Moscow landmark the Hotel Metropol has been sold into private hands following an auction.

The five-storey Art Nouveau jewel sits just off Red Square, opposite the recently renovated Bolshoi Theatre.

Originally built by an industrialist at the turn of the 20th century, Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin gave speeches there after the Russian Revolution of 1917.

The first constitution of the Soviet Union and the words of its national anthem were written in the building, according to legend.

Hotel entrepreneur Alexander Klyachin is believed to have bought the property, paying an estimated $276 million.

It was sold by the city of Moscow as part of a privatisation program.

Other notable guests at the property have included United States president Barack Obama and Chinese president Hu Jintao.