Moscow Meanderings: Two jewels of Socialist Realism and Sparrow Hills

Red Army Theater

Last week I walked some 8 kilometers to the Red Army Theater and back, and it's in our "neighborhood". Such are the distances in Moscow! Anyways, it was worth the walk because it's probably one of the only theaters with a plan in the shape of a star. Gotta love the Socialist detail too- what looks like a classical columns are actually a star-shaped columns and their capitals have little hammers and sickles on them. Now that's a commitment to theme! It was completed in 1940 and now it's called the Theater of the Russian Army and still hosts plays.

To continue my education of Stalinist architecture, we visited Moscow State University on Sunday, which includes the largest of the "7 sisters" towers (7 sky-scrapers built under Stalin's orders to rival capitalist counterparts). I've seen pictures of this thing, but nothing really prepares you for the scale of that monster. Built in 1953, it's a whopping 36 floors, has approximately 5000 rooms and 33 kilometers of corridors. It is part of a larger (monumentally large) university complex with many buildings. Apparently that star on top weighs 12 tons. Some impressive numbers indeed.

Moscow State University

Petr from the park around the main building

A view of Moscow from Sparrow Hills

The university is located on a ridge south of the center called Sparrow Hills. If you've ever read The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov (I highly recommend it), this is the location of the Sanatorium. There is a lookout area where you can get a view of part of the city, as I think the only way to capture the entire cityscape is from the sky. Many brides and grooms can be seen here having their photos taken. And in Moscow, where there are newlyweds, there are stretch Hummers. I saw three or four. In addition to stands selling corn on the cob and matryoshka dolls, you can find two ski jumps on Sparrow Hills. They're both built up on rickety-looking scaffolding. Thank you, but HELL NO. We walked down the wooded slope to the river bank below, me in my trusty flat brown boots, every Muscovite woman toddling around on stilts-like heels. Just taking a leisurely Sunday stroll in my 6" royal blue velvet boots with diamond details and a matching fur coat. I know they're not immune to foot pain too, cause I see loads of foot massagers for sale in the metro underpasses. Insanity.

Another rather insane observation for the books: they are cleaning the roads now. And not just with water- with soap too. That's got to be great for the environment. But this is coming from the people who don't seem to know what recycling is, nor do they have any problem with leaving the car running while they sleep inside. But why clean the roads now? Preparing a clean surface for the coming snow I guess.