Ostankino Tower

Welcome, fellow travelers, to the Ostankino Tower, a masterpiece of Soviet engineering and a soaring symbol of Moscow's skyline. As we stand here at its base, you are looking up at the tallest freestanding structure in Europe and…

Before we go up, let us examine the 'roots' of this concrete giant. One of the most shocking facts about the Ostankino Tower is its foundation. …

It is time to enter the central shaft and begin our climb. We are stepping into the first high-speed elevators ever installed in Moscow. …

We have made a brief stop at the eighty-five meter mark, the first major technical level. This is a unique opportunity to see the 'inner world' of the tower. …

We have arrived at the main observation deck, three hundred and thirty-seven meters in the air. This corresponds to roughly the one hundred and twelfth floor of a standard building. …

Just below the observation deck lies the legendary restaurant complex, Sedmoye Nebo, or 'Seventh Heaven.' This was the 'dream' of Nikolai Nikitin—to allow visitors to see the entire horizon while they dined. The restaurant is…

To conclude our tour, let us look upward at the final two hundred meters of the tower: the metallic spire. While we cannot climb there, this is where the tower's primary work is done. …

As we return to the ground and step out from the shadow of the Ostankino Tower, take a moment to look back up. From this perspective, it again becomes that slender 'inverted lily' reaching into the sky. …