VOL.93/2026.04

 

[New Ways of Walking Through Cities ⑬]

A City Cold Yet Warm at Heart: Moscow

 

2026.01.05

 

 

Famous cities around the world tend to carry images of their own. Paris, the city of romance; New York, the center of popular culture; and Rome, often regarded as the very heart of ancient European culture?each city’s name becomes an icon and an object of aspiration. In this way, Moscow, the capital of Russia, the largest country in the world, has long been perceived as the center of the “Iron Curtain.” The term “Iron Curtain,” used during World War II by Nazi propaganda minister Paul Joseph Goebbels, referred to the closed nature of the Soviet Union and the communist states of Eastern Europe at the time. It portrayed the Soviet Union’s isolationist policies and police-state system as an “impenetrable barrier.” In 1946, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill also expressed distrust in a speech toward the influence of the Soviet Union and the control Moscow exerted over certain Eastern European cities and their residents.
Moscow, too, has a history marked by hardship. In the 19th century, much of the city was burned and destroyed during Napoleon’s invasion. In the 20th century, there was also the German-Soviet War, in which the city ultimately prevailed after nearly one million Soviet soldiers were killed during Germany’s surprise attack in the German?Soviet War. Perhaps because of these historical experiences, even after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 and the end of the Cold War, Moscow has continued to retain the image of a cold and heavy city. Common preconceptions about Russians being sparing with their smiles also touch upon that image.
However, anyone who has experienced Moscow even once would tell a different story. This is especially true for those with a strong interest in culture and the arts. Moscow is home to a wealth of world-class cultural heritage: the Kremlin, a UNESCO World Heritage Site; the Bolshoi Ballet, renowned for its long history and tradition; and the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatory Academic Music College, where Tchaikovsky served as a founding professor and left his name. For this reason, books about Moscow often feel similar to introductory guides to art, music, literature, and architecture. Perhaps the tendency to perceive Moscow as rigid and cold, despite its rich cultural and artistic beauty, stems from the notion of the “Iron Curtain,” which has prevented its true value from being fully recognized.

 

Between war and religion

 

 

Travelers who have grown accustomed to Europe often turn their attention to Russia. Those who have experienced the western edge of Europe?countries such as Spain and Portugal?shift their gaze eastward, extending their interest beyond the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary, and Ukraine, and eventually to Russia itself. If one has traveled through Northern Europe, especially Finland, it is highly likely that the sight of a train bound for St. Petersburg pulling into Helsinki Central Station has, if only briefly, stirred the imagination of a journey to Russia.
For the author, who taught students as a Korean-language teacher before retiring and becoming a travel writer, Russia must have been such a place as well. Having first experienced St. Petersburg, the author went on to publish My Next Destination: Moscow (written by Shin Yang-Ran, published by Book Blossom), and for her, Moscow was a city that had to be visited. Unfortunately, it was only upon arriving in Moscow that she learned that photographing the interiors of the city’s cathedrals?considered the very essence of Moscow?was strictly prohibited. Nevertheless, drawing on officially available photographic materials, the author gently and clearly explains the meaning that Orthodox Christianity and cathedrals hold for Russian people.

 

 

Most communist states outwardly guarantee freedom of religion, yet in practice suppress religious activity among their people. The Soviet Union was no exception during World War II. This was especially true under Joseph Stalin, widely known as a ruthless dictator. That such a figure conveyed his resolve to protect Moscow to the public through an old icon displayed in the Dormition Cathedral?where the coronations of successive Russian emperors had been held?suggests an underlying intention to control the people through religion. Yet the cathedrals introduced in this book, along with the icons that visually embody Orthodox faith?an artistic form that symbolizes the identity of Russian art and belief?ultimately affirm the nobility of the human will and the passion for beauty.

 

The hidden face of Moscow behind expressionless looks

 

 

It is difficult to deny that Russia carries a rigid image. This is due to the combination of Russians’ tendency not to smile readily in front of strangers and a cultural perception that regards an expressionless face as a mark of seriousness and sincerity, and thus values it highly. It is why scenes of Russians smiling together are hard to come by. There is a historical context behind this. Russia has endured prolonged periods of intense political upheaval and has been governed by a powerful, centralized political system. Revealing one’s moods and emotions openly could have been a dangerous act. Even so, to outsiders, the Russian reserve inevitably feels unfamiliar. The author, who worked as a marketer at a global advertising agency before coming to live in Moscow, “drawn by the pull of fate,” recalls her first visit to the city in Moscow Fantasy (written by Oh Se-Ah, published by Sigongsa Inc.), saying that she “felt like a prisoner being sent into exile in Siberia.” She is struck speechless by the elegance and beauty of Moscow’s subway stations, yet the thought that taking photographs freely is forbidden crosses her mind, leaving her unable to even take out her smartphone with ease. Still, such rigid apprehension did not last long.

 

 

The author, for whom even taking the subway had initially felt like a major adventure, soon comes to enjoy traveling farther and farther in order to “view” more subway stations. The subway stations were not the only destinations. Throughout Moscow are countless works and sites that Russia is proud of, and the world stands in awe; at times, one can also encounter moments of profound reflection on the essence of humanity. The author confesses that whenever life in Moscow left her feeling up against a wall, she found guidance and solace in the traces of great writers?Pushkin, Tolstoy, Gogol, and Gorky?who devoted themselves to an endless exploration of what it means to be human. Perhaps Russia is a place that offers a hospitality deeper than a smile.

 

Russia today, seen by a correspondent

 

 

Even as the Cold War has ended and the global order has shifted toward a US?China bipolar system, Russia’s global influence remains impossible to ignore. To this day, Russia is regarded as a military power possessing vast conventional weaponry, and also as a great nation with the world’s largest territory and seemingly boundless natural resources. Climate change, too, plays a role in expanding Russia’s influence. As global warming melts Arctic ice and widens the Northern Sea Route?one of Russia’s key national transportation corridors?Russia will be able to exert significant influence over international trade. If Korea were able to use the Northern Sea Route, travel distances could be reduced by up to 40% compared to the existing Malacca Strait?Suez Canal route. This is not merely an economic issue but one that extends into political and diplomatic realms, as maintaining communication and relations with Russia would take on considerable importance. For this reason, the account of the author who served as a Moscow correspondent in Moscow Dispatch: A Reporter’s Story (written by Ha Joon-Su, published by Gureona) inevitably invites curiosity.

 

 

Historians acknowledge that Russia made a decisive contribution to the Allied victory over Nazi Germany. Russians take pride in the fact that, through the sacrifice of about 27 million soldiers and civilians, they halted Nazi Germany’s eastward advance and helped preserve peace in the world. For this reason, Russia marks Victory in Europe Day each year on May 9 with a large-scale military parade. Present-day Russia spares no expense in showcasing its military might through these annual displays. If one is curious about why this is so, this book offers an answer. Through the sharp eyes of a foreign correspondent, it conveys both the human side of Russians who long for the era when they stood alongside the US as one of the world’s two great powers, and the tension surrounding events such as the sudden annexation of Crimea.

 

 

Most people who have experienced Moscow agree that it is “far more romantic than they had expected.” Many also say that behind its rigid expressions lies a shyly hidden warmth, more tender than that of many other places. This is especially true when it comes to culture and the arts. Those who have spent time studying there testify that Moscow is “a place where cultural pride is stronger and artists are treated with greater warmth than in any other European country or city.” Yet there is still a sense of tension in the way the world looks toward Moscow. For Russia, war may be seen as a moment to reclaim the image of a once-great homeland, but the radiant Russia the world hopes to see undoubtedly lies not in military force, but in culture. I hope that someday people from all over the world will be able to stand shoulder to shoulder and savor peace amid the countless works of art found in Moscow.

 

 

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Written by Jeong Hwan-Jeong