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Guides for the Business Traveler
Moscow (2009)
4 hours in Moscow (2009)
Bill Strubbe finds Moscow's lesser-known gems, from '50s skyscrapers to sushi and Art Nouveau masterpieces
 | Gorky House Museum Also known as the Ryabushinsky Mansion, this stunning Art Nouveau mansion was designed by architect Fyodor Schechtel, and became the residence of Russia's great proletarian writer Maxim Gorky from 1931 to 1936. Built in 1906, Schechtel incorporated brilliant hues and sinuous floral forms into the carved door panels, wrought ironwork, window frames, stucco moldings, light fixtures and huge stained glass window on the landing. The hallucinogenic, waveform, stone-carved stairway culminates at a newel post in a brass and stained glass lamp oozing stalactites. Really, it's a marvel! And the museum is free, though donations are accepted. Open Tuesday–Sunday noon–6:30 p.m.; 6/2 Malaya Nikitskaya Street; tel. 7-495-290-0535 (Arbatskaya Metro Station) |  | Eliseevsky Magazin Gone are the days when Moscovites had to stand in long lines for bread or milk. Now there's the likes of the grand Eliseevsky Magazin (from French, means "shop"), opened in 1901 by merchant Grigory Eliseev, where everything and anything you could possibly dream of to eat or drink is on offer: nostalgic Soviet chocolates, mountains of fresh fruits, Russian pickles and deli salads, flaky pastries, fresh cloudberries, caviars, imported cheeses, wines and Champagne. But center ring is the interior itself—an over-the-top extravaganza of mirrors, marble, and gilt chandeliers more befitting of a palace ballroom than a food hall. 14 Tverskaya Street; tel. 7-495-650-4643; www.eliseevskiy.ru/e_home.htm (Pushkinskaya Metro Station) |  | O2 Lounge Perched atop The Ritz-Carlton, Moscow, just two blocks from Red Square, the steel and glass dome of O2 Lounge offers an urban oasis, and one of Moscow's best views of the spires and walls of the Kremlin and Red Square. In the summer months, relax on the outdoor terrace under an umbrella in a comfy, exclusively-designed sofa while sipping a Mar(r)y Me Blondie—yellow tomato juice and vodka served with a lobster claw—smoking a hookah pipe, or grabbing treats fresh from the sushi bar. On Sundays, O2 hosts a spectacular brunch from noon to 4 p.m., with free-flowing wine and Champagne. 3 Tverskaya Street; tel. 7-495-225-8888; www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/Moscow (Okhotny Ryad Metro Station) |  | Bridge to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior Stroll across the new pedestrian Patriarshy Bridge—which features wrought-iron rails, old-fashioned street lamps, and fantastic views—to the Cathedral of Christ the Savior, which took 40 years to build in the 1800s. It was dynamited into oblivion (the marble was used to construct the Metro stations) by Stalin in 1931, then the basement foundations were turned into a massive heated swimming pool "for the people" by Khrushchev in the 1950s, and in the 1990s, it was reconstructed with oligarch money, precisely as it was a century ago. Visit the soaring interior, then purchase bilinis or paroshkis from the street vendors, and picnic in flower and fountain gardens surrounding the church. (Kropotkinskaya Metro Station) |  | Lomonosov Moscow State University On the highest point on the Vorobyovy Hills, above the Moskva River, rises the largest of Stalin's Seven Sisters—Empire State-like skyscrapers erected in the early 1950s. The inspiration for their out-of-place style sprung solely from a need to compete with the West. The complex of university buildings, sports facilities and botanical gardens clustered around the 787-foot central tower form a superb architectural ensemble. Just 30 feet from where you stand looking out at the Kremlin walls in the distance and the financial high-rises to the north, athletes swoop down two ski jumps that were built for the 1980 Olympics—the Luzhniki Olympic Complex is just across the river.
Kosygina Street; tel. 7-495-939-1000; www.msu.ru/en (Vorobyovy Gory Metro Station) |  | The State Tretyakov Gallery Pavel Tretyakov, a wealthy merchant with a passion for collecting art, assembled the core of this museum, which possesses the finest collection of traditional Russian painting in the world, in the 1800s. Tretyakov donated his extensive collection to the city in 1892, and subsequent enlargement has long since provided the gallery with far more works than it can possibly exhibit in its limited space. While the bejeweled and precious metals icons are dazzling, the Chagalls delightful, and the historical works insightful, the new gallery dedicated to Mikhail Vrubel is stupendous—the centerpiece is a monumental Art Nouveau piece, Princess Reverie. Moving and stunning are Vrubel's two Demon paintings, which I couldn't take my eyes off of, and even returned to for a final look before leaving. Open Tuesday–Sunday 10:30 a.m.–7:30 p.m.; 10 Lavrushinsky Lane; tel. 7-495-953-1051; www.tretyakovgallery.ru/en (Tretyakovskaya Metro Station)
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