THE
HEART OF RUSSIA
MOSCOW
by Bill Strubbe
Standing in Revolution Square, as I
slowly pivoted to take in the panorama—the fountain
in front of the Bolshoi Theater, the imposing former
KGB headquarters Lubjanka, the Art Nouveau façade
of the Hotel Metropol, the gilt domes of the Cathedral
of Our Lady of Kazan, the State History Museum, and
the Kremlin’s towers—I remembered being here
in this same spot eighteen years previously.
Surrounded by several hundred other
queers, I was lip-locked with a Soviet named Gennadi
for the “kiss-in” in front of the Bolshoi.
Organized by the International Gay Lesbian Human Rights
Commission, the public “action” was one of
many events during the first-ever gay/lesbian human
rights conference in the Soviet Union. Indeed, the world
was on the cusp of change: two years before, the Berlin
Wall came down, a couple days after we left the USSR
a coup against Gorbachev was thwarted, and within months,
the Soviet Union collapsed.
On my four journeys to the USSR during
Gorbachev’s heady glasnost and perestroika years,
I’d slept in tents on soggy soccer fields, ate
borscht in Ukrainian farm houses, visited the Chernobyl
relocation villages, protested outside the nuclear test
site in Kazakstan, and passed out condoms on Nevsky
Prospekt. On my first trip to the new Russia, my accommodations
were decidedly less proletarian; I dined in actual restaurants,
ventured into several gay nightclubs, enjoyed a cruise
on the Volga, and admired the splendors of the Hermitage
and the Kremlin. Despite political upheavals and the
recent capitalist make-over, Russia’s natural beauty
and charms remain unsullied and I was thrilled to return.
It’s impossible to ignore the westernization
of Moscow’s cityscape with ubiquitous McDonald’s
signs, gnarly traffic jams, and stunning fashion victims.
Yet with every turn a visual delight awaits, whether
an onion-domed chapel juxtaposed against a Soviet-era
monstrosity, a modern, glass residence jostling an 18th-century
palace, or the unavoidable “Seven Sisters,”
the curious, Empire State Building-like edifices done
in the Stalinist “wedding cake” style.
Huge, bustling, and expensive, Moscow can be intimidating
to the uninitiated, but with a good map and willingness
to brave the extensive Metro, you should be able to
get around. Moscow’s Metro system has some 150
stations and the bargain fare, about $1, is the same
regardless of distance traveled. Additionally, many
subway stations, built in the 1930s, are of exceptional
artistic design (my personal favorites are Kievskaya,
Novoslobodskaya, Ploschad’ Revolucii, Mayakovskaya)
depicting Soviet achievements and worth getting out
at the stops for a look. With subway information and
most other signage in Russian, if you’re intending
to explore without a guide, I recommend tackling the
Cyrillic alphabet before your trip; with a couple hours
of practice, you’ll feel more confident about getting
around.
The heart of Moscow is, of course, Red
Square and undoubtedly you’ll be drawn back
there many times. The kaleidoscope whorls and confectionary
hues of the domes of the iconic St. Basil’s
Cathedral, completed 1561 by Ivan the Terrible to
commemorate the captured Tatar stronghold of Kazan,
are almost embarrassing in their Disney-esque kitsch
appeal, but it’s near impossible to get bored gazing
at it. (To think that Stalin almost blew this one up
as he did dozens of other churches.) The brilliant exterior
suffices for many, but it’s open to the public,
the interior a maze of galleries winding from chapel
to chapel on various levels via narrow stairways, with
St. Basil the Blessed resting in a gaudy silver casket
in the lower floor chapel.
In front of the brick State Historical
Museum at the entrance to Red Square, we were amused
to see Lenin copping a cigarette from Tsar Nicolas II,
and Stalin preening his moustache in front of a hand-mirror;
look-alikes busking for a surreal photo op with tourists.
For some inexplicable reason during my trips in the
Soviet era I never visited Lenin’s Mausoleum,
so I decided to wait in line. Once inside I had about
three minutes to decide: Is it him, or a wax replica?
Who knows, but rumor has it that, due to the expense
of the annual re-waxing, Vladimir’s departure is
imminent.
The medieval Kremlin fortress
is an architectural gem of palaces, cathedrals, museums,
and government offices, “Puti-Put’s”
and Medvedev’s among them. The first wooden Kremlin
was built in 1156 by Prince Yuri Dolgoruky, the toothed
walls and towers added in 1485–1495. The double-headed
eagles, the Coat of Arms of Imperial Russia, atop the
Spasskaya Clock Tower and four others, were replaced
in the mid-30s by red stars made from ruby glass, weighing
over a ton.
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On the Kremlin grounds we visited the
Cathedral of the Assumption and the Cathedral of the
Archangel, and also saw the Tsar Bell, the world’s
largest with a massive chunk that broke off in a fire
when it was doused with cold water. (A widely published
photo last summer was of Obama standing next to this
bell.) Not far away is the Tsar Cannon, also purportedly
the world’s largest. The main attraction of the
Kremlin is the Armory, which houses the Russian national
treasures: elaborate gold and silver dishes, bejeweled
goblets, jewelry, the imperial coronation headpieces,
and extravagant 17th- and 18th-century carriages and
coaches. There are religious items from chalices and
elaborate gem-studded covers for Bibles to ornate icons
like the Virgin of Smolensk.
The most famous items in the Armory
are a dozen Faberge eggs (69 of the 105 are known to
survive), Easter gifts created in the workshops of Peter
Karl Faberge, a tradition begun in 1885 by Alexander
III and his wife Maria Feodorovna. Each egg encloses
a surprise: the exterior of the Standart Yacht crystal
egg is decorated with gold, diamonds, pearls, and lapis
lazuli, the “surprise” is a replica of the
royal ship made of gold and platinum; for the Trans-Siberian
Railway egg, a miniature platinum and gold train that
ran when wound up; inside the Moscow Kremlin egg is
a miniature interior of the Church of the Assumption,
the surprise, a music box that plays several Easter
hymns when wound with a gold key.
If you’re intrigued with real,
old-fashioned bling, then you won’t mind paying
the extra admission fee to view the treasures in the
Diamond Fund, among them Catherine I’s crown encrusted
with 5,000 diamonds, pearls, a 399-carat red spinel,
and the legendary 190-carat Orlov diamond, given to
her by one of her many lovers, set into a scepter.
If you wonder what Russia’s rich
buy in the 21st century, then head to G.U.M. Department
Store across from the Kremlin. It’s hard to
fathom that this elegant, three-tiered, belle époque
mall was once a dreary Soviet-era disaster zone selling
fur caps and matryoshka dolls. Though designer shops
now hawk outrageously expensive goods, that didn’t
deter us from strolling its three arcades where we could
afford the delicious, old-style ice cream (morosheno)
from one of the lady vendors, and a late breakfast at
Bosco on their summer terrace on Red Square—an
omelet and espresso never had such an exceptional view!
For another fantastic view of the Kremlin,
later that day we took the Ritz Carlton elevator
up to the twelfth floor. The steel and glass dome of
the O2 Lounge offers a fabulous winter oasis,
but since it was summer we relaxed outside on the terrace
in a comfy sofa under an umbrella with a cool beer and
Voss water. Around us patrons smoked hookah pipes of
Bohemian crystal and nibbled on sushi and lobster claws.
Since we’re on the subject of wining
and dining, I confess that I’m rather a tight-wad
regarding food. Sometimes, however, you’ve just
got to splurge. The place to do so in Moscow is Café
Pushkin, which is considered to have the best Russian
food in the city. Here you’ll find a sophisticated
café on the first floor open 24 hours, and a
restaurant on the “Library” level where attentive
waiters wearing chemises and sideburns serve classic
French and Russian cuisine. The faux pre-revolutionary
atmosphere is unbeatable, and the food is fantastic.
The meat pie appetizer is delicious and beautifully
presented. Main dishes, including duck, beef stroganoff,
and pelmeni are superb.
Begun as a small café, Mama
Zoya and Mama Nina now serve up delicious
and affordable Georgian favorites on a multi-story boat
docked across the river from Gorky Park. While some
of the décor elements, mannequins, dopey gnomes,
and huge tables shaped like boats are odd, the place
is atmospheric with a nice view of the river and live
music most evenings. The menu is the size of War &
Peace (try and get an English-speaking waiter or patron
to order for you) but the specialty, grilled lamb, cubed
and skewered or grilled by the leg, is scrumptious.
Also try adzhapsandal, an eggplant and tomato ragout
and pkhali, garlic, walnuts, and spinach in a tasty
pâté.
If you tire of Russian food, a brief
walk from Red Square will give you a taste of the Mediterranean
at Krem. The lunch buffet with an Italian bent
has got all kinds of meats and salads, plus a few Russian
touches like beet-and-herring salad and rich rye bread.
Dinners are Northern Italian, with specialties such
as delicately prepared Venetian calves’ liver and
fresh pastas.
One day, while wandering the neighborhood
south of the Moscow River, I happened upon the Starlite
Diner, an American-style eatery—chrome counters,
neon signs, red vinyl seats—plunked down in the
heart of Moscow and serving up cheeseburgers, salmon
fillet with rice and broccoli, and milkshakes (blueberry,
creamsicle, Oreo, etc.). Even though it was well past
noon, I ordered the all-day breakfast of two eggs, ham,
and potatoes.
Conveniently located near Metro Pushkinslaya,
Tsifri (Digits) Café is an intimate,
gay-friendly basement bar/café that serves lunches
and coffee during daytime, and in the evening nice European,
Mexican, and French dinners for around $20. At night
people come to dance on the small dance floor, sometimes
with erotic entertainment.
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