Vladimir Vysotsky Musuem in Taganka

The idea to establish the Vladimir Vysotsky Museum came out after the poet’s death in 1980. A collection of exhibits was created in the Taganka Theater where Vladimir Vysotsky had been employed. The USSR’s Council of Ministries issued a decree to establish the museum on January 16, 1989.

Vladimir Vysotsky neither lived nor worked in the museum building. In spite of this, it seems to be the same house with its windows overlooking the gorge and gates facing the “travel way” he described in his song Strange House.

The current display in the museum was opened in 2000 by the 20th anniversary for the poet’s death. It consists of three rooms: one tells visitors about his work and the other – about his life. The third room is the Vladimir Vysotsky Study featuring exhibits from the apartment in the Malaya Gruzinskaya Street where he lived in 1975-1980.

Bulgakov Museum

The “naughty apartment” from “The Master and Margarita” has a real address: Bolshaya Sadovaya Street 10, Apartment 50. It was the first place where Bulgakov lived in Moscow: the writer lived in one of the rooms on a big shared apartment.

The apartment is interesting not only from the point of view of literature but also because a real story stands behind it. When the novel was published for the first time after the writer’s death, the lobby of the building where the apartment is located became a site of pilgrimage for Bulgakov’s fans. They were leaving verses and drawings on the walls. The apartment was used by a design bureau. By the 1990s, the apartment was in a poor condition: electricity was only in two of the ten rooms, the flooring decayed and the ceiling was going to fall down any minute. In spite of this, a semi-improvised culture center was organized there. Exhibitions, concerts and discussions were held in the apartment. Finally, the apartment underwent capital repairs in 2002. In 2003, the first permanent display was established, and the museum gained its official status in 2007.

Natural and historical park “Kuzminki”

Kuzminskiy Forest Park is truly universal: there are hidden nooks and crowded places, ponds and rivers, historical landmarks and a vast forest. This is a wonderful place to suit every taste, season and age. Closest to us part of Kuzminki history begins in 1702, when Prince Grigory Dmitrievich Stroganov became the owner of the mill located on the river, and of the surrounding areas as well. If you are interested to know it, the name of the most popular meat dish of Russian cuisine - Beef Stroganoff (from Fr. Boeuf Stroganoff - «Beef made by Stroganov art») – was given to honor the great-grandson of this very Stroganov. This is how the name of Stroganovs became entrenched in cookbooks all over the world.

Stroganov family was undertaking the task of making this place inviting. During their time, a wooden church was built, dedicated to the Vlahern icon of the Mother of God, and another large pond was added.

In 1757, the granddaughter of Grigory Dmitrievich, Anna Alexandrovna, married Prince Mikhail Mikhailovich Golitsyn, and received this land as a dowry. Thus, for many years (up to 1917) Kuzminki becomes Golitsyn estate, with every new generation aspiring to decorate this wonderful place even more. During the time of Mikhail Mikhailovich, for instance, cascade of four ponds appears here, which we can see even now, and his son, Sergey Mikhailovich, expands the estate by acquiring adjacent land. The lady of the estate was supposed to become the wife of Sergei Mikhailovich, Avdotya Ivanovna Golitzina (née Izmailova). But the relationship between husband and wife did not work out, and almost two years after the wedding, they would not stay together any more. Reputed to be one of the most asounding beauties of her time, according to the memoirs of contemporaries, Avdotya Ivanovna fell in love with Mikhail Petrovich Dolgorukiy, aide-de-camp to the tsar Alexander I. Alas, they could not get married, for her husband refused to divorce her. In turn, he Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna, the sister of Alexander I, was so enamored by Mikhail Petrovich that she considered it possible to enter into marriage with him. It is difficult to imagine how this situation would unfold, but in 1808, Dolgorukov was killed. Remaining true to her feeling, Avdotya Ivanovna never remarried, but, being a woman of independent wealth and social ambition, she could not abstain from maintaining a social life. Thus, a literary salon would be conducted since 1816 at her home in St. Petersburg, frequented, among others, by A.S. Pushkin. Friends even joked about the young poet and his love to the Ms. Golitsyna.

At the time of Sergey Mikhailovich the estate starts enjoying great popularity. Since 1826 the owner hosted representatives of the royal family in Kusminki on several occasions: the empress Mariya Feyodorovna (the wife of Pavel I), her sons – the grand prince Mikhail Pavlovich and the emperor Nikolay I, the son of Nikolay I – the czarevich Alexander Nikolaevich (who later became the emperor Alexander II) and others. The beauty of the estate has been preserved only in the descriptions left by con- temporaries, and on vintage images.

After the death of the childless Sergei Mikhailovich Golitsyn in 1859, the estate passed to his relatives, who did not make any improvements to it, and then began to lease it for summer dachas. Very few remained until our times from the large number of buildings designed by the most famous architects. The house, built by Stroganovs and rebuilt by Golitsyns did not survive until the present time, being destroyed by fire in 1916. Therefore, the main architectural attraction is the temple dedicated to the Vlahern icon of Mother of God, built in the late 17th century, because after this temple, even the Kuzminki would be sometimes called Vlahernskoye. To aid you in getting an idea about the extent of the local construction, it will help to take a look at the preserved Stables on the banks of the Upper Pond, built in 1805 and remodeled in 1823 by the famous architect Domenico Gilardi. The name itself says about the purpose of this place: there were not only horse stables, but also warehouses for all kinds of necessities, as well as a «garage» where coaches were stored. Of great interest are the sculptures, which are analogous to those installed on the Anichkov Bridge in St. Petersburg (sculptor P.K. Klodt) cast at Golitsyn factories.

By the way, their twins may still be seen in Berlin and Naples. Also, there was a hennery, a cattle yard, a greenhouse, an embankment with the ferry pier, pavilions, monuments, houses – over thirty objects in all. And even these technical buildings were built in the same vein, adding to the beauty of the general ensemble. Now, the following museums are opened here: Museum Center of K.G.Paustovsky, Museum of Russian Estate Culture, and Museum of Vintage Cars and Coaches hosted by the newspaper «Auto Review».

Ostankino Estate

Ostankino estate is the unique monument of Russia architecture of the XVIII century. It is a former estate of the Counts Sheremetev Once situated outside of Moscow, now Ostankino is only 20 minutes from the city center. The estate ensemble was formed during several c enturies. It was first mentioned in the manuscripts of the XIV century. Princes Cherkasskiye owned the estate until the XVIII century Pyotr Sheremetev who was then busy building Kuskovo paid little attention to Ostankino. It was only in 1790 that his son, Count Nikolai Sheremetev, an exceedingly wealthy man, a lover of theatre and owner of superb company of serf actors, decided to built a palace-theatre at his estate. He invited a number of outstanding architects such as Francesco Camporesi, Giacomo Quarenghi and others to design the palace. However he was not satisfied with the design proposed by them and commissioned his own serf architects Alexei Mironov, Pavel Argunov and Grigory Dikushin to do it.

It took a decade to create the palace and park ensemble at Ostankino. There was no single plan for the construction of the palace. Changes and additions were made during the construction of the Ostankino palace and its purpose was gradually expanded. In 1792 the building which only housed the theatre was erected. In 1798 pavilions with connecting galleries and several halls (the Egyptian Pavilion intended for banquets and concerts, the Italian Pavilion for receptions, the Crimson Drawing Room, the Blue Hall and the Picture Gallery) were added to it. Even by the yardstick of the 19th century the Ostankino Palace was quite outstanding in its luxury and the priceless collection of paintings, sculptures and various rarities. Its rooms and halls were adorned with statues of Eros, Psyche and other mythological personages. The Carpet Room was hung with expensive Gobelin tapestries, other rooms were decorated with beautiful chandeliers, elegant furniture and malachite tables.

Theatre performances often took place here. Lots of guests arriving to estate were welcomed to see opera or ballet performances at the main theatre hall of the palace. After the performance they went to a ball room to dance and after that they had dinner in one of the luxurious halls of the palace or in the open air in the garden which is located behind the main palace building.. The leading actress of the theatre was Praskovya Zhemchugova, the best singer of the company. Later she married count Sheremetyev and became a countress and the hostess of the estate.

Today the palace houses a Museum of Serf Art. The main theatre hall is still used for concerts of classical music and various performances due to its unique acoustic qualities.

Arkhangelskoye Estate

The State Arkhangelskoye Estate Museum is located in Krasnogorsky district of Moscow region, 20 km to the west from the capital. The estate is an outstanding example of the Russian manorial architecture. Archangelskoye is famous for the estate's magnificent beauty and unique art collections.

Until 1810 Archangelskoye used to belong to Princes Golitsyn, but the golden age of the estate started when Prince Nikolai Yusupov, the rich grandee and the patron of arts, became the owner of the estate. The estate turned into one of the most popular centers of Moscow high life. Russian Imperial families, noblemen, politicians, famous poets and writers visited Archangelskoye.

The architectural ensemble of Archangelskoye contains the Great Palace, Archangel Mikhail Church, the theater, the burial-vault "The Colonnade" and the regular park of the 18th century with the Small Palace "Caprice".

The Great Palace at Archangelskoye was designed by French architect Charles de Hern and constructed by Russian masters in 1786-1790. High entrance arch, decorated with tracery cast-iron railing, leads to the gala yard, in the depth of which the palace is situated. Double colonnades solemnly decorating the yard conjoin the palace with the wings. The belvedere above the second floor of the building makes the palace a unique one. One of the palace wings houses the famous painting gallery and the library that used to belong to Prince Yusupov.

The stone Archangel Mikhail Church was put up in the 1660s on the site where the wooden temple used to be in the 16th century. In front of the north facade of the church the wall with a massive arch embrasure was constructed.

The theater was built in 1817-1818 by architect Gonzago. It still features the decorations and the curtain made by the famous Italian artist.

The burial-vault "The Colonnade" is the latest construction on the territory of the estate. Monumental, domed building with granite colonnades was built in 1909-1916 after death of one of the Jusupovs. The building was never used as a burial place though.

The regular park of the 18th century occupies the central part of the Archangel-skoye Estate. It was laid out at the same time when the Great Palace was founded. The park's terraces are decorated with marble statues, busts, vases, and benches made by Italian masters. In the western part of the park one can see the Small Palace "Caprice" and the Teahouse pavilion. In the eastern part there is the Pink Fountain pergola. Large conservatories and dwelling houses used to be in the southern part of the park, but in the 1930s Archangelskoye sanatorium blocks were constructed on their site.

Nowadays the Archangelskoye Estate is the museum containing unique collections of paintings, engravings, sculpture and applied art of the 17th-19th centuries. The museum boasts one of the largest Russian collections of rare books. It numbers about 16,000 volumes.

For a long time the State Archangelskoe Estate and Museum was supervised by the Ministry of Defense. In November, 1985 it was closed for restoration, and since January, 1997 Archangelskoye is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture.

Since 1998 the Archangelskoe Estate is the place where the concerts of classical music take place.