Red Square
The ceremonial heart of Moscow, framed by the Kremlin wall, a grand department store and a painted cathedral.
About
Red Square is less a square than a long stone stage. On one side runs the crenellated Kremlin wall, on the other the glass-roofed arcades of GUM; at the far end the colourful domes of St. Basil's close the view. The name has nothing to do with communism: the old Russian word for 'red' also meant 'beautiful'.
Stand at the centre and the buildings tell different centuries at once: the red-brick State Historical Museum, the small Kazan Cathedral, the squat Lenin Mausoleum, and the carved Execution Ground. It is flat, open and surprisingly quiet early in the morning.
History
The space began as a market outside the Kremlin walls in the late fifteenth century and grew into the city's public centre. In the twentieth century it became the stage for military parades and state ceremonies. Today it is shared by tourists, winter fairs and occasional concerts, and some days are closed for events. The State Historical Museum on the north side was completed in 1881, and the Upper Trading Rows, now the GUM department store, opened in 1893. In the Soviet era the Lenin Mausoleum was added along the Kremlin wall, and the Victory Parade of June 1945 was held on the square.
UNESCO World Heritage: Inscribed 1990.