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The Krasnaya Presnya district just beyond ploshchad Vosstaniya is chiefly notable for the ex-parliament building known as the White House (Beliy dom), a marble-clad hulk known around the world for its starring role in two confrontations in the 1990s: the 1991 putsch against Gorbachev and the 1993 "October Events" when 200 deputies occupied the White House until they were stormed by Yeltsin's troops three weeks later. Since then, the building has been officially renamed the House of Government (Dom Pravitelstvo), and its present occupants have taken precautions against future trouble by erecting a concrete-slab fence around the perimeter. Demonstrations - such as the 1998 three-month camp-out by miners who had not received any pay for over six months - are limited to the humped bridge nearby. Over the river, patriotic ardour finds an outlet at the unique, immense Borodino Panorama at Kutuzovskiy pr. 38 (Mon-Thurs, Sat & Sun 10am-6pm; $4), housing a painting 115m long and 15m high, with 3000 figures. This monument to the Battle of Borodino, fought against Napoleon in 1812, was completed in 1912, dismantled soon after the Revolution, then re-established here thirty years later. However, patriotism reaches a climax at the memorial complex to the Soviet victory in World War II, the sprawling Victory Park (Park Pobedy), on the far side of the highway. It's best to come here on Victory Day (May 9) - still a genuinely heartfelt celebration drawing thousands of veterans and their families. Southeast of Victory Park, Moscow State University (or MGU, pronounced "em-gay-oo") occupies the largest of the city's seven Stalinist-Gothic skyscrapers, which dominates the plateau of the Sparrow Hills (Vorobyovie gory), overlooking the Moskva River. Besides the university, the attraction is quite simply the panoramic view of Moscow, with Luzhniki stadium and the Novodevichiy Convent in the foreground, the White House and the Kremlin in the middle distance, and six more Stalinist skyscrapers ranged across the city.
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