The Trans-Siberian railway: The Trans-Siberian railway is the world’s longest railway and crossing Russia takes eight days! If you travel on it from Moscow to Vladivostok, you would cover a distance of 9,198km (5,778m).
Commissioned by Tsar Alexander III, its construction began in 1891 and was completed in 1916. It is actually made up of three rail routes that traverse Siberia from Moscow, with the Trans-Mongolian going from Moscow to Beijing, China; Trans-Manchurian passing through Siberia and Chinese Manchuria to Beijing; and Trans-Siberian proper is the one that goes from Moscow to Vladivostok.
If you travel on it, you would cross many rivers, lakes, mountains, valleys, forests and eight time zones. The rail crosses many rivers, such as Yenisey, Ussuri and Ob, and the longest bridge spans two kilometres over River Amur, near Khabarovsk. Most of the construction was in areas that were thinly populated with harsh climatic conditions and Lake Baikal was one of the largest obstacles. This was understandably so because Baikal is the world’s oldest and deepest lake!
The construction of the railway required a large number of workers and for this they had to be hired from central Russia and transported to Siberia. Interestingly, many of the workers were soldiers and convicts.
Kremlin: Founded in the 12th century by Prince Yury Dolgoruky, the Kremlin in Moscow is probably the most famous building in Russia. It is a fortified complex in the heart of Moscow with four palaces, four cathedrals and the Kremlin Wall surrounding all these with great towers.
Kremlin is a Russian word for citadel, serves as the government’s headquarters and had been an administrative and religious centre since the beginning. It was constructed like a city with everything that a ruler would want – palaces, government offices, churches, markets and much more. The tall wall protected from enemy attacks and the wall was initially wooden but was later replaced with a stone wall to guard against fire. The walls are topped on each side by seven towers, 20 towers altogether, including the Spasskaya with its famous chimes, above the main gate.
Next to the bell tower is the Czar Bell, the world’s largest bell, that weighs and astonishing 200tonnes and is 20 feet in height!
Pretty lightweight in comparison, the Czar Cannon nearby is just 40 tonnes.
Among the palaces in the Kremlin is the Grand Palace, rebuilt under the communist regime and which houses the Russian parliament. Then there is the 15th century Granovitaya Palata, which housed the throne and banquet hall of the czars while the Oruzheinaya Palata served as the armoury.
The word ‘Kremlin’ is often used as a synonym for the government. — Complied by M. Bilal Arshad