Museum sights in Moscow
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Gulag History Museum
In the midst of all the swanky shops on ul Petrovka, an archway leads to a courtyard that is strung with barbed wire and hung with portraits of political prisoners. This is the entrance to a unique museum dedicated to the Chief Administration of Corrective Labour Camps and Colonies, better known as the GULAG. Guides dressed like guards describe the vast network of labour camps that once existed in the former Soviet Union and recount the horrors of camp life. Millions of prisoners spent years in these labour camps, made famous by Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s book The Gulag Archipelago. More than 18 million people passed through this system during its peak years, from 1929 to…
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Armoury
The Armoury dates back to 1511, when it was founded under Vasily III to manufacture and store weapons, imperial arms and regalia for the royal court. Later it also produced jewellery, icon frames and embroidery. During the reign of Peter the Great all craftspeople, goldsmiths and silversmiths were sent to St Petersburg, and the armoury became a mere museum storing the royal treasures. A fire in 1737 destroyed many of the items. In the early 19th century, new premises were built for the collection. Much of it, however, never made it back from Nizhny Novgorod, where it was sent for safekeeping during Napoleon’s invasion in 1812. Another building to house the collection was …
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ZKP Tagansky Cold War Museum
On a quiet side street near Taganskaya pl sits a nondescript neoclassical building. This is the gateway to the secret Cold War–era communications centre, ZKP Tagansky. Operated during the Cold War by Central Telephone and Telegraph, the facility was meant to serve as the communications headquarters in the event of a nuclear attack. As such, the building was just a shell and served as entry into the 7000-sq-metre space that is 60m underground.
Now managed by private interests, the facility is being converted into a sort of museum dedicated to the Cold War. Unfortunately, not much remains from that era. The vast place is nearly empty, except for a few exhibits set up for …
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Borodino Panorama
Following the vicious but inconclusive battle at Borodino in August 1812, Moscow’s defenders retreated along what are now Kutuzovsky pr and ul Arbat, pursued by Napoleon’s Grand Army. Today, about 3km west of Novoarbatsky most and Hotel Ukraina (where Russian commander Mikhail Kutuzov stopped for a war council) is the Borodino Panorama, a pavilion with a giant 360-degree painting of the Borodino battle. Standing inside this tableau of bloodshed – complete with sound effects – is a powerful way to visualise the event.
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Gallery of European & American Art of the 19th & 20th Centuries
The Pushkin Fine Arts Museum is expanding and the first step was to move its excellent collection of 19th- and 20th-century European art next door into its own gallery. A collective ticket to both museums, as well as the Museum of Private Collections, is available for adults/students for R500/300.
The new gallery contains a famed assemblage of French Impressionist works, based on the collection of two well-known Moscow art patrons, Sergei Shchukin and Ivan Morozov. It includes representative paintings by Degas, Manet, Renoir and Pisarro, with an entire room dedicated to Monet. Rodin’s sculptures include pieces from the Gates of Hell and the Monument to the Townspeople o…
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Museum of Decorative & Folk Art
Just beyond the Garden Ring, this museum showcases the centuries-old arts and crafts traditions from all around Russia and the former Soviet republics. It includes all the goodies you might find in souvenir shops or at the Izmaylovo Market, but these antique pieces represent the crafts at their most traditional and their most authentic. Of the 40,000 pieces in the collection, you might see painted Khokhloma woodwork from Nizhny Novgorod, including wooden toys and matryoshka dolls; baskets and other household items made from birch bark, a traditional Siberian technique; intricate embroidery and lacework from the north, as well as the ubiquitous Pavlov scarves; and playful …
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Pushkin Literary Museum
Housed in a beautiful empire-style mansion dating from 1816, this museum is devoted to Russia’s favourite poet’s life and work. Personal effects, family portraits, (mostly) reproductions of notes and handwritten poetry provide insight into the work of the beloved bard. Tours (adult/child costs R120/50) are held daily at 1pm and 3.30pm. The elegant interior re-creates a fancy 19th-century atmosphere, especially the grand ballroom, which is decorated with mirrors, sconces, chandeliers and heavy drapes. Several rooms are dedicated to Pushkin’s specific works, demonstrating the links between his personal life and the poetry he produced. Perhaps the most interesting exhibit is…
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Bulgakov House-Museum
Author of The Master and Margarita and Heart of a Dog, Mikhail Bulgakov was a Soviet-era novelist and playwright who was labelled a counter-revolutionary and censored throughout most of his life. His most celebrated novels were published posthumously, earning him a sort of cult following in the late Soviet period. Bulgakov lived with his third wife Yelena Shilovskaya (the inspiration for Margarita) in a flat on the Garden Ring from 1931 until his death in 1940. Back in the 1990s the empty flat was a hang-out for dissidents and hooligans, who painted graffiti and wrote poetry on the walls. Nowadays, the walls have been whitewashed and the doors locked, but there is a small…
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Glinka Museum of Musical Culture
Musicologists will be amazed by this massive collection of musical instruments from all over the world. The museum boasts over 3000 instruments – handcrafted works of art – from the Caucasus to the Far East. Russia is very well represented – a 13th-century gusli (traditional instrument similar to a dulcimer) from Novgorod, skin drums from Yakutia, a balalaika (triangular instrument) by the master Semyon Nalimov – but you can also see such classic pieces as a violin made by Antonio Stradivari. Recordings accompany many of the rarer instruments, allowing visitors to experience their sound. This incredible collection started with a few instruments that were donated by …
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Ivan The Great Bell Tower
With its two golden domes rising above the eastern side of Sobornaya ploshchad, the Ivan the Great Bell Tower is the Kremlin's tallest structure - a landmark visible from 30km away. Before the 20th century it was forbidden to build any higher in Moscow.
Its history dates back to the Church of Ioann Lestvichnik under the Bells, built on this site in 1329 by Ivan I. In 1505, the Italian Marco Bono designed a new belfry, originally with only two octagonal tiers beneath a drum and a dome. In 1600, Boris Godunov raised it to 81m, a public works project designed to employ the thousands of people who had come to Moscow during a famine.
The building's central section, with guilded…
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Vasnetsov House-Museum
Victor Vasnetsov (1848–1926) is a Russian-revivalist painter and architect who is famous for his historical paintings with mystical and fairytale subjects. In 1894 Vasnetsov designed his own house in Moscow, which is now a small museum. Fronted by a colourful gate, it is a charming home, still filled with the original wooden furniture, tiled stove and many of the artist’s paintings. The attic studio, where he once painted, is now hung with paintings depicting Baba Yaga and other characters from Russian fairytales. Early on, Vasnetsov was scorned for his fantastical style, as it was such a startling contrast to the realism of the Peredvezhniki. Even Pavel Tretyakov, the mo…
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Moscow Museum of Modern Art
A pet project of the ubiquitous Zurab Tsereteli, this museum is housed in a classical 18th-century merchant’s home, originally designed by Matvei Kazakov (architect of the Kremlin Senate). It is the perfect light-filled setting for an impressive collection of 20th-century paintings, sculptures and graphics, which includes both Russian and foreign artists. The highlight is the collection of avant-garde art, with works by Chagall, Kandinsky and Malevich. Unique to this museum is its exhibit of ‘nonconformist’ artists from the 1950s and ‘60s – those whose work was not acceptable to the Soviet regime. The gallery also hosts temporary exhibits that often feature contemporary a…
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Shalyapin House-Museum
The world-famous opera singer Fyodor Shalyapin (also spelt Chaliapin) lived in this quaint cottage from 1910 to 1920 with his Italian wife and five children. In Russian cultural life, the eminent bass stands alongside icons such as Konstantin Stanislavsky and Maxim Gorky. Indeed, his stature is evident from the museum exhibit, which features photographs of the singer in such admirable company, as well as gifts and correspondence that they exchanged. More interesting for theatre buffs are the posters featuring Shalyapin’s most celebrated performances, original stage costumes and recordings of his performances. Occasional concerts are held in the museum’s white room. Next d…
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Rublyov Museum of Early Russian Culture & Art
On the grounds of the former Andronikov Monastery, the Rublyov Museum exhibits icons from days of yore and from the present. Unfortunately, it does not include any work by its acclaimed namesake artist. It is still worth visiting though, not least for its romantic location. Andrei Rublyov, the master of icon painting, was a monk here in the 15th century. He is buried in the grounds, but no one knows quite where. In the centre of the monastery grounds is the compact Saviour’s Cathedral, built in 1427, the oldest stone building in Moscow. The cluster of kokoshniki (gables of colourful tiles and brick patterns) is typical of Russian architecture from the era. To the left i…
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Tolstoy Literary Museum
Opposite the Pushkin Literary Museum is the Tolstoy Literary Museum, supposedly the oldest literary memorial museum in the world (founded in 1911). In addition to its impressive reference library, the museum contains exhibits of manuscripts, letters and artwork focusing on Leo Tolstoy’s literary influences and output. Family photographs, personal correspondence and artwork from the author’s era all provide insight into his work. This museum undoubtedly contains the largest collection of portraits of the great Russian novelist. Entire exhibits are dedicated to his major novels such as Anna Karenina and War and Peace. The museum does not contain so much memorabilia from…
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FSB Museum
It calls itself the FSB Museum, named for the Federal Security Service, the successor to the KGB. But this four-room museum is devoted to the history, propaganda and paraphernalia of the Soviet intelligence services, from the Cheka to the KGB (you won’t find much in-depth info on the operations of the current security service!). An FSB agent leads a small group, room by room, recounting Cold War–era espionage anecdotes. Exhibits include a few fun spy tools, but nothing to really impress a technologically advanced audience. The museum was closed for renovation at the time of research, with the close-lipped security service giving no indication of when it might reopen. Even…
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Krasny Oktyabr Chocolate Factory & Museum
After more than a century of producing chocolates and other sweets, the famed Krasny Oktyabr factory, opposite the Church of Christ the Saviour, was finally forced to close. The closure happened as part of an effort to remove industry from the historic centre of the capital. This prime real estate, which boasts the best views of the Kremlin, is being converted into high-rent real estate. However, in a rare and enlightened move, the historic industrial building is being preserved. The garages and other outbuildings have already been taken over by artists for gallery and studio space, known as Art Strelka. A small museum will remain open to document the history of the compl…
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Museum of Oriental Art
This impressive museum on the Boulevard Ring holds three floors of exhibits, spanning the Asian continent. Of particular interest is the 1st floor, dedicated mostly to the Caucasus, Central Asia and North Asia (meaning the Russian republics of Cukotka, Yakutiya and Priamurie). But the entire continent is pretty well represented, even the countries that were not part of the Russian or Soviet empires. The collection covers an equally vast time period, from ancient times to the 20th century, including painting, sculpture and folk art. One unexpected highlight is a special exhibit on Nikolai Rerikh, the Russian artist and explorer who spent several years travelling and painti…
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Museum of Private Collections
Next door to the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum, this smaller museum shows off art collections donated by private individuals, many of whom amassed the works during the Soviet era. Exhibits are organised around the collections, each as a whole, and the details of collectors and donors are displayed alongside the art. The centrepiece, perhaps, is the collection of the museum’s founder, Ilya Silberstein, an accomplished historian of Russian literature and art. Other highlights include a collection of Old Believer icons from the 16th to 20th centuries, the Lemkul room exhibiting fantastic glassworks, and impressive exhibits of 20th-century artists such as Alexander Rodchenko and B…
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Sakharov Museum
South of Kursky vokzal, by the Yauza River, is a small park with a two-storey house containing the Andrei Sakharov Museum. The park is dotted with unusual sculptures, most built from weapons and other military-industrial waste. Look out for a piece of the Berlin Wall that has been repurposed in a poignant display. The exhibits recount the life of Sakharov, the nuclear-physicist-turned-human-rights-advocate, detailing the years of repression in Russia and providing a history of the courage shown by the dissident movement. Temporary expositions cover current human-rights issues and contemporary art. Curators at the Sakharov are frequently in the news for the controversy sur…
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Chekhov House-Museum
‘The colour of the house is liberal, ie red’, Anton Chekhov wrote of his house on the Garden Ring, where he lived from 1886 to 1890. The red house now contains the Chekhov House-Museum, with bedrooms, drawing room and study all intact. The overall impression is one of a peaceful and cultured family life. The walls are decorated with paintings that were given to Chekhov by Levitan (painter) and Shekhtel (Art Nouveau architect), who often visited him here. Photographs depict the playwright with literary greats Leo Tolstoy and Maxim Gorky. One room is dedicated to Chekhov’s time in Melikhovo, showing photographs and manuscripts from his country estate.
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Museum of the Great Patriotic War
To the west of the Borodino Panorama, Victory Park is a huge memorial complex celebrating the Great Patriotic War. The park includes endless fountains and monuments, the Memorial Synagogue at Poklonnaya Hill and the memorial Church of St George.The dominant monument is a 142m obelisk (every 10cm represents a day of the war). The Museum of the Great Patriotic War, located within the park, has a diorama of every major WWII battle the Russians fought in. Exhibits highlight the many heroes of the Soviet Union and also show weapons, photographs, documentary films, letters and many other authentic wartime memorabilia.
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Rerikh Museum
Nikolai Rerikh (known internationally as Nicholas Roerich) was a Russian artist from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, whose fantastical artwork is characterised by rich, bold colours, primitive style and mystical themes. This museum, founded by the artist’s son Sergei, includes work by father and son, as well as family heirlooms and personal items. The artwork is intriguing: Rerikh spent a lot of time in the Altay Mountains of Siberia, Central Asia and India, so his paintings feature distinctive landscapes and mythological scenes. The building – the 17th-century Lopukhin manor – is a grand setting in which to admire the artwork.
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Matryoshka Museum
On a quiet side street, the Matryoshka Museum – formerly the Museum of Folk Art – is a two-room museum showcasing designer matryoshka dolls and different painting techniques. The centrepiece is a 1m-high matryoshka with 50 dolls inside. The exhibit demonstrates the history of this favourite Russian souvenir. Don’t come looking for modern-day, pop-culture-inspired dolls because the museum takes a traditionalist tact. Downstairs, an excellent souvenir shop offers a wide selection of handicrafts, including hand-painted matryoshki.
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Diamond Fund Exhibition
This collection, mainly precious stones and jewellery garnered by tsars and empresses, includes such weighty beasts as the 190-carat diamond given to Catherine the Great by her lover Grigory Orlov. The displays of unmounted diamonds are stunning, revealing the real beauty of these gems. There are almost no signs, even in Russian, as the locals are only allowed in as part of a guided tour. No tours are offered in other languages, which is to your advantage, since you do not have to wait as the Russian visitors do. It's in the same building as the Armoury.
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