Fodor's Expert Review Pushkin Square

The most popular meeting place in town is located at the intersection of ulitsa Tverskaya and the Boulevard Ring. Every evening in good weather you will see crowds milling by the bronze statue of Alexander Pushkin (1799–1837), which stands at the top of a small park. It's the work of Alexander Opekushin and was erected by public subscription in 1880. It is impossible to underestimate Russia's love for the poet, who is credited with founding modern Russian literature. One of his most famous lines, from his novel in verse Eugene Onegin (1823), is about Moscow: "Moscow, how many strains are fusing / in that one sound, for Russian hearts! / what store of riches it imparts!" Summer and winter, fresh flowers on the pedestal prove that the poet's admirers are still ardent and numerous. Also at this site is the country's first McDonald's, once the busiest in the world, and a restaurant and shop called Armenia, which sells that country's famed Ararat brandy and other delicacies.