Cultural Overview Of Moscow

Moscow has been the heart of Russia, even when the capital of Imperial Russia was St. Petersburg and as such, many of the cultural and artistic developments and achievements took place here. The city's buildings are incredibly beautiful or awesomely gross. Soviet era high rises contrast with elegant neo classsical structures and ornate Gothic and Baroque palaces, residences, churches and cathedrals, the imposing citadel of the Kremlin and the instantly identifiable multicoloured domes of St. Basil.

Down centuries, painters, craftsmen, artistes and literateurs like Ilia Repin, the 19th century master, the icon painter Andre Rublyov, writers Chekov, Tolstoy, Pushkin, Pasternak and Gorky lived and worked in the city. Composers and choreograhers, directors and playwrights premiered their works at the Bolshoi Theatre, the Bolshoi Ballet and Opera Company, the Music Conservatory, the Moscow State Symphony and the Tchaikovsky Concert Hall. The Soviets patronised and supported the arts in order to emphasise Russia's heritage, its cultural grandeur and the superiority of the socialist system. Whatever the reasoning, films, ballet, circus, music and the fine arts flourished in Moscow.

Traditional craftsmen brought their wares to sell to the rich aristocrats in Moscow, some like Carl Fabergé become so popular that the stayed put and established workshops here. Among the many handcrafted items available in the city are the well known matryoshka dolls, laquerware boxes, richly embellished samovars, the black, red and gold Khokhloma wooden items, ceramics, porcelain, lace and jewellery.