The 43 Postcards Project: Moscow

Okay, so where am I?

It’s the start of the year and with my Kontinental Hockey League book deal in place I set onto to Moscow to interview as many ex-players, executives, and broadcasters as possible. I only had a few days before my itinerary called for an overnight train trip to Saint Petersburg, so time was of the essence.

Moscow wasn’t the capital of Russia. When it was first mentioned in historical records in approximately 1140, it was simply a small town of little importance. Muscovites today consider Prince Yury Dolgoruky their city’s founding father, but it was only recorded that he dined with friends in the town of “Moskov,” named after the local Moscow River. It remains unclear exactly when this town was established, but at the time of Dolgoruky it was governed by a noble called Kuchka, who fell out with the prince over taxes and was sentenced to death.

A small fortress was built on Borovitsky Hill by Dolgoruky’s son, Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky; it was the first in a long succession of structures that eventually became the Moscow Kremlin. Moscow remained a small town while the nearby city of Vladimir rose in prominence and overtook Kiev, the old capital, in importance. Moscow’s luck would change only later.

I grew up during the Cold War: a time of border standoffs, spy-versus-spy intrigues and the bristling tensions of the Berlin Wall. Today Moscow’s glittering malls and stylish cafes might seem light years away from the gray concrete and paranoia of that era — a period that stretched from the end of World War II in 1945 to the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 — but its remnants are everywhere. From bunker complexes to rusting MiG fighter jets to the vestiges of long-defunct secret weapons programs, Moscow is a living museum of the epoch that shaped the 20th century.

During this trip I stayed close to Red Square in the plush Ararat Park Hyatt conducting my interviews from their luxurious 10th floor lounge with the best panoramic views in Moscow. Taking a quick trip with me around town in these 20 visuals captured in my few free minutes in the city.