World City Guide

Further Distractions

Musey arkhitecturi imena A V Shusheva (Museum of Architecture)
Moscow’s architecture is rich and sharply contrasting, reflecting the seismic changes that the city has undergone. The Museum of Architecture is a great place to see how cultural transitions have been etched onto the urban landscape. Spanning five centuries, there are over one million exhibits – including street plans, blueprints, draughts, models, engravings, lithographs and photographs.

Vozdvizhenka ulitsa 5/25
Tel: (095) 202 3979 or 291 2109. Fax: (095) 291 2109.
Transport: Metro Arbatskaya or Biblioteka Lenina.
Opening hours: Tues-Fri 1100-1730, Sat and Sun 1100-1600.
Admission: Rb20.

Muzey-panorama – ‘Borodinskaya bitva’ (Museum-Panorama –’Borodino Battle’)
Visitors can experience the epic battle of the Patriotic War of 1812, when the Russian army met Napoleon’s Grand Army at Borodino, to the west of Moscow. The main feature is a panoramic painting that shows the decisive battle of 7 September 1812, on a canvas 115m (377ft) wide and 15m (49ft) high. English-language audio guides are available.

Kutuzovsky prospekt 38
Tel: (095) 148 1967. Fax: (095) 148 9489.
Transport: Metro Kotozovskaya.
Opening hours: Sat-Thurs 1000-1800; closed last Thurs of month.
Admission: Rb20, concessions available; Rb300 for guided tours – groups of 1-14).

Memorialny Muzey Kosmonavtiki (Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics)
The Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics is easy to find, thanks to the gigantic titanium rocket sculpture outside it, which was built to commemorate the launch of Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite. The museum is as much a tour of the lengths the Soviets went to in their bid for world supremacy during the Cold War as it is a tribute to the history of Soviet space technology. Most of the dated spacecraft on display now look like technology-turkeys but it is worth a visit, if only to see Yuri Gagarin’s original space suit. For a few Roubles, visitors can wriggle into the suit to pose for a photograph.

Mira prospekt 111
Tel: (095) 283 7914 or 282 7398 (information). Fax: (095) 282 8212.
E-mail: mcrus@glasnet.ru
Website: www.museum.ru/kosmonav
Transport: Metro VDNKh.
Opening hours: Tues-Sun 1000-1800; closed last Fri of month.
Admission: Rb5000.

Khram Khrista Spansitelya (Christ the Saviour Cathedral)
Christ the Saviour Cathedral is a monument to the struggles of 20th-century Moscow. The brainchild of Moscow mayor Yuri Luzkhov, the cathedral was paid for by public donations from school children, babushkas and public officials to rich benefactors alike. Completed in 1997, the building now stands on the site of the original Christ the Saviour Cathedral, which was constructed to commemorate Moscow’s victory over Napoleon. In 1930, Stalin ordered the church to be demolished, to make way for a skyscraper. When it was discovered that the ground was too soft, the area was turned into a hugely popular outdoor swimming pool instead.

Prechistenskaya naberezhnaya 37
Tel: (095) 203 3823.
Transport: Metro Kropotkinskaya.
Opening hours: Daily 0630-2200.
Admission: Free.