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This book surveys two centuries of Russian history through a succession of ambitious architectural projects designed for a single construction site in central Moscow. Czars, Bolshevik rulers, and contemporary Russian leaders alike have dreamed of glorious monuments to themselves and their ideologies on this site. The history of their efforts reflects the story of the nation itself and its repeated attempts to construct or reconstruct its identity and to repudiate or resuscitate emblems of the past. In the nineteenth century Czar Alexander I began to construct the largest cathedral (and the largest building) in the world at the time. His successor, Nicholas I, changed both the site and the project. Completed by Alexander III, the cathedral was demolished by Stalin in the 1930s to make way for the tallest building in the world, the Palace of Soviets, but that project was ended by the war. During the Khrushchev years the excavation pit was transformed into an outdoor heated swimming pool-the world's largest, of course-and under Yeltsin's direction the pool was replaced with a reconstruction of the destroyed cathedral. The book explores each project intended for this ideologically-charged site and documents with 60 illustrations the grand projects that were built as well as those that were only dreamed.

\"Chances are, if you've ever watched a movie set in Moscow, at least one scene took place in Red Square with Saint Basil's Cathedral and its famous multicolored onion-shaped domes. But what about that mysterious group of buildings surrounded by high walls, just beyond these famous vistas? That's the Kremlin, which has long been the center of the Russian government and the official home of its rulers.\" (Faces) Read more about the Kremlin as well as other famous landmarks in Moscow, Russia.

\"Compared with the great cities of classical civilization, Moscow is a relative newcomer; yet its history is as rich and compelling as that of any other major capital, and its architectural landscape has come to symbolize the very essence of Russia--balanced between east and west.\" (HUMANITIES) Significant works of architecture and art in Moscow are discussed.

In Beau Monde on Empire’s Edge , Mayhill C. Fowler tells the story of the rise and fall of a group of men who created culture both Soviet and Ukrainian. This collective biography showcases new aspects of the politics of cultural production in the Soviet Union by focusing on theater and on the multi-ethnic borderlands. Unlike their contemporaries in Moscow or Leningrad, these artists from the regions have been all but forgotten despite the quality of their art. Beau Monde restores the periphery to the center of Soviet culture. Sources in Russian, Ukrainian, Polish, and Yiddish highlight the important multi-ethnic context and the challenges inherent in constructing Ukrainian culture in a place of Ukrainians, Russians, Poles, and Jews. Beau Monde on Empire’s Edge traces the growing overlap between the arts and the state in the early Soviet years, and explains the intertwining of politics and culture in the region today.

Russian officials and the Moscow Patriarchate have worked together in recent years to promote a socially conservative policy agenda, both domestically and beyond the Russian Federation’s borders. Examining official documents and the statements of key leaders, this article evaluates the development and nature of contemporary church–state relations as they pertain to international relations. The picture that emerges is one of pragmatic partnering, with the state increasingly inclining towards normative positions long espoused by the Church in an effort to shift its foreign policy in a direction that stresses civilizational differentiation and positions Russia as the protector of Christians and “traditional values” around the globe. Underlying this shift in orientation on the part of the Kremlin is a neorealist perspective (though one increasingly expressed through ideational rhetoric) that envisions Russia as not just having a privileged regional sphere of influence but becoming a major player in a polycentric world. As a means of legitimating these objectives, the Church has proven an ideal partner; however, it would be a mistake to simply regard the latter institution as an arm of the state, given that it has its own objectives and motivations relative to the wider world, and these at times conflict with those of the Kremlin.

The Kremlin has stood in the center of Moscow, Russia for almost 850 years. It has survived many wars and many regimes. Its history and its impressive architecture are discussed.

In this interview, architect Lev Larenyov, head of historic and cultural restorations, discusses the history of the Kremlin and its current renovations. The Kremlin, with its fortress walls, cathedrals, palaces and administrative buildings, represents many styles of architecture and reflects various eras in Russian history.