Bolshoi Theatre

The word “Bolshoi” means “Grand,” and this theatre lives up to that description.  The Bolshoi is Moscow’s oldest opera and ballet house for more than 200 years.  The interior consists of five tiers of gilded boxes and can seat over 2200 people at a performance.  The Bolshoi has gained a world-wide reputation for its famous ballet performances:  Giselle, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty and the Nutcracker are still being performed at the Theatre today.  Its own ballet school nutures new ballet dancers.   The Opera’s repertoire has included Tchaikovsky, Glinka, Rachmaninov, Puccini and Verdi.

The Bolshoi has it own museum, founded in 1920, that contains memorablia connected to its many world famous performances.  Many of the theatrical costumes worn by the legendary Russian bass singer Fyodor Shalyapin are displayed in the museum. 

Becoming acquainted with behind-the-scenes activities of the ballet and opera,  and visits to the ballet school and museum is to be enchanted with a grandeur of epic proportions you won’t find anywhere else.

The Kremlin – Moscow

The word “kremlin” means fortification, and there are many across Russia.  However, “The Kremlin” always refers to the Kremlin in Moscow.

The history of The Kremlin goes back to the reign of the Great Prince Yuri of Kiev, considered to be the founder of Moscow.  There is an equestrian statue, erected in 1954, on Tverskaya St. honoring the Great Prince.  The white stone walls and towers of the Kremlin were erected in 1367 by Dmitry Donskoy.  Totally rebuilt between 1485 and 1495, the Kremlin acquired its present appearance and dimensions.

At the beginning of the 18th century, Peter I moved the capital of Russia to St. Petersburg, but the coronation of Russian tsars continued to be held in Moscow.  The Soviet government moved the capital back to Moscow in 1917, and the Kremlin became the seat of the highest state bodies, known as the “preserve,” where only those who lived or worked there were admitted.

Only since 1955 have the unique museums of the Kremlin become accessible to the public. The old cathedrals resumed religious services and the Kremlin bells, which had been silent for over 70 years, ring joyously throughout the area.

The Moscow Kremlin has been the residence of Russian tsars and hierarchs of the Russian Orthodox Church.  Since 1992 it has been the residence of the President of the Russian Federation and his administration.

The Kremlin remains a unique monument of Russian culture and will always be a symbol of Russian statehood.

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