this gallery is in preparation ... here is a preview ...
russia is a huge country in eastern europe and northern asia, by far the largest country in the world. it extends from kaliningrad (a small district, formerly german, between poland and lithunia) in the west to chukotka, a county at the north-eastern end of asia. on the other side of the bering sea is alaska (a state of usa). conventionally, the russian federation is portrayed as three principal regions: european realm, siberian area, far east territory
the medivial state of "rus" emerged in the 9th century; its centre was the town novgorod. from about 1450 onwards, the "grand duchy of moskva" became dominant.
moscow (moskva), built around the river moskva, was its capital until 1713 (when peter the great made st petersburg the capital city) and was reinstalled in 1918. it is the genuine multifaceted centre, the true 'hub' of russia.
the crucial place of moscow is the "red square" - see the map. it is bordered by the north-eastern wall of the vast kremlin palace and three of its towers, the lenin mausoleum, the state historical museum, the very large "gum" warehouse, and the basilius cathedral, the masterpiece of russian architecture. in addition to a few photos, a historic painting from 1802 is shown below.
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