Aleksey arranged for an English speaking tour guide and we spent the day with her, in the rain, touring the many buildings of the Kremlin ( a fortress or citadel housing the offices of the Russian government. There are about a dozen in Russia, we were at the main one in Moscow).

Before we begin the tour we visit the luxury shopping mall on the east side of Red Square. The GUM shopping arcade has been a hive of Moscow shopping activity since it opened more than a hundred years ago. GUM offers a range of shops and boutiques over three floors in a palatial glass-domed building with a movie theater and plenty of dining choices.

As we enter the Kremlin grounds we are greeted by an of the impressive displays is the collection of canons representing battles won! 

The Tsar Bell is made of bronze, but the bell cracked during a fire after being completed and has never been rung. The bell is the largest bell in the world, weighing 220 tons with a height of 20 feet and diameter of 22 feet.

 

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