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St Basil's Cathedral

New Year's Eve in Red Square

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Every New Year's Eve we went to Red Square with a hundred thousand or so of our closest friends, to see the New Year in. Remember Y2K, when all of the "experts" in the West said that everything in Russia would melt down when the date changed to the year 2000? Well, we were in Red Square, waiting to see what would happen.

We tried to arrive between 11:00 and 11:15 PM (23:00-23:15). Getting there early meant that we we could get a good place to stand. Twice we were able to stand on the steps of the "place of execution" right beside the Cathedral of St Basil the Blessed. It offers excellent visibility, from there one can see over the crowd. Also, it is much safer. People in the crowd have their own roman candles and sparklers and sky rockets, and let them off without much regard for the thousands of people standing next to them. It is a bit chaotic, but great fun nonetheless.

Photos of New Year's Eve celebrations in Red Square.

To view any photo at full size, click on the thumbnail. All photos are copyright Wayne and Patricia Primeau. All Rights Reserved.

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The domes of St Basil's seem to glow against the night sky.	At 11:15 there are still only a few people.	The crowd in Red Square builds as midnight approaches.
The Spasky Tower clock counts down the time until midnight.	St Basil'illuminated by the sky rockets">	This is what we have been waiting for.
St Basil's against the glowing sky.	More sky rockets light up the cathedral.	Domes silhouetted against the orange sky.
The sky changed colour with each new burst.	The glow of the sky rockets was diffused by the low cloud cover, turning the sky orange.	It was the most beautiful spectacle I had evern seen.

Links to our Russia section

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Click on the link to visit the Vysoko-Petrovski Monastery.

Click on the link to learn about Zvenigorod.

Click on the link to learn about our our first Russian winter.

Click on the link to see summer life along the Moscow River.

Click on the link to see views of Moscow in summer from the river.

Click on the link to see the Bolshoi Theatre and its environs.

Click on the link to take a self-guided tour of the Moscow Metro.

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Patti

This page was updated on 26 November 2007.

Contact me at: patti.primeau@sympatico.ca

This site was edited using Nvu and Style Master.

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