Three Days in Moscow [antikvár]

TO THE READER As its title suggests, this guide is written for the foreign tourist visiting Moscow for a limited period of time. It will acquaint you with the most important sights and places of interest including both monuments of history and culture and contemporary structures and landmarks. Not only will it serve as a source of interesting facts and information, this guide will offer helpful suggestions as to what best to focus attention upon, thus economizing both your time and energy. It is not necessary that you follow all the itineraries outlined in the guide - you may want to plan your own sightseeing tour of the city, selecting those things which correspond to your own personal interests. To describe a city as vast as Moscow is difficult, especially within such a small compass. Those who would like a more comprehensive and detailed acquaintance with Moscow should turn to more substantial works. This English language edition of our short guide has been expanded and revised, taking into consideration many comments and suggestions received from readers. However, everything in this world is subject to change and Moscow is no exception in this respect. In the time that has passed since the guide went to press, Gorky Street has regained its old name of Tverskaya. There are plans to give back some twenty other Moscow streets their historic names. The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance has been reorganized to become an international organization for economic cooperation. Many new shops, restaurants, theatres and newspapers have appeared. Few travel books are without errors, and no guidebook can ever be completely up to date. While every effort has been made to ensure that all information is accurate at the time of going to press, the publishers will be glad to receive any corrections and suggestions for improvements, which can be incorporated in the next edition. Please, write to 8111 Petrovka Street, Moscow 103031, USSR. Planeta Publishers A Brief Sketch of the City A BRIEF SKETCH OF THE CITY Moscow is an extremely large city. It stretches approximately 30 kilometers from west to east, and 40 kilometers from north to south. Its area, as encompassed by the Circular Motor Road (109 kilometers long, radius from the center—17-23 kilometers), is about 1,000 square kilometers. In recent years new residential areas have spread beyond the Motor-Road. Take a look at a map of the Soviet Union. The city in which you are now located is situated in the European part of the country, at an almost equal distance from the western borders of the USSR and the Ural Mountains which divide Europe and Asia. Moscow is at the center of the East European plain. For those who like exactitude, and for possible comparisons with the locations of other cities, its geographical coordinates are as follows: 55° 45' in latitude and 37° 37' in longitude from the Greenwich meridian. Moscow is bounded on all sides by coniferous and deciduous forests. The Moskva River flows through the city a distance of approximately 80 kilometers from the north-west to the south-east. To the north of the city the Moscow Canal joins the Moskva River to the great Russian river the Volga. In the southeast the Moskva River flows into the Oka, one of the largest tributaries of the Volga. Thanks to the canal, the Volga, and other rivers, Moscow is a port of five seas: the capital is accessible to vessels from the Baltic, Whhe, Caspian, and Black seas, and the Sea of Azov. Topographically speaking, Moscow lies primarily on an extensive plain, a factor which adds some measure of comfort to the tourist's excursions about the city. Moscow is surrounded by a broad network of towns, settlements, and villages, whose residents make up a portion of the capital's work force. Up to one million people commute daily to Moscow from the outlying areas of Moscow Region. The number of permanent residents is about 9 million. Muscovites are sociable, hospitable people. They love their city and take great pride in showing its sights to visitors. And now some facts the tourist should know about the climate. Each season has its own special charm. The summer, spring, and fall are aU good times to visit Moscow. And as for the winter—we believe it's an especially good time! Moscow has a moderately continental climate. But in comparison with other major European cities, the yearly amplitude of temperature fluctuations is much higher, averaging 28 °C. The average winter temperatures over many years are as follows: -7.6 °C in December, -10.2°C in January, and -9.6 °C ia February. The first frosts begin towards the end of September, and the first snowfalls usually occur in the latter part of October or early November. The snow cover is generally established by late November, and begins to thaw in the first half of April. As a rule, Moscow summers are warm and sunny. However, there can be hot spells, as in the summer of 1972 when the temperature remained above 30 °C for 23 days. The average summer temperatures over many years are: +15.8 °C in June, +18.1 °C in July, and -I-16.2 °C in August. In summer there are frequent thunderstorms, especially in July. The weather in Moscow is usually quite pleasant in spring and early au- ''il,