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On the first evening of 2008 I and my wife Olga decided to go out and take some pictures of the most famous landmarks of Moscow at the beginning of the year. It were a lot of people on the Red Square, even I can say that it was completely full and it was not possible to make any good pictures also because of a stage for concerts and ice rink for skating in it. So that I decided to take pictures in other places where it was not so crowded...

There are a lot of interesting decorations in Moscow made for the current winter holidays (in Russia from Dec 30th till Jan 8th) and one of the best part of it - New Year trees which are going up all over the Moscow, almost on each square you can see very interesting and different by shape and colors of its garlands a New Year tree. But all of these nice decorations have not real trees inside - these are modern metal constructions adorned with numerous neon lights (besides at least the main New Year tree in the Moscow Kremlin which considered the main Christmas tree of Russia and was delivered to city from Moscow region before winter holidays :-)).

This picture I took on the Lubyanka square which in Soviet times was acciated with KGB and till 1991 in the middle of this square was standing a huge monument to Felix Dzerzhinsky who founded a secret police (Cheka) in new Soviet state after revolution (like many others, the statue was removed in August 1991). From the left side, behind this festive New Year tree, you can see part of the large building with a facade of yellow brick - this is the former KGB Headquarters. Containing the Lubyanka prison, this building is now the headquarters of the Border Troops, and it also contains a single Federal Security Service (FSB) Directorate.

You can see also another picture from our "Moscow by Night" tour on Jan 1st - Laser effects on the MGU.

PS: Happy New 20008 Year!

With BEST Regards,
Arthur Lookyanov
Private Guide & Personal Driver in Moscow
Last Edited: Jan 2nd, 2008

Random customer's Responses & Recommendations.

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Kevin Feldman (Denise, Zoe, & Max to
From: Healdsburg (Sonoma Co) CA., USA
Date: 2007-07-14 04:16:00

Our brief two days in Moscow could not have been better thanks to you, Arthur. Our family of 4, including a 17 yr old boy and 13 yr old girl had a complete blast - from incredible WW 2 sites, memorials, amazing trips to Red Square and the Kremlin... we had no idea Moscow had so much to offer (we liked it far more than St. Pete -which we enjoyed too), I could not agree more w/all the comments below re: being on time, informed, and fun to be with - I would add that the ability to accommodate the needs of a crazy family like ours, your flexibility and willingness to "do what it takes" makes you a very special guide indeed... we felt like good friends after one evening together! I absolutely recommend your services to anyone interested in really experiencing Moscow!