After an overnight train from St Petersburg I arrived fairly chirpy to a bright Moscow morning. I was expecting busy, dirty streets but was rewarded with what seemed like a very livable city and some stunning sights. I stayed near Gorky park at the southern edge of the centre near historical 'Arbat'. Walking in the wide pedestrianised streets you feel like it could be anywhere in europe. From there it was a ten minute walk to Red Square and the Kremlin. The square itself is vast - about 800 metres long and 400 wide i would say - making it very impressive. It's surrounded on each side by the most jaw dropping architechure. Interestingly it's named red square due to a historical misunderstanding. 'Red' and 'beautiful' are similar words in Russian so it should really be known as 'Beautiful Square' and that would be much more appropriate believe me.


The fulcrum of Russian power resides in the adjacent kremlin complex. It's a suprisingly beautiful old town that encompasses palaces and churches behind towering red city walls. Its hardly the grim concrete buildings I was expecting. Security is tight and police are everywhere inside but it is much more laid back than I thought considering the likes of Putin and Medvedev are supposedly at work nearby. You walk through the ubiqitous xray gates (which are at most stations anyway) and backpacks are given a cursory search but it seemed if anything dangerous was hidden it could remain undetected.

It's hard to imagine a more breathtaking sight than St Basil's Cathedral on the edge of the square. Its all colours and domes and seems like something futuristic or out of this world, although it is already several centuries old. Nearby is the Lenin Mausoleum where the former CCP head and revolutionary's mummified remains rest. It was a bit of a toss up whether I would go as it seems cruel to have him on display - against his wishes no less. But I consoled myself with the idea that although clearly an important man historically he wasnt a particularly ethical one so I decided not to worry about it too much!

He is surprisingly small in person and his skin has a glossy appearance. Apparently wax is a large part of the chemical cocktail he is doused in periodically to keep the remains preserved so I guess that's not surprising. The tomb had a very unusual atmosphere. You queue for at least half an hour and then have to go one by one through airport level security. Once inside you go down around twenty steps in near complete darkness until you reach the faintly lit central chamber. It was eerily silent and you can pick up the faint odour of decay. There are guards posted every ten metres or so and what is particularly unusual that they have the appearance of mannekins. I actually thought they were until one moved suddenly. Their facial expressions are completely blank -more than blank actually - like they made a consious decision to look inanimate. It was very odd. It appeared as though they were dolls left at a bedside. I genuinely think they are trained to look otherworldly and disturbing rather than the usual tough guy persona.


The biggest disappointment for me that day actually occured outside the mausoleum where former soviet leaders are entombed. Each leader's bust was set above the well maintained marble tombs. Some of the leaders had flowers on their graves and can you guess who had the most? Stalin of course.... It's unbelievable really, I wasn't even expecting him to be there. You couldn't even read the headstone as the piled garlands were completely covering it. It is simply inconcievable he could be revered, even by Russians. Perhaps especially by Russians who suffered something in the vicinity of twenty million deaths at his bloody hand. I am surprised there is even a marked grave for the man.

However it has been said many times, Russians are an odd bunch, at least to western eyes. They like strong leaders. Some even joke that they like to suffer so I suppose Stalin was the ideal man for them. Still such reverence is disturbing and even a little frightening I would suggest.

It's clear there is still enormous patriotism and militarism here in Russia. I left red square that day to the sight of workers setting up red, white and blue chairs (Russia's colours) for an official parade I suppose. Shades of Soviet pageantry perhaps.

In addition there are often soldiers walking around the streets and you get the feeling the great patriotic war (as Russians know as WWII) is still a big part of the pysche. It's understandable as we should remember that the country suffered upwards of twenty million deaths during that time so cities like Leningrad (St Petersburg) and Stalingrad (Volgograd) lost nearly half their populace to the Germans.

Understandable perhaps, but when you see it firsthand it makes you feel pretty uneasy. Especially after visiting the Eerie Soviet tomb.