Moscow Guide
The Kremlin
Senate Palace
The imposing Senate Palace was erected in 1776–87 by Matvei Kazakov. The edifice was commissioned by Catherine the Great for meetings of the Moscow branch of the Senate, an advisory body established in 1711; since 1991 it has been the official residence of Russia's president. From Red Square you can see the green cupola of its grand hall, formerly used for meetings of the USSR Council of Ministers and the awarding of Lenin Prizes. During the late 1990s, the modernization of its interior gave Yeltsin an excuse to get rid of Lenin's quarters, which had been preserved as a hallowed shrine, and revealed a secret passage beneath Stalin's study, that may have enabled the secret police chief, Beria, to eavesdrop on his boss. The staggering cost of the modernization – at least $457 million, or $13,125 a square metre – was equalled by its tackiness; the inner courtyard being turned into a winter garden of artificial trees made from green and yellow glass.