One last icon before...
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...heading to the Kremlin through the Trinity Gate Tower.
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The over the top State Kremlin Palace built in the 60's for the Communist Congress is now a concert and ballet auditorium (!).
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The Arsenal is ringed with captured Napoleonic cannons.
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A common self-serving tribute to the USSR.
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There are many cathedrals in the Kremlin... which were closed after the Revolution. But in 1941, Stalin secretly opened them for a service to pray for the protection of Moscow from the Nazi invasion.
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The tourist photo du jour is the Czar's Cannon, cast in 1586 and never shot.
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The Red Stars atop the five Kremlin towers were ordered by Stalin, who replaced the imperial Russian insignia of the double-headed eagle.
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The next day, I visit the ultimate tribute to Socialist Realism. Lenin stands before the old USSR Economic Achievements Exhibition (VDNKh), now called The All Russia Exhibition Center.
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Expecting crazy Commie kitsch, I am initially disappointed with the third rate display on (mostly destroyed) Russian ethnicities.
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But this neo-Hellenic dome with a Commie star at the top remains.
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Walking around reveals a (bizarre) bazaar of Western dregs (DVDs, MP3s, fake jewelry, crap, etc.) everywhere: the very thing the very exhibition once aimed to criticize.
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But the bombastic slogans indicating Soviet products' and workers' superiority remain.
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Walking around the park, I find this Islamic style building dedicated to the economic triumphs of Kyrgyzstan!
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It now houses a video arcade.
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Despite the crazy Commie self-adulation (which Russians surely disdain), the park itself is quite splended.
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It's locals that are cooling off in the fountain!
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VDNKh has buildings with vastly different architectural styles.
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Capitalist electronics meets Commie radio-waves...
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...at the Radio-Electronica building!
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I pause before a building dedicated to aeronautics.
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Inside the impressive Kosmos Pavillion is now a pathetic bazaar selling plants, soil, and the occassional TV.
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All this crap lies beneath an incredible glass dome with striking hammer and sickle architecture.
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The glory days of the Soviet space programs are now forgotten.
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However, I do manage to find this killer plastic Lenin thing for about $10. (I felt tasteless buying it.)
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The park is 2 km long and 1 km wide with massive boulevards.
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Some halls have very intense Islamic style architecture...
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...with truly palatial features.
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There are halls dedicated to Communist countries like Korea...
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...and appropriated Soviet Republics like Armenia.
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A ridiculous kids train passes in front of the bombastic rearside gate.
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Later in the day, an outdoor concert emerges in front of VDNKh.
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The Moscow youth come out in hordes.
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Lenin would surely have disapproved.
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Further past VDNKh is the Memorial Museum of Cosmonauts. (It is closed, of course.)
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As always, Lenin leads the way.
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But Lenin is the last thing on the minds of the red neck riche.
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Later in the night, I meet some friends for a drink and pass by the quintessential Commie TV tower.
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This American backpacker is on year two of his trip across the world. (We both enjoy the view.)
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Moscow at night, on a drinking expedition.
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