History
and Culture

The architectural ensemble of Krutitsy Metochion, the former residence of Orthodox metropolitans, is a wonderful historical monument of the 17th–18th centuries. It also happens to be one of the most outstanding specimens of brick church architecture in Russia.

The Museum of Moscow boasts a collection of over 700 thousand items reflecting the centuries-long history of the city. Together, these tell the story of Moscow from ancient settlements to the modern-day metropolis. Exhibits reflect every aspect of city life.

The funds and permanent exhibitions of the State Central Museum of Contemporary Russian History feature historical monuments of several centuries, from the 17th century down to recent times. This state historical museum is one of the oldest museums in Moscow.

The Chambers of the Romanov Boyars museum is situated in the 15-17th century chambers near the Kremlin. It is part of a unique architectural ensemble in Varvarka street. The chambers are thought to be the birthplace of the first tsar of the Romanov dynasty.

In the Moscow Kremlin there is a Diamond Fund, sharing a building with the Kremlin Armoury. There are natural diamonds, nuggets, and strikingly beautiful jewellery from various historic periods, of which the Imperial Crown of Russia is considered to be the gem.

The Jewish Museum is currently the most high-tech museum in Russia. The Museum boasts an extensive collection of materials presenting the history and culture of the Jewish people as well as the Russian history in an interesting and visual manner

The State Museum of GULAG History is dedicated to the tragic chapters in the history of Russia – political repression and the labour camp system of the Stalinist period. For two decades, 15 to 17 million prisoners have passed through the GULAG system.

In the 16-17th centuries, the chambers served as an ambassadorial office for English diplomats. Tsar Ivan the Terrible gave the chambers over to the English. The chambers of the Old English Court became Moscow’s largest warehouse of British goods.

Presnya museum is devoted to the armed uprising that took place in December, 1905. Museum is famous for its collections devoted to the participants in these historical events and for its grandiose sound-and-light diorama known as The Heroic Presnya, 1905.

Established in 1918, the Museum of Oriental Art is a major cultural and educational institution. Its 1,600-square-metre area displays a unique collection of paintings, graphic art, sculpture, decorative and applied art, weapons and household items.

The museum of the great Russian artist V.A. Tropinin is located in Zamoskvorechye. It is housed in a 19th century building, a sample of the Moscow merchant mansion, and presents true masterpieces of 18-19th century fine art, including unique furniture, etc.

Victory Park, located at Poklonnaya Gora, is a memorial complex dedicated to the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945. It features many monuments and three memorial temples, an Orthodox church, a mosque and a synagogue, representing Russia’s three major religions.

The Battle of Borodino Panorama Museum is centred around the major battle fought during the 1812 War between Russia and France, regarded in Russia as a feat accomplished by Russian soldiers. Franz Roubaud created a panorama commissioned by Nicholas II.

Gorki Leninskiye is one of the most famous estates in Moscow Oblast. 19th-century furnishings are well preserved here. The complex includes the Lenin Museum, Lenin’s memorial flat recently transferred from the Kremlin, and the Scientific and Cultural Centre.

The Abramtsevo Museum Reserve is one of the most famous memorial and art museums in Russia, located 60 kilometres away from Moscow. Abramtsevo is the birthplace of the Russian Art Nouveau, the ‘national-romantic style’ which assimilated the best of folk art.

The Museum of Literature of Silver Age is closely associated with Valery Bryusov. He was a linguist, poet, and writer. The exhibition is devoted to that famous lodger of the house and important trends in Russian literature of the late 19th– early 20th cent.

The Moscow Museum of Archaeology is one of the world’s most fascinating archaeological museums, located at a depth of 7 metres. It introduces visitors to the culture of Moscow and Moscow region from Paleolithic tines all the way through to the 19th century.

The Central Armed Forces Museum in Moscow is Russia’s largest military history museum boasting a collection of over 800,000 exhibits. Here you'll see old weapons and military uniform, but don’t be surprised to see almost no interactive installations.

Mosfilm is the destination worth a visit for all Soviet and Russian film buffs. It displays legendary cars from popular films, authentic costumes and stage sets, studio stages, professional make-up as well as motion-picture and photographic equipment.

The Russian Navy History Museum, a tour of which implicates a visit to one of the world’s biggest submarines, is located in the north-west of Moscow. On the way to it you will find an air assault hovercraft, a ground-effect craft Orlyonok, and a submarine.

The State Historical Museum in Moscow is one of Russia’s largest museums. Its 150-year-old collection covers every period of Russian history and that of peoples inhabiting it. The museum’s exhibition comprises over 20,000 items, including the unique ones.

The Mirek Russian Accordion Museum is one of the four museums in the world which are dedicated to this musical instrument. The unique collection of Professor and Doctor of Arts Alfred Mirek (1922-2009) served as the cornerstone for the museum.

The Museum Consortium of Musical Culture boasts the largest collection of musical instruments in Russia. The museum’s 5 rooms present some 1,000 musical instruments from all over the world, as well as books, sheet music, and manuscripts of renowned musicians.

A museum called “Moscow Lights” is situated around Pokrovka and Myasnitskaya streets. This museum focuses on the history of public lighting in Moscow from the Middle Ages until today. It occupies old chambers owned by the Boyar Protopopovs in the 17th cent.

The collection of merchant Alexey Bakhrushin has formed the basis of the Theatre Museum. All his life Bakhrushin was a passionate collector of anything theatre-related. The building itself is his own house in Luzhnetskaya Street, now called Bakhrushina Street.

The Izmailovo museum reserve is located on the historic site of the Tsar’s Court. This vast architectural ensemble originally built during the reign of the first tsars of the Romanov dynasty is a landmark of Moscow architecture dating back to the 17-19th cent.

Tsaritsyno is one of unique sights in the southern part of Moscow. It's a historical, natural and architectural ensemble with a palace and park complex dating back to the second half of the 18th cent. It was founded in 1776 by the order of Catherine the Great.

The Kremlin Palace is a unique architectural ensemble and a landmark museum in Moscow. It used to serve as the residential chambers of emperors and members of their families, and today it has the status of the grand residence of the President of Russia.

The Museum of Patriotic War of 1812 opened its doors in Revolution Square, the heart of Moscow. It tells the story of one of the most complicated stages in the history of Russia, its victory over Napoleon and its role in the release of Europe.

Kolomenskoe is a sightseeing attraction in the south of Moscow which served as a residence for Russian grand princes and tsars for many centuries. Today, it is home to the Kolomenskoe Historical, Architectural and Natural Landscape Museum Reserve.

The Cathedral of Christ the Saviour is the largest Orthodox cathedral in Russia. This majestic Moscow cathedral erected on the bank of the Moskva River opposite the Kremlin was built to gratify God for saving Russia from Napoleon’s army invasion.

The Armoury Chamber of the Kremlin (rus - Kreml) is an amazing treasure house museum. Its collection is made up of unique items, which were preserved in the royal treasury and in the Patriarch’s sacristy. These include personal belongings of Russian tsars.

The Novodevichy Convent is one of the most beautiful architectural monuments in Moscow, a true masterpiece of the 16th–17th cent., that played a crucial role in the history of Russia. The Novodevichy Convent is an example of Moscow Baroque architecture.

A memorial complex on Poklonnaya Hill in Moscow’s Victory Park perpetuates millions of people who fell in the Second World War. It comprises a synagogue and a museum dedicated to the memory of the Jews who died during the Holocaust. Opened in 1998, it is Russia’s first museum of Jewish history.

A cozy and poetic atmosphere prevails throughout the house where Vasily Pushkin, Alexander Pushkin’s uncle, once lived. The Vasily Pushkin Museum in Moscow is not very old, however almost all of the items on display date back to the 18th and 19th centuries.