Famous Places! - Russian Ukrainian Belarus Travel Music Woman Dating News

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Famous Places!
(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)

Posted by: freebird

A thread to highlight some of the more memorable places in Russia/Ukraine/Belarus/FSU.

My idea is to post pictures, stories, tips & interesting facts about different parts of the former Soviet Union. I thought perhaps we could post a new place every week, and include descriptions of some of the things to see and do. Anyone can join in, if you have any additional photos, history or stories, etc. Please wait until the next weekend to post a new place, unless someone else has already done so. Hopefully there will be enough input to do a new place each week.

I thought it would be fitting to start in Red Square, but as I havn't been there someone else will have to do the honours. Also if you have a previous thread on the week's place post a link so that if someone wants to they can read the whole thread.

Posted by: freebird

Red Square {Moscow of course!}

Some pics from some of our most esteemed veteran RMP members, from the thread "post your Red Square pics", by Cheburashka

http://www.russianmeetingplace.com/...ighlight=square

Below are Cheburashka & Jutman:

Posted by: freebird

I hope that nobody minds if I re-post their pics here...

Some pictures from Bingism & Easy Target

Had anyone been in to see Lenin? What else is there to see in Red Square?

Are there shops & restauarants too, or is it just the square?

Can you go inside St. Basil's?

Posted by: blucatz

Freebird, you want me to move my Red Square pics over to this thread or leave them where they are?

Posted by: freebird

Yes please move them here! Thanks!

Can you tell a little bit about them too? What are the significance of some of the different buildings? I know St. Basil's is a church, but what is the clock tower? Are some of them museums?

Posted by: sidney

Had anyone been in to see Lenin? What else is there to see in Red Square?

Yes but don't attemp to take a camera they will find it with their metal detectors and make you take it to a drop off point where they hold it for a small fee. Also don't joke around or you'll be thrown out. Put on your best stone face a follow the crowd. I've never been pressed so hard with beautiful bods of total strangers. Seem to be a popular sight to see for 20 something women.

Are there shops & restauarants too, or is it just the square?

Lots of places to shop and eat. The underground mall and guum are the biggest.

Can you go inside St. Basil's?
Yes but again it's a chuch and respect should be shown or they will show you the door.
Sid

Posted by: blucatz

Red Square pics.

Posted by: blucatz

The big clock tower is like Big Ben in London, just that, a big clock tower. The other buildings not sure what the signifcance of them are, walking around with a hot blonde on my arm, I could have cared less what they were. But, I did get to kiss a Hot woman in the middle of Red Square, now I can cross that off my list of things to do before I die.

Posted by: blucatz

The picture with me is the Geographical center of Moscow, all the addresses and streets are based on this point. The one with the blonde is a fountain tunnel real close to Red Square, and no, you don't get wet walking thru it.

Posted by: freebird

Red Square seems remarkably neat & clean too!

Do they ever hold concerts in Red Square?

Posted by: GoingToRussia

Yes they have concerts. Paul McCartney has been there 2-3 times. He sang "Back In the USSR" too!

"The Ukraine girls really knock me out, they the west behind, and Moscow girls male me scream and shout, and Georgia's always on my my my my my my my kind!!!"

http://beatles.ncf.ca/redsquare.html

Posted by: Cheburashka

OMG! I had forgotten that those pics were on here. The goofy guy on the left is me. The gent in the middle is our own mod Jutman with his wife Natasha and translator. Thanks freebird. You made me smile today

Posted by: freebird

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cheburashka

OMG! I had forgotten that those pics were on here. The goofy guy on the left is me. The gent in the middle is our own mod Jutman with his wife Natasha and translator. Thanks freebird. You made me smile today

Yes a trip down memory lane...

Would love to hear some of your stories about Red Square, anything interesting happen there?

Posted by: sidney

Quote:

Can you go inside St. Basil's?

Yes but again it's a chuch and respect should be shown or they will show you the door.
Sorry confused St Basil with the pink church on the other side of red square, not sure of the name. For tickets to st basil get your girl to purchase or expect to pay much more.
Sid

Posted by: blucatz

Quote:

Originally Posted by sidney

Is this the pink church you are talking about?

Posted by: sidney

No it's the one to the left of the guum mall when looking from red square. It's a very small church. My wife doesn't remember the name either. It looks to be older then america.
Sid

Posted by: blucatz

Quote:

Originally Posted by sidney

No it's the one to the left of the guum mall when looking from red square. It's a very small church. My wife doesn't remember the name either. It looks to be older then america.
Sid

I don't recall any other pink type churches, of course, my attention was a little drawn to other Moscow attractions, mainly of the female type...LOL

Posted by: Chillidog

Have many more pictures, just downloaded different kind of pics (except of course St Basils)

To my information, all Government functions like Victory Day Parade all start when the Clock in Red Square hits 12:00. Inside most the buildings are off limits and used for State affairs/receptions of dignitaries and such.

Posted by: blucatz

Chilli, in the first picture, the one with the church, what object were you photographing, the church or the woman with the yellow top and white pants? You should have gotten a close up on the woman....LOL

Posted by: Chillidog

Quote:

Originally Posted by blucatz

Chilli, in the first picture, the one with the church, what object were you photographing, the church or the woman with the yellow top and white pants? You should have gotten a close up on the woman....LOL

That was my date!

was trying to get both in the shot, she was very upset when the Chinese tourists walked in front of me

Posted by: Raspberry

The only places you should be on Victory Day are Minsk and Moscow. Was a tad bit disappointed on how sleepy Zaporozhye was on the holiday.

Posted by: mistermopar

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raspberry

The only places you should be on Victory Day are Minsk and Moscow. Was a tad bit disappointed on how sleepy Zaporozhye was on the holiday.

Don't forget Volgograd(Stalingrad) on Victory Day,they have quite the celebration here.
I only got to see some of it because there waas so much going on.

Randy

Posted by: Raspberry

Yes, of course, I would imagine so.....

Posted by: Cheburashka

FYI on St Basils: There is absolutely no photography allowed and there are armed guards inside to enforce that policy. I remember walking through with a small Sony camcorder hidden under a fur usanka filming. I was scared shytless wondering what they would do to me if I got caught. But the film I have is priceless. I'll see if I can't dig it up and post it on YouTube or something. There are some breathtaking art works in there. If you like art, Moscow will blow you away; especially the Tretyakov gallery.

I was filming openly in the little church by GUM and got run out by a babushka who could have easily kicked my ass. I felt really bad for showing such disrespect for a place they hold so spiritually dear.

Posted by: Chillidog

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cheburashka

FYI on St Basils: There is absolutely no photography allowed and there are armed guards inside to enforce that policy. I remember walking through with a small Sony camcorder hidden under a fur usanka filming. I was scared shytless wondering what they would do to me if I got caught. But the film I have is priceless. I'll see if I can't dig it up and post it on YouTube or something. There are some breathtaking art works in there. If you like art, Moscow will blow you away; especially the Tretyakov gallery.

I was filming openly in the little church by GUM and got run out by a babushka who could have easily kicked my ass. I felt really bad for showing such disrespect for a place they hold so spiritually dear.

I was disapointed that I could not take pictures inside St Basils, and found other Chuches/Holy places in other cities I have been to to be this case as well, (but not all)

Tretyakov gallery, was fantastic, can't remember the name of the painting that is all in dark blue hues with the moon that looks like it not only is lighting up the river/landscape in the painting but it also felt like it was lighting up the area outside the painting as well. If you know the name of the painting and the artist would greatly appreciate the info.

While in Tretyakov gallery bought a book about the gallery and it's artist and paintings (one in English for me and one in Russian for my friend) but this book does not show this painting, and IIRC photos of this painting were not allowed because the painting continues to get darker (due to the chemicals used to create the colors) and flash from cameras would hasten this process

Posted by: EasyTarget

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cheburashka

FYI on St Basils: There is absolutely no photography allowed and there are armed guards inside to enforce that policy.

When I was there I remember that you could pay a "photo fee" and that would allow you to take photos inside St. Basils. I think it was 100r extra.

Posted by: Raspberry

I have never been to St. Basil's but it appears that with the light you get all kinds of different angles, with different colors, from all the pictures I've seen.

And for the record, it was the Italians who did the exterior, and you can tell that by the fact the colors are totally different than most Russian churches.

Posted by: Spakoyna

I think that the deal with pictures is many of the churches sell their books with pictures of the church. Some would allow you to take pictures if you paid a fee!

Posted by: Chillidog

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spakoyna

I think that the deal with pictures is many of the churches sell their books with pictures of the church. Some would allow you to take pictures if you paid a fee!

Yes, that is the case with many (most) of the sites churches/museums, if you want to take pictures there is an additional fee besides admission,

But I did run into some churches (I guess you could call a few of them Monastaries) were pictures were absolutly forbiden. I did even asked if there was an additional fee to be allowed to take pictures----HET.

One of these places made the women wrap skirts around their jeans/pants and cover their head with a scarf, because of traditions.

Posted by: freebird

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chillidog

One of these places made the women wrap skirts around their jeans/pants and cover their head with a scarf, because of traditions.

We were at one of these churches in the afternoon, and they were going to hold a wedding there. There were 3 girlfriends of the bride, they were dressed seriously skanky, the priest wouldn't let them in, they had to wait outside.

I mean they were wearing super short, skirts, leather tops, lots of jewellery & makeup. They looked like "biker tramps". Kinda provocative to wear that to a wedding

Posted by: Chillidog

Quote:

Originally Posted by freebird

Not exactly what I was refering to. My friend and her friend (background right) were dressed normaly, but the tradition is women cannot enter the church/monostary unless they are in a dress and have their hair covered. So even though they were dressed appropriate for normal occassions they had to wrap a skirt around their jeans and tie a scarf around their hair. I will post a picture even though it is not of Red Square and not even taken in Moscow

The Monastary is in the background (could not take pictures in there) and the office (it is just to the left in this picture) were a woman came running out to tell and give my friend and her best friend the dess/fabric you see wraped around my friends pants and the scarf on her head. This picture was taken just before returning the garments

Posted by: freebird

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chillidog

My friend and her friend (background right) were dressed normaly, but the tradition is women cannot enter the church/monostary unless they are in a dress and have their hair covered. So even though they were dressed appropriate for normal occassions they had to wrap a skirt around their jeans and tie a scarf around their hair. I will post a picture even though it is not of Red Square and not even taken in Moscow

I have seen this before too. Most Orthodox churchs have head coverings for women available, they may not require it but it is considered somewhat rude to go in without it. Not very many require the covering for the pants though. Most forbid photography as well

Almost every single {Russian} Protestant or Evangelical Christian church forbids the women to wear pants in church, they would be very surprised and dismayed to see a girl come into the church in pants.

Posted by: Raspberry

Americans are not generally conscious of what to wear at church....but there are some cases where it's not all that obvious.....I was in the north part of England, it was pouring down rain, and I was at Durham Cathedral......and asked for me to remove my hat...

Posted by: freebird

Anyone have an idea for the next "Famous Place"?

Does anyone have some good pic's they want to share?

I bet L & K have some good photo's & stories from Minsk....

Posted by: Chrismc

A few pics for you

Posted by: Chrismc

and some more

Posted by: Chrismc

more around Moscow

Posted by: Chrismc

one more

Posted by: freebird

Great pics Chris! Any interesting stories from Red Square?

Posted by: blucatz

Quote:

Originally Posted by freebird

Great pics Chris! Any interesting stories from Red Square?

Here's a myth that should be debunked, Red Square is not red....LOL. You would not believe how many people, after seeing my pics, commented on it not being red.

Posted by: Chrismc

Quote:

Originally Posted by freebird

Great pics Chris! Any interesting stories from Red Square?

The pictures of Red Square that are empty, is because it was 8th March and they closed it until 2pm that day, no one was allowed to walk over it for some reason??

Chris

Posted by: Chrismc

Quote:

Originally Posted by blucatz

Here's a myth that should be debunked, Red Square is not red....LOL. You would not believe how many people, after seeing my pics, commented on it not being red.

The name of Red Square derives neither from the colour of the bricks around it nor from the link between the colour red and communism.

The name came about because the Russian word красная (krasnaya) can mean either "red" or "beautiful" (the latter meaning is archaic). The word was originally applied (with the meaning "beautiful") to Saint Basil's Cathedral and was subsequently transferred to the nearby square. It is believed that the square acquired its current name (replacing the older Pozhar) in the 17th century.

Posted by: Chrismc

St.Basil-Moscow Red Square with Fireworks.

Posted by: Chillidog

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chrismc

Besides this explanation I was told another and my friend did not know which reason or both were the reason for name the "square"

the other explanation is;

during the revolution of 1917 the two armies were the "White Army" Romanov's and the "Red Army" the Bolshiviks', and since the Bolshiviks' were triumphent in the revolution. There is also speculation that with the Capitol of Russia now again becoming Moscow (instead of St Pete) that the square was then named "Red Square" in honor of the victory in the revolution.

again my friend related both stories and she herself was not sure which one is the reason it now being called "Red Square"

Posted by: stevo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chillidog

There is also speculation that with the Capitol of Russia now again becoming Moscow (instead of St Pete) that the square was then named "Red Square" in honor of the victory in the revolution.

That would be easily disproved if it was known as Red Square prior to the revolution... and indeed here is a German map of Moscow from the 1890s showing "Roter Platz".

Posted by: Cheburashka

Quote:

Originally Posted by freebird

Great pics Chris! Any interesting stories from Red Square?

There are lots of great things about Red Square. You definitely want to be there during any kind of celebration. If you can schedule yourself to be there for New Years, your mind will be blown. Those people party hearty. It is a blast! They have great concerts if a big name comes to town.

But something definitely worth the money is to get video taken with the myriad of impersonators there. I have footage of me talking with a Lenin �dead ringer� and it was really classic. He was a very good sport about the whole thing. There are a few who really do Lenin, Stalin, and Marx very well. I saw a Rasputin one time. He looked great. But then again, maybe that was his every day apparel.

Get a pic of yourself with a Soviet hero. It�s definitely worth the money.

Posted by: sidney

We were at a St Pete restaurant and some impersonators were there. I was busy talking at the time so I missed the oportunity. We went back 2 more time and they never showed. Don't miss the oportunity because it may not present itself again.
I never saw any in Moscow but it's probably all about being at the right place/time.
Sid

Posted by: Chillidog

Quote:

Originally Posted by stevo

That would be easily disproved if it was known as Red Square prior to the revolution... and indeed here is a German map of Moscow from the 1890s showing "Roter Platz".

Stevo,

Not sure if I am following your logic, or just missing something? To be named "Red Square" in honor of the victory by the "Red Army" would not be predicated on the Square having this name formerly.

I read your link and like I said, I am not sure if I missing your point or looking at this in a different manner then you are. Would welcome additional clarification by you

Posted by: blucatz

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chillidog

I agree Chilli, Im not following it either. I also would like some clarification of your post Stevo.

Posted by: freebird

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cheburashka

There are lots of great things about Red Square. You definitely want to be there during any kind of celebration.

Get a pic of yourself with a Soviet hero. It�s definitely worth the money.

And THAT pic was definitely worth the money!

Does anyone else have any more pics or anecdotes from Red Square? Otherwise I think I will post pics from some other place, this weekend....

Or if anyone wants to post pics from some other famous place from the FSU, feel free to jump in. It was my intention to keep this thread going, with a different place posted each weekend.

Posted by: Spakoyna

The Red and White Armies were during the revolution. He is showing you a German Map that shows it named the red square almost 30 years before the revolution! Ding,Ding DING!

Quote:

Originally Posted by blucatz

I agree Chilli, Im not following it either. I also would like some clarification of your post Stevo.

Posted by: Chillidog

Quote:

Originally Posted by Spakoyna

The Red and White Armies were during the revolution. He is showing you a German Map that shows it named the red square almost 30 years before the revolution! Ding,Ding DING!

Spakoyna,

I read the article again and still saw no reference to Red Square or what it was named at this time. It then dawned on me "Roter Platz" (when I clicked on to enlarge the map-in the link) and went to a translator program, because I know no German and had no idea what Roter Platz translated to.

Which according to Prompt translates to "Red Place" so thanks for clueing me up a bit.

One question since this is a German map from the 1890's, I am assuming this is also what the Moskovites called the square during this time as well?

Posted by: stevo

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chillidog

I read the article again and still saw no reference to Red Square or what it was named at this time. It then dawned on me "Roter Platz" (when I clicked on to enlarge the map-in the link) and went to a translator program, because I know no German and had no idea what Roter Platz translated to.
Which according to Prompt translates to "Red Place" so thanks for clueing me up a bit.

In fact it's also "Red Square" as "Platz" can be translated both ways. Sorry for the confusion, I thought even if you didn't understand German it would be obvious what I was driving at from the context.

Quote:

One question since this is a German map from the 1890's, I am assuming this is also what the Moskovites called the square during this time as well?

Well I would imagine so, but for the avoidance of doubt, near the bottom of this page is a map of the Kremlin from 1903 showing "Krasnaya Ploshad'".

Posted by: freebird

Quote:

Originally Posted by freebird

I think I will post pics from some other place, this weekend....

Ok, so we had the central plaza in Moscow {Red Square}, so perhaps we should have the central plaza in Kiev, Ukraine next.

This is "National Square" in Kiev, which was the location of the "Orange Revolution", when in the winter of 2004/2005 protesters filled the square demanding a re-count of the Presidential vote.

On the day I took this picture they were holding a free concert there.

Does anyone else have pictures of the square?

Posted by: Raspberry

Freebird, I've got some other photo angles of the square in Kiev. Will upload them as soon as I find them.

Posted by: Chrismc

Independance Square fountains

Posted by: Chrismc

Independance Square

Posted by: Chrismc

and another one

Posted by: Chrismc

one more

Posted by: freebird

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raspberry

Freebird, I've got some other photo angles of the square in Kiev. Will upload them as soon as I find them.

Great!

Posted by: freebird

Does anyone know the significance of the Arch in the National Plaza with the Black Angel on top?