The Red Square

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An immense esplanade of 559,520 sq ft on which driving is prohibited, the Red Square stretches out from the eastern wall of the Kremlin. Moscow's main square was already at the centre of public life in the 15th century, as the most important ceremonies were organized there. Ukases (edicts of the tsar) were read out loud and justice was made. In the 17th century, it officially became the Red Square (Krasnaia), or the beautiful square ("red" and "beautiful" are almost identical words in Russian), now framed by Saint Basil's Cathedral to the east, the historical Museum and the Kremlin wall to the west. The basilica of Saint Basil, built in the 16th century on the order of Ivan the Terrible, is without a doubt the most fairy-tale-like monument in Moscow with its polychrome onion and cabled domes so exuberant it is worthy of a palace of the Thousand and One Nights. The sight of the interior frescoes are just as magical, whereas in front of the building, a circular block of old white stones marks the place where the acts of torture were carried out. West of St Basil's you can see the Saviour's Tower Clock, the most beautiful in the Kremlin, out of which religious processions used to walk towards the Red Square. It is decorated with a magnificent chiming clock and of course is topped with a huge red star. To the other side of the square, on the right of the Historical Museum, you will notice another monument, the church dedicated to the Virgin of Kazan, built in 1993 on the spot of a 17th century church demolished in 1936.
Its back against the Kremlin wall, Lenin's mausoleum, made of marble and granite and austere lines, stands out for its simplicity.
The GUM, the old State Department Store, is now located in the upper parts of the commercial galleries, east of the square. Since it was privatised in 1993, you can now find the most varied shops offering a great choice of fashion clothing, beauty products, luxuries and souvenirs.