The Red Square is the historic and spiritual heart of the city, so loaded with associations and drama that it seems to embody all Russia’s triumphs and tragedies.
The name Red Square (Krasnaya ploshchad) is derived from krasniy, the old Russian word for “beautiful”, which may have come to mean “red” giving the people’s desire for bright colours during the long, drab winter months rather than a communist association. To one side is Lenin Mausoleum , where Vladimir Lenin lies embalmed in a glass tomb. The famous guard that used to stand watch over the Mausoleum has been reinstated mainly for the tourists at the grave of the Unknown Soldierjust off the Red Square. Silhouetted against the skyline where the Red Square slopes to the Moscow River is St. Basil’s Cathedral . The sight of the multihued onion shaped domes and tapering spires is a familiar one – but nothing quite prepares you for the startling beauty of this legendary monument.