Virtuoso Insights - October/November 2008 - (Page 60) Moscow The Big Village The largest city in Russia — indeed, all of Europe — Moscow is both the country’s capital and a symbol of the complex Russian dichotomy. It was here where, as Napoleon entered the city, the Russian army retreated without a fight — only to burn it to the ground in the Great Fire of 1812. (Tolstoy suggested that the fire was not deliberate, but rather the result of Moscow being a wooden city — a point that simply adds to the enigma.) Located along the Moskva River, Moscow has been the country’s main political, economic, educational, and religious center since the 14th century. After losing its status of capital to St. Petersburg, the city took on a more traditional, provincial role although, once it regained the title, Moscow threw itself fullspeed into the Bolshevik utilitarian model. Since the Soviet days, the city has undergone a renaissance of sorts, attracting a new generation of artists and intelligentsia. You’ll gain an astounding perspective of the city atop Sparrow Hills, one of Moscow’s highest vantage points on the right bank of the river; the views are particularly spectacular at dawn. Then head to Red Square, the city’s main plaza and site of some of its most important buildings, including Lenin’s Mausoleum; the outstanding, onion-domed St. Basil’s Cathedral; and, of course, the Kremlin. . . . the elDeR, MoRe PRagMatic sisteR with an olD-woRlD sensibility anD woRk ethic . . . 60 Virtuoso insights Photo ©simeone huber/gettyimages
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