MOSCOW, RUSSIA
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A visit to the Central Soviet Air Force Museum, outside Moscow, at Monino. I had summoned help from Moscow City Guide service to have my documents faxed in advance to facilitate my visit and we were met by a car, a driver and a charming guide fluent in English, to bring us without delay (outside the ever present traffic jams) to this museum.
MY AVIATION PAGE OF MONINO CENTRAL AIR FORCE MUSEUM
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Here are some photos I took while driving back to the city; I would love to venture into the country on some future visit.
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KOLOMENSKOYE
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Kolomenskoye (Russian: Коло́менское) is a former royal estate situated several miles to the south-east of Moscow city-centre, on the ancient road leading to the town of Kolomna (hence the name). Tsar Alexis I of Russia had all the previous wooden structures in Kolomenskoye demolished and replaced them with a new great wooden palace, famed for its fanciful, fairy-tale roofs. The foreigners referred to this huge maze of intricate corridors and 250 rooms, built without using saws, nails, or hooks, as 'an eighth wonder of the world'. The future Empress Elizabeth Petrovna was born in the palace in 1709. Upon departure of the court for St Petersburg, the palace got dilapidated, so that Catherine II refused to make it her Moscow residence. On her orders the palace was demolished in 1768. WIKIPEDIA, More.. |
One finds here mainly a few churches and a cabin where Peter the Great stayed in at some point.
The scenic area which overlooks the steep banks of the Moskva River became a part of Moscow in the 1960s.
When the weather improves people from the city visit here and use it as a park, for relaxing, rollerskating, etc.
TSARITSYNO PARK
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Tsaritsyno museum and reserve in Moscow (near Tsaritsyno metro station and commuter suburb train station) was founded in 1984 in the park of the same name.
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Around the palace, in the park there are a number of pavilions, pergolas, arbours, artificial grottos, decorative bridges (early 19th century, architect I. Yegotov), and a Russian Orthodox temple 'Source of Life', as well as a modern recreation center with an upscale restaurant. For a long time most buildings were ruined (and alpinists used them for training!). Recently most buildings have been restored: rooftops, interiors and decorations have been added and their historical appearance has been altered. A number of buildings house the Russian museum of folk and applied art. The atrium of the “Bread House” is used for concerts of Moscow musicians. |
Inside the Russian Orthodox Church.
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The royal estates were on the subway system, but I had misgivings about finding the exact locations from the relevant subway stations and particularly the Kolomenkoye estate involved a considerable walk and was not in view from the metro station. So I was grateful for the guidance, and indeed the information provided, by our guide, Svetlana. Next it was a return by subway, details and more photos on my PAGE ONE
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GULAG HISTORY MUSEUM
There was a vernissage of impressive photography illustrating remnants one (?) of the camps, searching out the lost world where so many suffered a tragic fate. We misunderstood this photo exhibition as part of the museum, not sure if we shouldn't have been here as we were whisked away by an elderly, kind museum steward. Again, communication was almost impossible but efforts were made to show us things. It was in this museum that we met some international, Scandinavian, fellow tourists; in fact they showed a leaflet with English explanatory text on it, it hadn't been issued to us at the cashier but was quickly provided for.
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A visit to this location is advised in guidebooks for the view on the city. It does involve a considerable walk from the nearest Metro station, though.
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NOVODEVICHY CONVENT
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Soviet Exhibition Center
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The exhibition was established February 17, 1935 as the All-Union Agricultural Exhibition (VSKhV). An existing site (then known as Ostankino Park, a country territory recently incorporated into the city limits), was approved in August, 1935. The first show season was announced to begin in July, 1937. However, plans did not materialize, and three weeks before the deadline Stalin personally postponed the exhibition by one year (to August 1938). It seemed that this time everything would be ready on time, but again the builders failed to complete their work, and regional authorities failed to select and deliver proper exhibits. Some pavilions and the 1937 entrance gates by Oltarzhevsky were torn down to be replaced with more appropriate structures (most pavilions were criticized for having no windows). According to Oltarzhevsky's original plan, all of the pavilions were to be constructed from wood. In 1938, a government commission examined the construction and decided that it did not suit the ideological direction of the moment. The exhibition was considered too modest and too temporary. Oltarzhevsky was arrested, together with the Commissar for Agriculture and his staff. As a result, in August 1938 Nikita Khrushchev, speaking at the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union assembly, declared that the site was not ready, and the opening was extended to August, 1939. It opened on August 1st, 1939. [Source: WIKIPEDIA] |
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MORE PHOTO OF MINE, OF THIS TRIP, ON FLICKR.COM:
External links |
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