Red Square (on foot; duration – 1.5 hours). Facing the Kremlin wall, Red Square is an inseparable component of the architectural ensemble of the Kremlin. Its history dates back to the 15th century.
Here foreign tourists can visit the Lenin Mausoleum.
In the southern part of Red Square stands the exquisitely decorated Cathedral of the Intercession (better known as St. Basil’s Cathedral), a unique monument of the 16th century; facing it across the Square from the north is the History Museum, built over a hundred years ago. Opposite the Kremlin and forming the eastern boundary of Red Square is the country’s largest State Department Store – the Upper Trade Rows, known as GUM.
The only sculptured monument on the square is a bronze statue of Kuzma Minin and Dmitry Pozharsky, who helped to clear Moscow from the Polish invaders in 1612, during the Time of Troubles.
A Tour of the Moscow Metro (duration – 1.5 hours) will acquaint you with one of the world’s most beautiful and convenient underground transportation networks. Many stations of the Moscow Metro are decorated with mosaic, sculptures and stained-glass panels. Some of them are an outstanding example of socialist realist art.
Museums (in the city)
Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts. The stocks of this Museum contain fabulous collections of Babylonian and Egyptian art, of classical Greek and Roman art, and of 18th-20th century Western European paintings, works by Claude Monet, Paul Cezanne and Pablo Picasso. This museum is similar to the British Museum in London in that its halls are a cross-section of world civilizations with many plaster casts of ancient sculptures.
Open: daily from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm, entrance till 5.30 pm; Thursday from 1.00 pm to 9 pm, entrance till 8.30 pm.
Closed: Monday.
Tretyakov Art Gallery. A depository of works of Russian national art from the 11th century to the present. The Gallery’s collection includes 40,000 canvases, drawings and sculptures by Russian and Soviet artists. The Gallery was founded by Pavel Tretyakov (1832-1898), an eminent figure in Russian cultural life.
Open: Tuesday, Wednesday, Sunday from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm; Thursday, Friday, Saturday from 10.00 am to 9.00 pm.
Closed: Monday.
Donskoy Monastery is a remarkable example of 16th-19th century architecture, and a historical monument. You can see some fine specimens of Russian memorial sculpture and works of Russian icon-painters in the Monastery.
Andrei Rublev Museum of Early Russian Art. It has on display the rarest works of early Russian painting – icons of the 15th-17th centuries, including masterpieces by Andrei Rublev and Dionisius.
Open: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday from 2.00 pm to 9 pm; Friday, Saturday, Sunday from 11.00 am to 6.00 pm.
Closed: Wednesday.
State Museum of Oriental Art. On display there are outstanding works of art created by the peoples of the East of the former Soviet Union and Oriental countries. Among the exhibits are one of the world’s finest collections of Japanese miniature sculptures, Iranian rugs and Turkish brocade.
Open: Tuesday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday from 11.00 am to 8.00 pm; Wednesday, Thursday from 12.00 pm to 9.00 pm.
Closed: Monday.
Kolomenskoye Estate-Museum. Kolomenskoye is the site of one of the first tent-shaped stone churches built in Russia, the famous Church of the Ascension of Christ (16th century). Other exhibits include genuine early Russian wooden structures and precious collections of Russian tiles and 17th-century icons.
Open: daily from 9.00 am to 9.00 pm.
Tsaritsyno Estate is situated in the south of Moscow. It is famous for its history, its architectural monuments and its remarkably beautiful scenery. It was built especially for the great empress Catherine II. In its construction took part several generations of architects and serf masters. But the first role in the building belonged to V. Bazhenov who later engaged his student M. Kazakov to work on the drafts and to build the pavilions.
There is a museum of decorative and folk art in Tsaritsyno.
The museum is open: in winter (November – March) Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday from 11.00 am to 5.00 pm; in summer (April – October) Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday from 11.00 am to 6.00 pm.
Closed: Monday, Tuesday.
Kuskovo Estate and the Ceramics Museum. This magnificent 18th-century architectural ensemble is situated in a large park with fanciful rotundas and pavilions. The Museum has a fabulous collection of Russian porcelain, antique ceramics, as well as Chinese, Danish, English and French majolica, pottery, and glass.
Open: Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday; November – March from 10.00 am to 4.00 pm; April – October from 10.00 am to 6.00 pm.
Closed: Monday and Tuesday; last Wednesday of each month.
Arkhangelskoye Estate is and architectural monument of the 18th-19th centuries set in picturesque surroundings 16 km from Moscow. The park, sloping down to the Moskva River, is embellished with decorative stairways, pavilions and sculptures. Near the Museum is a restaurant offering an extensive selection of Russian cuisine.
Duration of the excursion – 4 hours.
Open: daily from 10.00 am to 8.00 pm.
Closed: Monday, Tuesday; last Wednesday of each month.
Abramtsevo Estate was a meeting place for such prominent figures in Russian cultural life as Sergei Aksakov, Nikolai Gogol, Ivan Turgenev, Viktor Vasnetsov, Valentin Serov, Ilya Repin and Mikhail Vrubel. Fyodor Chaliapin took part in amateur theatrical performances staged at Abramtsevo.
Duration of the excursion – 5 hours.
Open: daily from 10.00 am to 5.00 pm.
Closed: Monday, Tuesday.
Museums (in the countryside)
Sergiyev Posad History and Art Museum-Preserve. It is situated in the town of Sergiyev Posad, which is also called “Russian Vatican”, 70 km northeast from Moscow. The Museum contains magnificent relics of Russian culture of the 14th-18th centuries and is famous by its well-known white-and-blue baroque bell tower which was one of the highest structures built in Russia in the 18th century. The Troitse-Sergiyeva Lavra (Trinity Monastery of St. Sergius), built in the 1340s, played a major role in the history of Moscow and the Russian state. The famous “Trinity” by Andrei Rublev was painted especially for the central cathedral of the Lavra.
Duration of the excursion to Sergiyev Posad – about 7 hours.
