MOSCOW is an official capital and Saint-Petersburg is
considered to be a northern or cultural capital of Russia. It is difficult for
Westerners to comprehend what an important place Moscow holds in the Russian
imagination as a symbol of both spiritual and political power. It has always
been the heart of this vast country. Moscow has been the center of government
ever since the Soviet power moved there in the spring of 1918. The city is more
than a metropolis of over nine million people, more than the administrative,
legislative, educational, and cultural capital of Russia - it is the embodiment
of the Russian Character and of Russian history.
SERGIEV-POSAD is famous for its monastery Trinity Saint
Sergius Lavra (1340A.D.). It is a seat of the head of the Russian orthodox
church.
VLADIMIR (1108A.D.) has a lot of ancient monuments to be
proud of. The first striking monument is the Golden Gate (1164A.D.). Assumption
cathedral (1161A.D.) is worth seeing, too.
SUZDAL (1024A.D.), a holy city, is in itself an entire
museum - its thronging monuments, towers and domes enable the visitor to follow
the history of Russian architecture from the 12th to the 19th centuries.
YAROSLAVL (1010A.D.) cultural heritage is invaluable.
Transfiguration of our Savior Monastery (12 century) was converted into a
bishop's palace in 1787. The only copy of "Lay of Igor's Campaign" was
discovered in Yaroslavl - and sadly lost again at the time of Napoleon's
invasion.
ROSTOV THE GREAT (862A.D.) was the capital of the
principality in 11th and 12th centuries.
PERESLAVL-ZALESSKY (1152), "the city of waters", lies on
the shore of Lake Pleshcheyevo, framed by numerous tributaries of the Trubezh
River - a Russian Venice in miniature.
SAINT-PETERSBURG. Peter the Great build his own capital
on the Baltic coast as a "window onto Europe". The city changed its name several
times. It was know as Saint-Petersburg, Petrograd and Leningrad. Now it is
called Saint-Petersburg. St. Petersburg is both West European and Russian. It
has come from St. Petersburg much of what is known as Russian culture. It was
from St. Petersburg that the Faberge craftsmen created splendid objects; that
Pavlova, Nijinsky and Ulanova showed the world what ballet was about; that
Dostoyevksy and Pushkin used the settings for their masterpieces. Saint
Petersburg is a thriving city, the home of five million people, who often say
that they consider their city superior to other cities - especially to Moscow.
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