#Things to do in Moscow

3. Lenin’s Mausoleum

Political visionary or ruthless dictator? Whatever your opinions on the leader of the Russian Revolution, there’s no doubt that Vladimir Ilyich Ulaynov, otherwise known as Lenin, was one of the most compelling and influential figures of the 20th century. The concrete and marble Mausoleum, on the edge of the Red Square, is a striking enough building in its own right, but the fact that it houses Lenin’s embalmed body in a glass sarcophagus is what draws approximately 2.5 million visitors each year, despite rigorous security checks and lengthy queues. It was first opened to the public in 1924, shortly after Lenin’s death, although it didn’t exist in its current form until 1930, when completed by the architect Aleksey Shchusev, who had been commissioned with its design and was also responsible for the two temporary monuments that stood in its place previously.

4. St Basil’s Cathedral

This is one of Moscow’s most iconic and instantly recognizable structures. Despite the appearance for which it’s so well known, however, the structure was originally built to be white, and its domes were gold; only 1860 did it take on its current aspect – think color swirls on garlic bulbs, psychedelic Disneyland, acid castles in the sky. Originally commissioned by Ivan the Terrible to commemorate the capture of Kazan from the Mongols in 1552, it was created between 1555 and 1561. Consisting of nine separate chapels, myths swirl around its domes like the colors themselves – for example, that Ivan had the builders blinded so that they could never create anything comparable. Narrowly avoiding destruction under Stalin, the Cathedral is now a museum, with only one annual service held in October.