Moscow. What WhatIsisIt it Like?

1.

2.

What
WhatIsisIt
it Like?
like?
Moscow is the capital city of Russia, with the largest population in the country
What is it like?
(more than 13 million people).
Moscow was founded by
Prince Yuri Dolgoruky
and was first mentioned
in Russian chronicles in
What is itto
like?
1147. According
archaeologists the city is
likely to be 300 years
older.
People who live there are
is it like?
called What
Muscovites.
Moscow celebrates its city
day on the second
What is it like?
weekend of September.
Think: When does Moscow celebrate its
city day this year? How old is Moscow?

3.

Moscow Landmarks
Name
WhatofisCountry:
it like?
City
Population:
What
is it like?
Russia
13.1 million
CityWhat
Foundation
Year:
is it like?
1147
Famous
What Landmarks:
is it like?
The Kremlin
Red Square
The Tretyakov Gallery
St Basil’s Cathedral
The Bolshoi Theatre
Think: What other Moscow
landmarks do you know?

4.

The Kremlin
The Kremlin is the heart of Moscow. It
stands high onWhat
the Borovitskiy
is it like? Hill above
the Moscow River.
The original Moscow Kremlin
was made
of white
stone and
What
is it like?
dates from 1156.
The Kremlin and two of its important churches were rebuilt by Italian architects
What is it like?
between 1475 and 1510.
Kremlin means ‘fortress’ in Russian and many
old Russian citiesWhat
and towns
have their
is it like?
kremlins.
Think: What other
cities have kremlins?
Answer: Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan,
Tula, Suzdal and some others.
“Kremlin”by Larry Koester is licensed under CC BY 2.0.

5.

Red Square
Red Square is one of the oldest and most famous squares in the world.
What is it like?
It is called Red Square because ‘red’
‘beautiful’ in Russian in the past.
Whatmeant
is it like?
If you stand in Red Square you can see
the Kremlin, St Basil’s Cathedral, Lenin’s
Mausoleum, the
entrance
to the new park
What
is it like?
called Zaryadye and many other
historical buildings and monuments.
During the winter holidays
you will be able to ice skate
is it
on the What
ice rink
in like?
the middle
of Red Square.
“Rainy Red Square”by maxhermus_is licensed under CC BY 2.0 (Colour edited).
Click me
Watch the video and write down some
new landmarks or interesting facts.

6.

St Basil’s Cathedral
St Basil’s Cathedral is one of the most recognisable and
What
is it like?
unusual churches in the
world.
St Basil’s Cathedral was ordered to be built by Ivan the Terrible in 1555 to
celebrate the capture of Kazan. What is it like?
People say that Ivan the Terrible blinded the
architect who built this masterpiece so he
is itcathedral
like?
could not create What
another
as
magnificent as St Basil’s.
There used to be eight chapels around
the central chapel. The tenth chapel
Whatover
is it the
like?
was erected later
grave of a
local saint, Basil.
Think: Can you think of any other
unusual churches? What makes them
special?

7.

The Bolshoi Theatre
The word Bolshoi means ‘big’ in Russian. For many years it was the biggest theatre
in Moscow and it remains one of theWhat
mostissignificant
it like? theatres in the world.
Bolshoi theatre is more than 240 years old. The Bolshoi burned down several
What
is itislike?
times. The Bolshoi that we can see
today
the fourth one.
The Bolshoi ballet company is the
biggest in the
world,
What
is itwith
like?more than
200 dancers.
The formation of the USSR was
officially What
proclaimed
from the
is it like?
stage of the Bolshoi Theatre!
Think: What century was the
Bolshoi Theatre founded?
Answer: The Bolshoi Theatre was
founded in 1776 (the 18th century).

8.

The Tretyakov Gallery
The gallery's collection consists entirely of Russian art. Now it has more
that 180 000 fine art items. What is it like?
The gallery is named after its founder Moscow art collector Pavel Tretyakov
What
it like?
who offered his private collection
of 1 is800
works as a gift to the city.
The main building of the gallery is in neo-Russian style. It
looks like something from a Russian fairy tale. It hosts
works from the 11th century till the 20th century. The New
What contemporary
is it like?
Tretyakov gallery represents
Russian art of
20th-21st centuries.
Think: How many times larger is
the gallery's collection now,
compared to Pavel Tretyakov's
private collection?
Answer: 100 times
larger!

9.

Transport
Moscow has one of the most advanced transport systems in the world.
Moscow transport includes enormous subway system and new surface metro,
updated buses, electric buses andWhat
modern
is ittrams,
like? carsharing, bike sharing and
scooter sharing.

10.

Moscow Metro
The construction Moscow Metro began in 1931. The first line was opened four
Whatsubway
is it like?
years later. Today it is one of busiest
systems in the world.
Almost all the stations are built as individual projects. There are a lot fascinating
What is it like?
and unique stations.
Metro is the cheapest and fastest transport in
Moscow. There is free wi-fi, multimedia systems
What is it like?
and USB ports in some of the trains.
Look and think: Look at the
Moscow Metro map. How
many lines are there in
Moscow's subway system?
Click me
for map
Answer: 15 lines + 3 surface metro lines
= 18 lines in total (for August 2023)
“Moscow Metro, Mayakovskaya” by Кирилл Чеботарь is licensed under CC BY 2.0.