Location: Garden Ring
Top Things to do in Garden Ring
What to do and see in Garden Ring, Central Russia: The Best Monuments & Statues
The political, scientific, historical, architectural and business center of Russia, Moscow displays the country's contrasts at their most extreme. The ancient and modern are juxtaposed side by side in this city of 10 million. Catch a metro from one of the ornate stations to see Red Square, the Kremlin, the nine domes of St. Basil's Cathedral, Lenin's Mausoleum, the KGB Museum and other symbols of Moscow's great and terrible past, then lighten up and shop Boulevard Ring or people watch in Pushkin Square.
Restaurants in Moscow
1. Monument to Yuriy Nikulin
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 29 reviews
Reviewed By sergeyk147
As to me, I remember him "live". My parents took me to that circus where he performed for many years and people went there specifically to see him and only him. I saw this monument in the middle of February. A helluva snowstorm just finished and Nikulin's drophead coupé was almost totally covered by a white blanket. I was looking at that gentleman and thought that he would've liked such a memory to himself - open-hearted, friendly, free to touch and climb, for kids to enjoy. This time around there was no-one nearby - inclement weather. Maybe for the better - time to just stay by and recollect this extraordinary and very Russian personality. An absolute must!!!
2. Tomb of Unknown Soldier
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 637 reviews
Reviewed By sergeyk147
I come here quite often but I love it most in winter. I always remember that it was in winter of 1941 that a miracle happened - Nazis were stopped literally on the outskirts of Moscow. Had they captured it the Kremlin and the Red Square would have been levelled to the ground and the city flooded. That was the idea. We come here both to remember those who saved us and to have some fun - watch change of guards that usually takes place every hour. We do not compare it with ceremonies in other countries and we do not think whether the monument is more beautiful than, say, in Arlington or not. For us it's irrelevant. It's our History and our Memory and we will only thank you sincerely if you come and stay here even just for a couple of minutes.
3. Minin & Pozharsky Monument
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 320 reviews
Designed by I. Martos in 1818, this is the first Moscow monumental sculpture. It depicts two heroes that headed volunteer troops against the Polish invaders in the 1600s.
Reviewed By drogilmour - Guatemala City, Guatemala
Ok here are the facts about these two heroes: ????????In 1612, Kuzma Minin raised a volunteer army led by Prince Dmitry Pozharsky in an attempt to clear Russia from Polish invaders who wanted to seize the Russian throne. ????????The monument, erected with people’s donations, stands now in front of St. Basil’s Cathedral on Red Square. ????????The monument was set up after the Patriotic War of 1812 and Napoleon’s expulsion from Moscow. ????????Prince Pozharsky’s shield portrays the Saviour’s face and the long Russian sword, left haft-drawn from its sheath, is reminiscent of the cross. ????????According to legend, on a relief under the inscription sculptor Ivan Martor depicted himself sending his two sons to the volunteer army. ????????The monument was set here to allow easy transit during Red Square parades. (Non official version but possible since at the time it was considered possible to demolish St. Basil’s to allow for easier access).
4. Yury Dolgoruky Monument
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 87 reviews
Erected in 1954, this is a monument to Prince Yury Dolgoruky who ruled in the beginning of XII century and is considered the founder of Moscow.
Reviewed By sergeyk147
Because his mother was Gytha of Wessex, daughter of Harald Godwinson, the last Anglo-Saxon king of England. I bet practically no-one, either in my country or abroad, knows it. Since I live in Moscow, I saw this monument maybe several hundred times. Last time I did it was in December when the square around was being adorned with magnificent New Year illumination and shimmering decorations. This spot is one of the most beautiful in the city these days, by the way. Looking at this gentleman's equestrian statue I thought that he had not looked as gorgeous as a Soviet sculptor depicted him. The prince had not been tall, just about 160 centimeters, and suffered from osteochondrosis and spinal disc herniation. It's also funny to note that, while not founding Moscow at all, he just invited in that very 1147 one of his cronies to a party in that small settlement - i.e., to booze - and it was this "historic" event that was fixed by a medieval Russian chronicler. (Not a word about next day's hangover, though.) Still, I like the monument and consider it a real decoration of the city. Strange that communists created such a beauty.
5. Griboyedov Monument
6. Pushkin Monument
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 105 reviews
Reviewed By sergeyk147
Alexander Pushkin, Fyodor Dostoevsky, Leo Tolstoy - these names are well-known to anyone who is interested in Russia. Not many foreigners know that Pushkin's ancestors came from Africa - most experts say that from Ethiopia but some claim that from Cameroon. One way or another, everybody agrees that he's the father of both modern Russian language and Russian literature. To my mind, this monument which I visited together with my grandchildren in January, during New Year holidays, is the most elegant in Moscow. There were so many joyful people around, everybody smiled, enjoyed snowy but mild weather and I thought that our great poet would have loved to see this merry crowd around him. He was such a lover of life himself, after all... Strongly recommended!
7. Monument to Sergei Mikhalkov
8. Monument to Victims of the Terrorist Attack in Beslan
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 34 reviews
Reviewed By sergeyk147
As well as your soul and every-damn-thing inside you that can feel pain. Who, except for us Russians, remembers today the first of September of 2004? Terrorist attack on a school in Ossetia, Northern Caucasus, 1,128 hostages seized, most of them children, 331 died including 186 boys and girls. Me and my wife walked across central Moscow and stumbled upon this extraordinary piece of art in February. A tribute to killed kids... We were electrified by pain. We had watched that tragedy live, on TV. Exhausted, half-naked children scared to death to such an extent that they could not walk. Our soldiers bringing them out of that inferno in their own hands, covering them with their own bodies - undefended from behind. Thank you, Mr Tsereteli! Your architectural sins against Moscow are enormous but by this monument you've at least tried to atone for them. Please hold on for a couple of minutes, take off your hat and bow your head. One hundred and eighty-six innocent souls perished among bullets of grown-up bearded cannibals, after all...
