One of the most important and famous exhibits is the “Cap of Monomakh”, a hereditary coronation crown of Russian tsars up to the end of the 17th century. The crown is a golden pointed headwear with sable trimming decorated with precious stones and surmounted by a cross. According to the legend, the cap was sent by Emperor Monamachus of Byzantium to Grand Prince Vladimir Monomakh of Kiev.

The Armoury Chamber houses the permanent exhibition “Dimond Fund of Russia” with a unique collection of precious stones and jewelry of the 18th – 19th centuries: Russian diamonds and brilliants, gems, collections of golden and platinum nuggets. The Armoury Chamber treasures are of world-wide significance.

The Tsar Cannon and the Tsar Bell are considered wonders of Russian casting work. The bronze 40-ton Tsar Cannon was cast in the 16th century. Some sources say that the cannon was named so because of its enormous size, others say that it was named after tsar Fyodor Ivanovich (the son of Ivan the Terrible) whose picture is carved on the barrel. The cannon stood at the Kremlin wall but, according to the information available, it never fired. The Tsar Bell is also of an amazing size. It is the biggest bell in the world. The bell weighs 12 000 poods (over 200 tons), it is 6 m high. An attempt to lift the bell failed, in the fire of 1737 the bell cracked and 11.5 ton piece broke off which is now put on a pedestal near the bell.

Red Square is the central square of the city. In older times the square was known as Torg (Trade) and only in the middle of the 17th century it acquired its present name. The word “red” meant primarily “beauti ful”, not without reason a beautiful girl in old Russia was called a “red girl”. Just opposite the Spassky Gate there is an elevated platform behind a cast-iron fence – Lobnoye Mesto where important tsar’s edicts and sentences to offenders were proclaimed. However, it didn’t serve as a place of execution, the scaffolds were set up in another, distant place. A real adornment of the square is the Intercession Cathedral or better known as the Cathedral of Vasily Blazhenny (St. Basil’s Cathedral), unusual for Russian architecture, as if emerging from fairy – tale pages. The multi-coloured pointed dome uniting into a single group several cupolas, original decorative forms and cheerful colours rivet our eyes and involuntarily make us smile. The cathedral was laid under Ivan the Terrible to commemorate the subordination of the Kazan Kingdom to the Moscow State. The ensemble of Red Square includes the monument to Minin and Pozharsky who in the early 17th century were at the head of the liberation struggle of the Russian people against Polish-Lithuanian and Swedish invaders. This is the first sculptural monument in Moscow opened in 1818.

Reminiscent of the Soviet epoch is Lenin’s Mausoleum with the embalmed body of the leader of the proletarian revolution. Near the Kremlin wall there is the Revolutionary Necropolis, a burial place of distinguished Soviet leaders Stalin, Brezhnev, Andropov, the first cosmonaut Yury Gagarin, the father of Soviet atomic bomb Igor Kurchatov, the general designer of space ships Sergei Korolyov.

The Historical Museum is found in Red Square too. Represented in its rooms, each of which is decorated in the style of a certain historical period, are Russia’s historical monuments from the ancient times up to the early 20th century. Besides, there is a separate exhibition of rarities. The Museum keeps archaeological collections, a unique collection of coins and medals, on display are documents and autographs, icons, portraits, prints, photos, manuscript and early printed books, old weapons, rare items of old fabrics, garments, full-dress uniforms, works of applied art.

Zaryadie – a district in the centre of Moscow where the most ancient Here, there is the “English Yard” - residental place for visiting English merchants and diplomats. This structure was accidentally discovered by restorers inside an ordinary 4-storeyed house that was to be pulled down. As a result, an architectural monument dating from Ivan the Terrible’s time was discovered. It is said to be the oldest residential building in Moscow.

Among the most interesting is the Znamensky Monastery complex with the surviving five – domed cathedral, a refectory, a belfry and cell building. This was also the site of the patrimonial estate of boyar Romanov, the legendary birthplace of the first tsar of the Romanovs’ dynasty – Mikhail. In the 19th century in the territory of the complex one of the first Moscow museums was opened included by the European International Forum of 1998 into thirty best museums of Europe. One can see the interior of a wealthy boyar’s house with the authentic items of applied art: tile stoves, silver plates and dishes, facial embroidery, trunks. Visitors may become acquainted with the life style of boyars, pass through the study, dining room, women’s attic, have a look at the entrance – hall. The exposition includes also the first in Russia underground archaeological museum containing a potter’s workshop of the 15th – 16th centuries.

The Cathedral of St. Saviour is a grandiose cathedral demolished in the Soviet period and reconstructed in the 1990-s. It was conceived as a memorial to the liberation of Russia from Napoleon’s troops. The construction of the cathedral in the style of the Greek-Byzantine basilicas began in the late 19th century and continued for about 20 years. The money for its construction was collected by subscription. The best specialists were involved in the construction: famous artists painted the walls, the most talented sculptors created high-reliefs. In 1924, in the Soviet period, an idea was conceived of building in the place of the cathedral the Palace of Soviets in the form of a tall tower crowned with a statue of Lenin. By Stalin’s order the cathedral was pulled down and some plates bearing the names of heroes of the Patriotic War of 1812 were used to decorate some buildings in the city. The Palace of Soviets was never built and in place of the foundation ditch and outdoor swimming pool emerged. The main sacred objects in the Cathedral are the icon of the Nativity of Jesus Christ brought from Bethlehem, six authentic restored canvases of Russian painter V.P. Vereschagin and the authentic throne of His Holiness the Patriarch Tikhon in the main Sanctuary. The Cathedral is designed for 10 000 parishioners.

New Maiden’s Nunnery. If you look at the city from the observation platform on the Vorobiyovy Hills on the left you may clearly see very light, tracery New Maiden’s Nunnery built of red brick and white Moscow stone. The idea of the nunnery was conceived by Ivan the Terrible’s father who in 1525 decided to erect a convent and the Smolensky Cathedral to commemorate the liberation of the town of Smolensk from Lithuanian occupation. For a long time the nunnery was the place of solitary life of princes’ and boyars’ widows and orphaned daughters. After a woman retired to the cloister all her property was transferred to the Nunnery. A great contribution to the development of the nunnery and its architectural ensemble was made by tsarevna Sofia exiled to the nunnery after her brother Peter I had come to power. The first wife of Peter I also lived there.

The Smolensky Cathedral contains frescoes of the 16th century, carved iconostasis and items produced by tsar’s craftsmen. In 1922 a museum was opened in the Nunnery – a branch of the Historical Museum.