The Heart of Russia: A Guide to Moscow's Red Square

As a second-generation Muscovite, I've spent over 30 years living in Moscow, and I still find myself shivering in the winter while eagerly running marathons in the summer.

The story of my family is intricately woven into the heart of this city. My great-grandfather worked as a barber at the iconic Metropol Hotel near Red Square, while my grandmother served as a doctor just a stone's throw away. My grandfather attended the Victory Parade on Red Square in 1945 when he was only 14 years old. On that day, he lost one of his shoes, but despite the throngs of people around him, he managed to find it again, thanks to the stone surface of the square.

The history of my city has been rewritten countless times, so I rely on a variety of sources—from travel guides and encyclopedias to library reference books and newspaper clippings—to reconstruct its key chapters.

Personally, I'm not fond of guided tours because dates and names tend to slip from my memory. What sticks with me are the stories and unusual facts. That's what I strive to collect for my audio tours.

The nearest Moscow Metro stations to Red Square are: Okhotny Ryad and Biblioteka Imeni Lenina (Sokolnicheskaya Line), Arbatskaya (Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line), Alexandrovsky Sad (Filyovskaya Line) and Borovitskaya (Serpukhovsko-Timiryazevskaya Line).