Moscow

Moscow
	Ever since Peter the Great built St. Petersburg in the 18th century, Moscow has been overshadowed by the glamorous "Venice of the North." People (Russian and American alike) often congratulate me on my luck on living in St. Petersburg, and are surprised to hear that I prefer Moscow. St. Petersburg is a beautiful city, but its character is not Russian.
	Moscow is Russian to the core. This capital city was founded by Prince Yuri Dolgorukhi in 1147 at the confluence of two rivers, the Moskva and the Neglina. The first building was the kremlin (which means fortress in Russian). The Kremlin forms the innermost circle of the concentric rings that make up Moscow city. Even though Moscow suffered many devastating fires (not to mention capture and looting by Napoleon's Grande Armee in 1812 and heavy shelling by Hitler's army in 1944), there are sections of the city which are largely unchanged since the 16th century.
	Wandering in the old sections of Moscow gives the visitor a better feeling of Russian historical traditions before the Westernizing influences of Peter the Great. For me, the most interesting part of being in Moscow was living with the Russians. My husband and I had very little income, so we "went native," and lived in a region where we were the only foreigners on the block. We did not speak English in public, since Westerners can be targets for crime (not to mention incredible curiosity). Our neighbors knew we weren't Russian, because our features (let alone our accents!) would never be mistaken for Russian. However, they weren't quite sure where we were from, and as a result we were subjected to a lot of good natured questioning. Most people thought I was Polish. I would just smile and reply, "No, a bit further West!" Here are pictures of the apartment buildings we lived in while in Moscow.


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Last updated on: 05/08/01
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