of Alexander Opekushin and was erected by public subscription in 1880. It is impossible to underestimate Russia's love for the poet, who is credited with founding modern Russian literature. One of his most famous lines, from his novel in verse Eugene Onegin (1823), is about Moscow: "Moscow, how many strains are fusing / in that one sound, for Russian hearts! / what store of riches it imparts!" Summer and winter, fresh flowers on the pedestal prove that the poet's admirers are still ardent and numerous. Also at this site is the country's first McDonald's, once the busiest in the world, and a restaurant and shop called Armenia, which sells that country's famed Ararat brandy and other delicacies.

This major intersection is where the grand boulevard of Moscow, the Garden Ring, crosses Tverskaya ulitsa. In the center of the square stands a statue of the revolutionary poet Vladimir Mayakovsky (1893–1930), who it's generally believed committed suicide after he became disillusioned with the revolution he had so passionately supported.

The square is a center of Moscow's cultural life—and lately it's also become the political opposition's preferred site for anti-Putin rallies. (In order to prevent the latter, city authorities occasionally cordon off much of the square, supposedly to undertake emergency construction work.) The Tchaikovsky Concert Hall, which opened in 1940, stands on one corner (in its foyer are various food outlets); the Satire Theater is next door, on the Garden Ring; and the Mossoviet Theater is nearby, at 16 Bolshaya Sadovaya. The multitiered tower of the elegant Peking Hotel, opened in 1956 as a mark of Sino-Soviet friendship, rises nearby.

While you're here, it's worth riding the escalator down for a peek at the spectacular interior of the Mayakovskaya metro station, which, like many early stations, lies deep underground (it doubled as a bomb shelter during World War II). Stalin made a famous speech here on the 24th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution, at the height of the Siege of Moscow. Colorful, pastel mosaics depicting Soviet achievements in outer space decorate the ceiling.