Museum sights in Moscow
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Dostoevsky House-Museum
While this renowned Russian author is more closely associated with St Petersburg, Fyodor Dostoevsky was actually born in Moscow, and his family lived in a tiny apartment on the grounds of Marinsky Hospital. He lived here until the age of 16, when he went to St Petersburg to enter a military academy. The family’s Moscow flat has been re-created according to descriptions written by Fyodor’s brother. Visitors can see the family’s library, toys and many other personal items, including Fyodor’s quill pen and an original autograph.
reviewed
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State History Museum
At the northern end of Red Square, the State History Museum has an enormous collection covering the whole Russian empire from the time of the Stone Age. The building, dating from the late 19th century, is itself an attraction – each room is in the style of a different period or region, some with highly decorated walls echoing old Russian churches. Reopened in 1997, each year sees the addition of a few more galleries. A joint ticket (adult/student R230/90) allowing access to the museum and St Basil’s Cathedral is available at either spot.
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Pushkin House-Museum
After Alexander Pushkin married Natalya Goncharova at the nearby Church of the Grand Ascension, they moved to this charming blue house on the old Arbat. The museum provides some insight into the couple’s home life, a source of much Russian romanticism. (The lovebirds are also featured in a statue across the street.) Literary buffs will appreciate the poetry readings and other performances that take place here. This place should not be confused with the Pushkin Literary Museum, which focuses on the poet’s literary influences.
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Bakhrushin Theatre Museum
Russia’s foremost stage museum, founded in 1894, is in the neo-Gothic mansion on the north side of Paveletskaya pl. The museum exhibits all things theatrical – stage sets, costumes, scripts and personal items belonging to some of Russia’s stage greats. The exhibits are not limited only to drama, also tracing the development of opera, ballet and puppetry. Highlights include the costumes and stage set from Boris Godunov (starring the famous bass Fyodor Shalyapin) and the ballet shoes worn by Vaslav Nijinsky.
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Gogol Memorial Rooms
The 19th-century writer Nikolai Gogol spent his final tortured months here. The rooms – now a small but captivating museum – are arranged as they were when Gogol lived here. You can even see the fireplace where he famously threw his manuscript of Dead Souls. An additional reading room contains a library of Gogol’s work and other reference materials about the author. The quiet courtyard contains a statue of the emaciated, sad author surrounded by some of his better-known characters in bas-relief.
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Ostrovsky Estate-Museum
Alexander Ostrovsky is the 19th-century playwright who is often considered to be Russia’s greatest realist writer. This museum is devoted to his life and work. It is a tribute to Ostrovsky’s work for the Maly Theatre, which he founded, and also covers the area of Zamoskvorechie, where he lived and loved. Some of the writer’s personal effects are on display here. More intriguing are the paintings and engravings of old Moscow, which featured so prominently in Ostrovsky’s work.
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Contemporary History Museum
Formerly known as the Revolution Museum, this retro exhibit traces Soviet history from the 1905 and 1917 revolutions up to the 1980s. The highlight is the extensive collection of propaganda posters, in addition to all the Bolshevik paraphernalia. Look for the picture of the giant Palace of Soviets (Dvorets Sovietov) that Stalin was going to build on the site of the blown-up – and now rebuilt – Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. English-language tours are available with advance notice.
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Lermontov House-Museum
‘While I live I swear, dear friends, not to cease to love Moscow.’ So wrote the 19th-century poet Mikhail Lermontov about his hometown. The celebrated author of A Hero of Our Time lived in this little pink house on a small lane off ul Novy Arbat. Here, he was raised by his grandmother, and wrote poetry and prose in the primitive office in the attic. Today, the cosy bungalow evokes the family’s everyday life, displaying the poet’s books, artwork and hobbies.
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Dom Na Naberezhnoy
It isn’t much to look at, but this big apartment block on Bolotny Island is a historic building, once home to many old Bolsheviks and Civil War heroes, as well as artists, writers and scientists. The small museum on site recounts the life histories of its noteworthy residents, many of whom were eventually persecuted for their accomplishments. As such, the exhibit is sometimes called the Museum of Repression. Unfortunately, hours are sporadic and information is only in Russian.
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Central Museum of the Armed Forces
Covering the history of the Soviet and Russian military since 1917, this massive museum occupies 24 exhibit halls plus open-air exhibits. Over 800,000 military items, including uniforms, medals and weapons, are on display. Among the highlights are remainders of the American U2 spy plane (brought down in the Urals in 1960) and the victory flag raised over Berlin’s Reichstag in 1945. Take trolleybus 69 (or walk) 1.3km east from the Novoslobodskaya metro.
reviewed
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Archaeological Museum
An excavation of Voskresensky most (Voskresensky Bridge), which used to span the Neglinnaya River and commence the road to Tver, uncovered coins, clothing and other artefacts from old Moscow. The museum displaying these treasures is situated in a 7m-deep underground pavilion that was formed during the excavation itself. The entrance is at the base of the Four Seasons. It was closed at the time of research, but expected to reopen with the hotel.
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Moscow City History Museum
This elaborate Russian Empire–style building dates from 1825. Formerly the John the Baptist Church, it now houses a small history museum, demonstrating how the city has spread from its starting point at the Kremlin. Exhibits are heavy on artefacts from the 13th and 14th centuries, especially household items, weapons and other representations of medieval Moscow.
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Kremlin
The Kremlin is the symbol of the Russian state. From here Ivan the Terrible unleashed his terror, Napoleon watched Moscow burn, Lenin fashioned the dictatorship of the proletariat, Gorbachev orchestrated perestroika (restructuring) and Yeltsin concocted the New Russia.
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Central Lenin Museum
The former Central Lenin Museum was once the big daddy of all the Lenin museums, but was closed in 1993 after the White House shoot out. It is sometimes used for special exhibits or communist rabble rousing. More often, it is simply a backdrop for rows of souvenir kiosks.
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Moscow Museum of Modern Art
This is a branch of the main outlet on ul Petrovka, which is utilised for temporary exhibits of paintings, sculpture, photography and multimedia pieces. Be sure to check the website to see what’s on, as the museum often closes in between shows.
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Moscow Museum of Modern Art
This is a branch of the main MMOMA outlet on ul Petrovka, and is utilised for temporary exhibits of paintings, sculpture, photography and multimedia pieces. Be sure to check the website to see what’s on, as the museum often closes in between shows.
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Polytechnical Museum
The huge Polytechnical Museum covers the history of Russian science, technology and industry. Descriptions are in Russian only.
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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…
reviewed
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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…
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Cosmonautics Museum
The soaring 100m titanium obelisk outside the All-Russia Exhibition Centre is a monument ‘To the Conquerors of Space’, built in 1964 to commemorate the launch of Sputnik. In its base is the Cosmonautics Museum, a high-concept series of displays from the glory days of the Soviet space program. Exhibits rely heavily on cool space paraphernalia – Yury Gagarin’s space suit, the first Soviet rocket engine and lots of charts and diagrams of various expeditions. The highlight is the awe-inspiring video footage from various orbit missions. Sadly there is no gift shop selling freeze-dried astronaut food. The museum was closed for renovations at the time of research, so who knows…
reviewed
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