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.... and this years starting location is....
Red Square / Russia
Welcome to Red Square, welcome to Russia, and welcome to the GCC 2010. As tens of thousands of us descend on this cultural, political and spiritual heart of Russia (and the local souvenir Matrioshka Doll maker calls in reinforcements to ramp up production), it’s a good chance to have a look around this amazing spot.
On one side of the square sits the Kremlin and it was from here that ‘Ivan the Great’, ‘Ivan the Terrible’, ‘Ivan the Somewhere In-Between’*, Lenin, Stalin, Gorbachev and Yeltsin all made their mark on the world. You can still visit the glass tomb in Lenin’s Mausoleum inside the Kremlin Wall and see the man who, like his Marxist Communist legacy of government, is dead but not forgotten. On the other side of the square is the incredible St Basils Cathedral. Built in 1555, this Russian Orthodox icon is one of the most instantly recognisable symbols of Moscow, yet is one that only just survived demolition as Bolshevik planners of the 1930’s, and even Stalin himself, considered it an annoyance to urban development. Luckily they didn’t because the now UNESCO World Heritage site really is a breathtaking beginning to this year’s GCC. Good luck, congratulations on stepping up to the challenge and enjoy the GCC 2010.
*OK...he never actually existed but a ‘moderate Ivan’ who didn’t really do anything remarkable or particularly nasty would have been perfect for this title.
Did you know?
The ‘Red’ in Red Square doesn’t actually refer to communism or to the blood that has been spilt here by the likes of Ivan the Terrible (and a lot of blood was spilt because you don’t get a name like that from handing out balloon animals to kids). The Russian name ‘Krasnaya Ploschad’ originally meant ‘beautiful square’ in the Old Russian language. The direct translation only came to mean ‘red’ in more modern times
Red Square / Russia
Welcome to Red Square, welcome to Russia, and welcome to the GCC 2010. As tens of thousands of us descend on this cultural, political and spiritual heart of Russia (and the local souvenir Matrioshka Doll maker calls in reinforcements to ramp up production), it’s a good chance to have a look around this amazing spot.
On one side of the square sits the Kremlin and it was from here that ‘Ivan the Great’, ‘Ivan the Terrible’, ‘Ivan the Somewhere In-Between’*, Lenin, Stalin, Gorbachev and Yeltsin all made their mark on the world. You can still visit the glass tomb in Lenin’s Mausoleum inside the Kremlin Wall and see the man who, like his Marxist Communist legacy of government, is dead but not forgotten. On the other side of the square is the incredible St Basils Cathedral. Built in 1555, this Russian Orthodox icon is one of the most instantly recognisable symbols of Moscow, yet is one that only just survived demolition as Bolshevik planners of the 1930’s, and even Stalin himself, considered it an annoyance to urban development. Luckily they didn’t because the now UNESCO World Heritage site really is a breathtaking beginning to this year’s GCC. Good luck, congratulations on stepping up to the challenge and enjoy the GCC 2010.
*OK...he never actually existed but a ‘moderate Ivan’ who didn’t really do anything remarkable or particularly nasty would have been perfect for this title.
Did you know?
The ‘Red’ in Red Square doesn’t actually refer to communism or to the blood that has been spilt here by the likes of Ivan the Terrible (and a lot of blood was spilt because you don’t get a name like that from handing out balloon animals to kids). The Russian name ‘Krasnaya Ploschad’ originally meant ‘beautiful square’ in the Old Russian language. The direct translation only came to mean ‘red’ in more modern times
Stuffed if I understand that...I'm in to walk and register my steps, don't have the time or inclination to try and work out anything else.
Happy to pay for postage, just let me know the details.
