House on the Embankment

One of the more pleasant ways to sightsee in Moscow, notorious for its traffic, is on a river cruise. Cruise boats leave from Kievski Metro station, and a two hour cruise costs about $20. Among the many interesting sights you pass is the infamous House on the Embankment, showm above, on the south bank of the river near the Kremlin.

In the 1930s and 1940s many of Stalin's top generals and other advisers lived here. The building is said to contain secret staircases that security forces used to listen in on and arrest many of these people. Most of the people arrested were never heard from again.

Today the building is once again a very desirable place to live, with expensive apartments. On top (not really visible here) it boasts a very large silver coloured Mercedes-Benz symbol, ironically for a former Communist stronghold. It is, however, appropriate in light of the close ties that now connect Russia and its old enemy, Germany.