The Novedevichy Monastery was founded
in 1524 by Grand Prince Vassily III. However the present towers and walls were
built between 1685 and 1687. The Monastery contains the Sobor Smolensk
Bogomateri or Cathedral of the Virgin of Smolensk, with a distinctive bell
tower dating from 1690. The cathedral itself was built in 1525 and contains
16th-century frescoes, as well as a magnificent late 17th-century iconostasis.
There is a convent that was a place of exile for noblewomen who were either in
mourning or in disfavor, including Sophia, Peter the Great’s sister, who
instigated a coup against him from here in 1698. The adjacent Novodevichy
Cemetery contains the graves of distinguished Muscovites,
including Nikita Krushchev, Nikolai Gogol, Sergei Prokofiev and Anton Chekhov.
Visiting Moscow
Coming in from an overseas flight, Sheremetevo-2 is the
airport one flies into. There are also four airports to handle travel to
domestic destinations and the ex-Soviet states. There's a bus network with
comfy-enough buses that run to places within about a 435mi radius of the city. Moscow
also has 9 main rail stations, and one can board trains to most parts of Russia
and Europe as well as China
and Mongolia.
The Moscow Metro system is not only a great way to get
around the city, but is an attraction in and of itself. Up
and running just four years after building started in 1931, the Metro is one of
the Soviet regime’s few artistic accomplishments. The stations have unique
designs are often palatial and provide an introduction to the development of
Soviet art and architecture over more than half a century. Mayakovskaya
Station has a central hall with a ceiling of Socialist Realist mosaics
supported by stainless steel and red marble columns. In Revolyutsii
ploshchad, bronze sculptures of Red Army soldiers hold up the arches in the
passageways. Komsomolskaya, the busiest station in Moscow, has
upper walk-through galleries and offers a Russian history lesson in the mosaics
near the Circle Line platforms.