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The park surrounding the palace was built in French style and still has many sculptures and small pavilions. You will encounter the Dutch House, the hermitage, and the Italian Grotto. The Grotto was built from shells and stones imported to Russia from the Mediterranean Sea. In front of the Grotto we saw the five small pavilions built for swans and other birds. This was the site of a fabled romance involving a Sheremetyev Count and a beautiful serf actress. The Sheremetyev family was engrossed in the theater and supported actors and actresses from the serf class.

One of the most famous performers was the actress, Proskovya, known as Jemtchugova. Her voice was one of the greatest ever heard in old Russia.

The last, but far from least attraction encountered, was the outstanding porcelain collection known as the pride of Kuskovo. It is the most complete collection of porcelain in the country. Not everyone gets to Kuskovo. I hope that you will!

The bulk of the art contained therein belonged to the famous patron of Russian art, Pavel Tretyakov. He began to amass his collection of art during the middle of the 19th Century. Upon his death his collection went to the city of Moscow. A fund was created to maintain the original art and to acquire additional pieces. The end result is arguably the most famous and largest collection of national art in Russia.

Tretyakov, in effect, created what was to become the first museum of art in the country. The art collection boasts a huge collection of Russian icon paintings and also the largest number of works of the famous Itinerant Painters of Russia.

The Itinerant Painters have always been my favorite group of Russian artists. Their ranks include the most brilliant Russian painters. If you visit Russia, do whatever it takes to see the works of these artists first hand. Vasily Perov, Ivan Kramskoi, Grigory Miasoyedov, Vasily Maximov, Nikolai Gay (GHE), Savrasov, Prianishnikov, Savitsky, Repin, Kuinji, Polenov, Yaroshenko, Ivanov, Serov, Vasnetsov, Stepanov, Arkhipov, Kasatkin, and Levitan are among my personal favorites. These immortals of Russian art, along with many others, constituted the courageous band of artists known as the Peredvizhniki (Wandering Artists). These artists insisted on painting realist art. This art glorified Russian life and nature as never before. It must be seen!

Inside the walls of the citadel's watch towers were concentrated many of the most significant of Russia's oldest churches and living quarters. Over the centuries many buildings underwent changes. The churches and dwellings of the 18th and 19th Centuries are the most well preserved.

The oldest part of the Kremlin is the Cathederal Square. It is here that you will encounter the Cathederal of the Assumption which was built by the Italian architect, Aristotal Florovanty. This church served as the main Cathederal of Russia and it was here that the Tsars of Russia were crowned and where the most important political and religious ceremonies occurred.

In front of the south facade of the church of the assumption is the Cathedral of the Annunciation. This was the church of the Tsars and was built by Russian Masters in 1487-1489. There is also the Church of the Deposition of the Robe (1484-1486) which is characterized by the refined one dome construction that was built to memorize the occasion of the transfer of the Robe of the Virgin from Palestine to Konstantinopal. This church became the home church of Russian Metropolitans. Today it houses a collection of old Russian sculptures.

In 1508 the architect, Alviza Montanyana, built the Cathederal of the Archangel Michael. This church was very important until the beginning of the 18th Century because it was here that the Tsars and Dukes of Russia were buried. This changed with the death of Peter I, as he and his heirs, were buried in the Peter and paul Fortress in the new capitol city of St. Petersburg. Every church mentioned thus far are filled with collections of monumental art and some of the most venerated of all Russian icon paintings. It is important to note that the art contained in the churches was not destroyed or stolen as was often the case in occuppied parts of Russia during the first three years of WWII. Other old pieces of art and churches were destroyed the time after the Revolution of 1918.

The very name 'Arbat' is not only very old but is also very unusal. The name was derived from merchants who traded with Oriental countries back in the early 14th and 15th Centuries and who designated the suburbs where they lived and carried out commercial activities the 'Arbat'. Unfortunately the old wooden structures that were of that era burned down in a series of fires. During the latter half of the 18th Century the nobility of the city forced the merchants out of the area and turned it into the most prestigious area to live. It was not until 100 years later that the richest merchants returned and turned the area back into a center of business activity. One thing is sure, you will not only be able to find anything under the sun there that can be purchased in Russia, but you will find it in the most interesting circumstances that you can imagine.