Red Square

Red Square is the main square of Moscow and of Russia, located between the Moscow Kremlin and the historic Kitai-gorod district, next to the gently sloping Vasilyevsky Descent leading down to the Moskva River. The square stretches along the northeastern wall of the Kremlin; it is 330 meters long, 75 meters wide, and covers a total area of 24,750 square meters. Together with the Kremlin, it is included on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

The first chronicle mention of the territory of the future square dates to 1434, and up until the early 17th century it was known as Torg ("the Market") or Pozhar, an "empty, vacant place" associated with trade rather than with fire. The modern name "Red Square" first appears in documents in April 1661; according to a widespread interpretation, the adjective "red" (krasnaya) was used here in its older sense of "beautiful." From the 16th century the square was Moscow's main marketplace, home to as many as 150 specialized trading rows, as well as the site where tsarist decrees were proclaimed from the Place of Skulls (Lobnoye Mesto) and where public executions were carried out, the largest of which took place in 1570 under Ivan the Terrible.

The architectural appearance of the square took shape over centuries. In 1555–1561 the Cathedral of the Intercession on the Moat (Saint Basil's) was built on its southern side; stone trading rows were built in 1596–1598, and the Merchants' Court (Gostiny Dvor) in 1635. After the fire of 1812 the ensemble was rebuilt by the architect Osip Bove, who at the same time had the Alevizov Moat along the Kremlin wall filled in and installed the monument to Minin and Pozharsky by the sculptor Ivan Martos (1818) — Moscow's first sculptural monument. In 1874 the State Historical Museum was built on the site of the demolished Zemsky Prikaz building, and in 1890–1894, to a design by the architect Alexander Pomerantsev, the new Upper Trading Rows were erected, with glass roofing engineered by Vladimir Shukhov — today the GUM department store building.

From 1909 to 1930 a tram line ran across the square. After the 1917 revolution the square became the main venue for Soviet celebrations: the first, wooden Lenin Mausoleum appeared there in 1924, and in 1930, when the stone Mausoleum was built, the cobblestones were replaced with paving stones of Karelian gabbro-diabase, which remain in place to this day. In the 1930s the Kazan Cathedral and the Resurrection Gate were demolished; both were later recreated in the 1990s. For decades the square hosted military parades and demonstrations, including the parade of 7 November 1941, when troops marched straight from the square to the front. After the collapse of the USSR the square has continued to be used for public events and festive celebrations, retaining its status as the country's symbolic center.