These pictures were taken by me in 2004 and have been showed some time ago at SSC, but without English descriptions.

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This walk will take us to a slightly forgotten part of Moscow, between the Arbat and Prechistenka streets:

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/mapa_preczistenka_web.jpg

We start our walk at Arbat and continue along the Boulevard Ring. Unlike the Garden Ring it wasn't reconstructed in a stalinistic way and has maintained much of its prerevolutionary atmosphere:

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_9832.jpg

The Boulevard Ring was built over the original ramparts of medieval times. Between the streets there is a 8-kilometers long park:

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_9845.jpg

It's one of the most popular places for resting and strolling:

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_9841.jpg

Street artists:

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_9847.jpg

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_9849.jpg

Moscow is not only Metro, but also trolley buses. They add much charm to the city. I love them :master:

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_9854.jpg

The climate of the Boulevard Ring :)

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_9846.jpg

Moscow is also a city of black limousines. I've never seen so many black cars in my life. You should try to avoid them when crossing the streets. Their drivers seem to be of the opinion that the rules don't apply to them...

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_9851.jpg

We are now leaving the Boulevard Ring and are going to explore the quiet quarter between the Arbat and Prechistenka streets:

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_9855.jpg

This part of the city has a specific climate. It was once dominated by picturesque aristocratic mansions, of which many survived to this day and are now often turned into foreign embassies. But at the same time many of the old buildings have been destroyed and yellow-bricked commie-blocks have been erected in their place. This leads to interesting contrasts:

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_9856.jpg

A few pictures from a street called Starokonyuschenniy Pereulok:

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_9858.jpg

Buildings of New Arbat emerge at distance:

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_9859.jpg

The street is quite charming:

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_9860.jpg

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_9864.jpg

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_9865.jpg

An old church...

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_9870.jpg

That badly needs a renovation...

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_9872.jpg

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_9875.jpg

A street close to the church:

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_9873.jpg

In one of these houses where once one of the most popular whorehouses in Moscow located...

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_9880.jpg

Moscow contrasts. You should by now know this stalin-skyscraper with the silly tower ;) For those who forgot, it's the Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_9884.jpg

A typical residential building from the 60-ties, before they started to build commieblocks on a big scale:

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_9887.jpg

Beatifully "decorated" ;) The condition of this symbol reflects well the final condition of the system it represented...

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_9888.jpg

The Italian Embassy, former mansion of Berg family:

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_9890.jpg

A "plumb":

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_9891.jpg

This building is hard to define...

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_9892.jpg

And suddenly - an ultra modern office building...

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_9894.jpg

This Lada's best days belong to the past...

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_9896.jpg

We'we reached the Prechistenka Street, which can be considered an outdoor museum of classicistic mansions. Most of them were built after the great fire of Moscow in 1812.

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_9897.jpg

Despite the beautiful buildings, the street feels a little bit abandoned:

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_0003.jpg

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_0004.jpg

A beautiful house:

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_0005.jpg

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_0006.jpg

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_0010.jpg

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_0014.jpg

I liked the climate of the side-streets:

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_0001.jpg

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_0002.jpg

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_0008.jpg

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_0009.jpg

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_0011.jpg

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_0012.jpg

Prechistenka ends at the Prechistenskiye Vorota Square (a bit down the street). At distance we can see the towers of Kremlin:

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_0015.jpg

A trolley bus :master:

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_0016.jpg

Am I late for the party ;) We've reached the Prechistenskiye Vorota Square and one of many places in Moscow where people can sit down and enjoy the life :)

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_0020.jpg

Engels watches the people from above :)

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_0018.jpg

This is another nice looking street that leads to this square. It is called Ostazhenka:

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_0021.jpg

The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. It was demolished in the 30s. An enormous stalinistic skyscraper called "Palace of the Soviets" was planned in its place. But the visions never materialized and the cathedral could be rebuilt in the 90s after the fall of communism.

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_0019.jpg

A closer look at the cathedral:

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_0023.jpg

Let's go towards the Kremlin. A side street on our way:

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_0027.jpg

Big Stone Bridge (Bolshoy Kamenny Most) over the Moscow river:

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_0031.jpg

On the other side of the street we can see the Kremlin. I wanted to cross the street but couldn't find any place to do it...

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_0028.jpg

Mokhovaya Street:

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_0030.jpg

The famous writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky sitting in front of the State Lenin Library. The library cannot be seen on this photo. The building in the background is one of the old buildings of Moscow University:

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_0033.jpg

I stepped down into an underground passage which showed to be a maze of corridors. Somehow I managed to get out of there and found myself standing in the middle of Alexander Garden just outside the Kremlin walls :) To my surprise I saw that it was full of people strolling around. Also the neighbouring Manezhnaya Square was full of people enjoying the life. ;)

I could have taken a lot of interesting photos, but my batteries were by this time totally dead :( (I was lucky to take the photos by my next visit to Moscow instead :))

This is the only photo I managed to take:

http://www.michau.se/pics/my_pics/moskwa/2004_sept/moskwa_040919_0035.jpg

That's all for now. I hope you enjoyed this thread :cheers:

excelent work, the old city is cool!!