Tourist in Moscow

Day 6: Moscow

I did some admin this morning - picked up my Trans-Siberian train tickets from the travel agency that booked them for me, got myself a Russian sim card. Then I went to Red Square. 

They are gearing up for a big event - there were temporary stands of seating set up in the middle of the square. It must be the Moscow City Day celebrations which take place this weekend. Either the action has started already or there were some performers rehearsing this afternoon. I saw a military type band that didn't look Russian but I couldn't tell where they were from (perhaps central Asia) which had the strange composition of bagpipes, drums and a descant recorder! And a military horse display.

My blip is the typical tourist shot of St Basil's Cathedral. The inside was totally different to any other church I've seen. There's no space big enough for a congregation to sit for a service! And this evening I went to the Jewish Museum and Tolerance Centre which gave an interesting overview of the history of Jews in Russia, including pogroms and the fate of Soviet Jews during the holocaust.