Moscow through the Eyes of an American
Moscow is the capital of the Russian Federation. It is not only the political center of Russia, but also the major cultural and transportation center. The tourist's initial impression of Moscow is influenced by its massive architectural style. Russians seldom, if ever, build anything small, and Moscow provides endless examples of the Russian love for big sizes. The main
thoroughfares are six to eight lanes wide. To cross them, pedestrians are required to use underground passageways located at various intersections. What at first impresses one, perhaps, more in Moscow, than in other Russian cities, is the people – the apparently unending masses of people. I saw them crowding cafes, shops, streets, Metro stations. I watched them packing the parks and the theaters and the restaurants. For the newcomer they are the city's most compelling attraction. Muscovites, like most Russians and their fellow Slavs in the Ukraine and Belorussia, are generous, considerate, emotional, and friendly. But these people can be hostile as well the way they were in the years of the Great Patriotic War when they had to defend their Motherland from the German fascists.