Moscow Museums

Garage Museum of Contemporary Art, Moscow

Garage Museum of Contemporary Art is the first philanthropic institution in Russia wholly devoted to contemporary art. The museum showcases artistic movements from Russia and around the world. Alongside exhibitions, visitors can enjoy theatre performances, concerts and film screenings orchestrated by emerging local artists and creatives; they can also get involved in workshops, lectures and other educational programmes.

The Moscow Kremlin

The Moscow Kremlin is an imposing fortress marking the very core of Russia’s capital city. It is the largest medieval fortress in Europe and a UNESCO World Heritage Site comprising towers, palaces, squares and churches.For centuries, the Kremlin has been a unique monument of Russian culture and a symbol of Russian statehood. Its formidable wallshave housedthe seat of Russian power from medieval timesto the Romanovs,the Soviets, and the Russian government today. The Moscow Kremlin exudes power and grandeur to all those who visit and is an unmissable landmark for those visiting Russia’s capital city.

Red Square, Moscow

For centuries Red Square has been the nucleus of life in Moscow. It has evolved from being a simple medieval market, to the setting of glorious Soviet military parades, to the symbolic centre of Russia today. Situated between the Kremlin and historic Kitai-Gorod district and surrounded by the city’s most famous landmarks, it’s impossible to appreciate Moscow without a visit to Red Square.

St Basil’s Cathedral, Moscow

St Basil’s Cathedral has become a globally recognised image of Russia. Situated on Red Square beside the Moscow Kremlin,the cathedral is an integral part of Moscow’s city scape and an astounding achievement of ancient Russian architecture, synthesising eleven unique churches into a single ensemble. What is the story behind this monument of Russian spiritual, political, and architectural history, and what can you find there today?

Tretyakov Gallery

The Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow was founded by art collector and philanthropist Pavel Tretyakov in the mid-1850s. Today, it comprises over 190,000 works of Russian art from the 11th to 21st centuries, created by successive generations of artists who have made a great contribution to their national artistic heritage.

Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow

The Museum of Fine Arts named after Emperor Alexander III was opened on 31st May 1912, with Ivan Tsvetaev as its director. The initial collection included exhibits from Moscow State University’s Cabinet of Fine Art, antiquities, foreign paintings, sculptures and decorative art, much of it donated from the private collections of Russia’s academics, statesmen, collectors and members of the royal family.

Assumption Cathedral, Moscow

The stately Assumption Cathedral was modelled on the Dormition Cathedral in Vladimir, one of the Golden Ring cities of Ancient Russia. Although the Assumption Cathedral is not as ornate as the Kremlin’s other cathedrals, it is a fascinating sight nonetheless.

The State Historical Museum, Moscow

With a collection numbering close to 5 000 000 items and 15 000 000 historic documents, this museum which has been developing for almost one hundred and fifty years has one of the finest and largest historical exhibitions in the world.

Annunciation Cathedral, Moscow

Ivan the Great Bell Tower Complex, Moscow

The Ivan the Great Bell Tower Complex is the most striking ensemble dominating the Kremlin’s Cathedral Square. The famous Ivan the Great tower is marked by its harmonious architecture, made of several white stone octagonal tiers crowned by a golden dome. At present, the ensemble holds 24 bells cast in the 16th and 17th centuries, including the mighty 65-ton Uspensky bell.

Archangel Cathedral, Moscow

Like the Kremlin’s other cathedrals, the Archangel Cathedral became a museum during the Soviet period. It underwent significant restoration work to preserve its precious interior, and was the subject of archaeological and architectural research. Services finally resumed on 28th May 1991.

The Patriarch’s Palace, Moscow

Since its grand unveiling in 1656, the Patriarchal residence has been at the center of Russian religion and politics. Tsars and ambassadors have been entertained in its legendary banquet hall and sobors (Orthodox councils) have convened in its hallowed chambers to resolve Orthodoxy’s greatest issues. Today, the twelve golden domes of the Palace and the adjoining Church of the twelve apostles are a defining feature of the Kremlin, even though the Patriarch no longer resides there.

Cinema Museum, Moscow

Although the Cinema Museum is one of Russia's newer museums, its history dates back almost 100 years. Between 1910 and 1919, a number of progressive filmmakers suggested that cinema ought to be documented for posterity, so at the end of the 1920s a cinema museum was established under the auspices of the State Academy of Artistic Sciences.

The Kremlin Armoury, Moscow

The bejeweled carriages, audaciously large diamonds and even the painstakingly-painted tea sets seem to exude an aura of shameless wealth and privilege. Even the most ardent of capitalists could sympathize with the indignation that spurred the Bolshevik protests upon seeing this flagrant display; especially when one considers that this four-thousand-strong amalgamation of exquisite treasures represents but a fraction of the Romanovs’ riches!

Orlov Museum of Palaeontology, Moscow

Old or young, the mere sight of the fearsome creatures that once roamed Russia is guaranteed to induce goose bumps. The skull of a sabre-tooth tiger is unnervingly life-like— its intact canines seem to glisten with saliva— even the skeleton of an extinct species of moose is positively hair- raising in all its 4.5 meters from hoof to antler-tip. Naturally, the museum has its stock of Siberian woolly mammoths, and a giant rhino adds an exotic twist to the otherwise distinctly Russian collection.

The State Darwin Museum, Moscow

The Darwin Museum's scientific and education activities continue to be developed today, and the unique collections started by Kots still inspire and fascinate visitors over a century later. 6,000 exhibits on display illustrate the origin, development and diversity of life on Earth; the science and evolution of the behaviour of animals and their distribution on the planet; and the origin of Man and history of his relationship with Nature.

Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center, Moscow

The Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center chronicles Jewish culture and history in Russia from the reign of Catherine the Great up until the present day.

State Museum of A.S. Pushkin, Moscow

The State Museum of A.S. Pushkin is a scientific, cultural and educational centre and one of the largest literary museums in Russia, dedicated to Russia’s favourite poet, Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin.

State Polytechnic Museum, Moscow

The State Polytechnic Museum in Moscow is one of the oldest and best science and technology museums in the world. It reflects milestones of science and engineering advances in Russia and represent man’s thirst for knowledge and progress.

Mikhail Bulgakov State Museum, Moscow

Mikhail Bulgakov was one of Soviet Russia’s most high-profile playwrights, novelists, and short-story writers, known for his piercing satire of life in the USSR. The Mikhail Bulgakov State Museum is located

State Museum of Lev Tolstoy, Moscow

Count Lev Nikolayevich Tolstoy, known in English as Leo Tolstoy, is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His novels dealing with the ambiguities and nuances of life have become household names of Russian literature.

State Museum of GULAG History, Moscow

Stalin’s repression against his own people happened on an unimaginably vast scale, and the GULAG system lay at its heart. Over four decades, twenty million convicts passed through this notorious system of forced labor camps. This tragic period in Soviet history and the stories of the inmates are told in Moscow’s State Museum of GULAG History, founded in 2001 by a survivor of the camps.