Moscow

MOSCOW AT A GLANCE 47

Museum
ovoking museum commemorates
ry poet, playwright and artist
kovsky. The abstract exhibits in
olize his childhood in Georgia.

Palace of the
Romanov Boyars
The restored interiors
and luxurious clothes
and possessions in this
house effectively evoke
the daily lives of the
Moscow aristocracy
in the 16th and
17th centuries. The
house was con-
structed for boyar
Nikita Romanov.

Tretyakov Gallery
Valentin Serov’s Girl with
Peaches (1887) in the
Tretyakov Gallery is part
of the largest collection of
Russian art in the world.

48 I N T R O D U C I N G M O S C O W

Exploring Moscow’s Museums

Wherever visitors’ interests lie, whether it be

in painting and the fine arts, science, the

Revolution, the history of the Russian theatre or

the lives of the nobility, there will be something

in Moscow’s museums to appeal to them. As

well as the many museums in the city, there are

a number of country estates in the area around

Moscow. Several of these, including Kuskovo

and Kolomenskoe, are easily accessible by metro

and make good half-day or day excursions (see The elegant drawing room of the

p227). However, it is worth bearing in mind that Lermontov House-Museum

a number of museums are currently HOUSE-MUSEUMS
Nijinsky’s ballet undergoing much-needed renovation and,
shoe, Bakhrushin The houses and flats where
Theatre Museum in some cases, ideological reassessment. many important Russian
cultural figures lived have
Young Acrobat on a Ball by Picasso, The Museum of Private been preserved as museums.
Collections (see p75) is a The sturdy, timber-framed
in the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts new gallery, housed in a Tolstoy House-Museum (see
19th-century building. It p134) contains many personal
PAINTING AND exhibits previously unseen possessions that belonged to
DECORATIVE ARTS drawings, watercolours, Leo Tolstoy. The novelist and
sketches and paintings, his family spent many winters
The world’s most important mainly by Russian artists of in the house. Among their
collection of Russian art is the 19th and 20th centuries. regular visitors was the
on display in the recently reno- playwright Anton Chekhov.
vated Tretyakov Gallery (see Next door is the Pushkin The house where this writer
pp118–21). The gallery owns Museum of Fine Arts (see began his career in the 1880s
over 100,000 works, but only pp78–81), which is particu- is also open to the public as
a fraction of them are on show larly known for its collection the Chekhov House-Museum
at any one time. They include of works by Impressionist, (see p96). Across the road
amongst others, paintings by Post-Impressionist and 20th- from Chekhov’s house is the
most of the group of artists century artists. Visitors can Shalyapin House-Museum
called the Wanderers also see earlier paintings (see p83) where the great
(peredvizhniki). The by artists such as Botticelli, opera singer, Fyodor Shalyapin,
gallery’s extensive Rembrandt and Rubens, and lived. Visitors can enjoy the
collection of post- outstanding artifacts from beautifully furnished rooms
Revolution (20th-Century) ancient Egypt donated by while listening to old record-
art is now housed in the the Russian egyptologist ings of his singing.
New Tretyakov Gallery Vladimir Golenishchev.
(see p135). The Tropinin A superb collection of decor- The Stanislavskiy House-
Museum (see pp124–5) has a ative and applied art spanning Museum (see p93) is the
fine collection of works by the last seven centuries or so is former home of Konstantin
the 19th-century portrait artist housed in the State Armoury Stanislavskiy, theatrical dir-
Vasiliy Tropinin and his (see pp64–5) in the Kremlin. ector and the co-founder of
contemporaries. There are rooms devoted to the Moscow Arts Theatre (see
arms and armour, jewellery, p92). It contains costumes,
gold and silverware, religious props and other memorabilia.
vestments and imperial regalia.
Along with a few items once
A 16th-century Persian shield on owned by Alexander Pushkin,
display in the State Armoury the Pushkin House-Museum
(see p73) contains an inter-

esting display of pictures
that show what Moscow
was like in 1831, when
the poet lived here. The
Bely House-Museum (see
p73), in the building next
door, was once the home of
the Symbolist poet, Andrei
Bely. Nearby is the Skryabin
House-Museum (see p72),
the last home of composer
Aleksandr Skryabin.

MOSCOW AT A GLANCE 49

The tower blocks of Novyy

Arbat dwarf the Lermontov

House-Museum (see pp82–3),

the simple timber house where

Pushkin’s contemporary, the

poet Mikhail Lermontov, was

brought up by his grand-

mother in the early 1830s.

The extraordinary life of

Vladimir Mayakovsky is bril-

liantly realized in the displays

in the Mayakovsky Museum

(see p111). This flat, near the

former KGB building (see

p112), is where the Futurist Sweet wrappers, boxes and scales in the Museum of Modern History

poet lived from 1919–30.

The artist Viktor Vasnetsov containing Lenin’s embalmed

designed his own home. In HISTORY MUSEUMS body, gives an insight into

his studio, now the Vasnetsov the importance of the role

House-Museum (see p144), A number of museums and played by Lenin (see pp27–8)

visitors can see his enormous other sites in and around in 20th-century Russian history.

canvases based on folk tales. the city provide fascinating Displays at the Museum of

The Tchaikovsky House- glimpses into Moscow’s past. Modern History (see p97)

Museum (see p159) at Klin still The History of Moscow cover Russian history from

contains furnishings used by Museum (see p111) traces the 1900 until the collapse of the

composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky, city’s history, with earliest Soviet Union in 1991. Sweet

including the desk where he exhibits including archaeological wrappers depicting Marx and

finished his Sixth Symphony. finds from around the Kremlin. Lenin and home-made gre-

There is speculation that the nades are among the exhibits.

museum may be moved. The Museum of the Great

COUNTRY ESTATES The life of the boyars (see Patriotic War (see p129) has

p20) in Moscow in the early dioramas of major battles from

Several palaces and estates on 17th century is recreated in World War II, shown largely

the outskirts of Moscow are the Palace of the Romanov from a Soviet viewpoint.

open to the public. Ostankino Boyars (see pp102–3).

Palace (see pp144–5), built in Visitors interested

the 18th century for the fabu- in Napoleon’s SPECIALIST MUSEUMS

lously wealthy winter invasion of

Sheremetev fami- Russia in 1812 Among the city’s handful of

ly, is famous for (see pp23–4) will specialist museums is the

its exquisite want to make Polytechnical Museum (see

theatre, where the day trip to p110), which charts important

serf actors and Borodino (see developments in science and

musicians once p158). This was technology in Russia.

took the stage. Clay sledge in the History the scene of one The Bakhrushin Theatre

Kuskovo (see of Moscow Museum of the bloodiest Museum (see p125) houses an

pp142–3) was encounters of the exciting collection of theatre

also built for the Sheremetevs. campaign. There are over 30 memorabilia, including ballet

In the palace’s beautiful gar- monuments around the battle- shoes worn by Nijinsky, while

dens is a ceramics museum. field and a museum nearby the Shchusev Museum of

A number of superb 16th- tells the story of the battle. Architecture (see p82) gives a

and 17th-century buildings They may also like to visit history of Russian architecture.

still stand at the former royal the Borodino

estate of Kolomenskoe (see Panorama

pp138–9). Also on the estate Museum (see

is a fascinating museum of p129) on

wooden architecture. Kutuzovskiy

Picturesque, Gothic-style prospekt. This

ruins are all that remain of the circular pavil-

palace at Tsaritsyno (see ion contains

p137). This ambitious project, an enormous

commissioned by Catherine painting of the

the Great, was never finished. famous battle.

Works of art by 19th- and The monu-

20th-century Russian artists are mental scale

on show at the Abramtsevo of the Lenin

Estate-Museum (see p160), Mausoleum A model of a reactor from a nuclear power station,

formerly an artists’ colony. (see p107), one of the displays at the Polytechnical Museum

Grand buildings on the bustling ulitsa Arbat, in the late-afternoon sunlight



MOSCOW
AREA BY AREA

THE KREMLIN 5267
ARBATSKAYA 6883
TVERSKAYA 8497

RED SQUARE AND KITAY GOROD 98113
ZAMOSKVORECHE 114125
FURTHER AFIELD 126145



MOSCOW AREA BY AREA 53

THE KREMLIN

Citadel of the Tsars, headquarters complex. They designed the Cathedral
of the Soviet Union and now of the Assumption and the Faceted

the residence of the Palace, among other

Russian president, for cen- buildings, in a fasci-

turies the Kremlin has been nating fusion of Early-

a symbol of the power of Russian and imported

the State. In 1156, Prince Renaissance styles (see p44).

Yuriy Dolgorukiy chose The Kremlin did not escape

the confluence of the the architectural vandalism of

Moskva and Neglinnaya rivers The Tsar’s Cannon the 1930s, when it was closed
as the site for the first wooden in the Kremlin and several of its churches

Kremlin (kreml means “fortress”). Late and palaces were destroyed on Stalin’s

in the 15th century, Tsar Ivan III (see orders (see p75). Only in 1955, two

p18) invited several leading Italian years after his death, was the Kremlin

architects to build a sumptuous new partially reopened to the public.

SIGHTS AT A GLANCE Museums
Patriarch’s Palace 3
Churches and Cathedrals State Armoury p64–5 w
Cathedral of the Annunciation 7
Cathedral of the Archangel 6 Gardens
Cathedral of the Assumption Alexander Gardens u

pp58–9 5
Church of the Deposition

of the Robe 9

Historic Buildings and Monuments

Arsenal y
Faceted Palace 8
Great Kremlin Palace q
Ivan the Great Bell Tower 4
State Kremlin Palace 2
Presidential Administration r
Saviour’s Tower e
Senate t
Terem Palace 0
Trinity Tower 1

GETTING THERE *7"/074,":"
Biblioteka imeni Lenina 1-04)$)"%
and Borovitskaya
metro stations are just ,3&.-&74,":" /"#&3& ;)/":" ōœňŏŎňŅŔōŃŢ ŐŃńňœňʼnŐŃŢ
outside the walls of #PMTIPZ
the Kremlin, within ,BNFOOZZ KEY
easy walking dis- NPTU Street-by-Street map
tance of the main pp54–5
sights. Trolleybus
routes 1, 2, 12,
and 33 and
buses 6 and K
are also useful.

#PSPWJUTLBZB
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0 metres 200

0 yards 200 q Metro station

The Cathedral of the Annunciation, crowned by golden onion domes, on the Kremlin’s main square

54 M O S C O W A R E A B Y A R E A

Street by Street:The Kremlin

The Kremlin is home to the Russian president and the seat
of his administration. As a result less than half of it is
accessible to the public, but highlights including the State Ticket
Armoury, the Patriarch’s Palace and the churches in Cathedral office
Square are open to visitors. Christians have worshipped on
this site for more than eight centuries, but their early stone
churches were demolished in the 1470s to make way for
the present magnificent ensemble of cathedrals. In imperial
times, these were the setting for great state occasions such
as coronations, baptisms and burials.

Trinity Tower

Napoleon marched in triump h

through this gate when he entered

the Kremlin in 1812 (see pp23–5).

He left defeated a month later 1

Great Kremlin Palace State Kremlin Palace
The palace contains several Originally built in 1961
vast ceremonial halls. The
sumptuous stucco work of St for Communist Party
George’s Hall provides a congresses, the palace is
magnificent backdrop for
state receptions. Its marble now used for a range
walls are inscribed with the of cultural events 2
names of military heroes q
Terem Palace
A chequered roof and
11 golden cupolas
topped by crosses are
all that is visible of
this hidden jewel
of the Kremlin 0

0 metres 50
0 yards 50

. State Armoury STAR SIGHTS
The State Armoury was designed by Konstantin Ton to
complement the Great Kremlin Palace. Constructed in . State Armoury
1844–51, this building is now a museum. It houses the . Cathedral of
stunning imperial collections of decorative and applied
art and the priceless State Diamond Fund w the Assumption

KEY

Suggested route

THE KREMLIN 55

Church of the Deposition TVERSKAYA RED SQUARE VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
of the Robe AND
This graceful church was the Map 7 A1 & A2. Tel 203 0349.
domestic church of the metro- KITAY GOROD q Biblioteka imeni Lenina,
politans and patriarchs 9 Borovitskaya. @ 6, К. v 1, 2,
KREMLIN 12, 33. # 10am–5pm Fri–Wed.
The Tsar Cannon, cast in 1586, & Tickets sold at the Kremlin
weighs a massive 40 tonnes. Moskva entrance and separately at some
ZAMOSKVORECHE sights. 7 complex, but not
Church of the Twelve buildings. 8 English (book in
Apostles (see p56) LOCATOR MAP advance on 202 4256). =
See Street Finder, maps 6 & 7 www.kremlin.museum.ru

Ivan the Great Bell Tower
When the third storey was added to this
beautiful octagonal bell tower in 1600, it
became the tallest building in Russia 4

Tsar Bell (see p57)

Patriarch’s
Palace
This imposing
palace, rebuilt
for Patriarch
Nikon in
1652–6, now
houses the
Museum of
17th-Century
Life and
Applied Art 3

Cathedral of the Archangel
The tomb of Tsarevich Dmitry, the
younger son of Ivan the Terrible, is
one of many elaborate tombs found
in this cathedral. Dmitry died as a

child in 1591 (see p19) 6

Faceted Palace Cathedral Square
Two Italian architects,
Marco Ruffo and Pietro . Cathedral of
Solario, constructed this the Assumption
striking Renaissance palace This 12th-century painting of
between 1485and 1491 8 St George the Warrior is one
of the oldest surviving Russian
Cathedral of icons. It forms part of the
the Annunciation iconostasis in the cathedral’s
Frescoes cover the walls and richly decorated interior 5
ceiling of this cathedral. In the
dome above the iconostasis is a
painting of Christ Pantocrator,
above tiers of pictures of angels,
prophets and patriarchs 7

56 M O S C O W A R E A B Y A R E A

runs underground and the Patriarch’s Palace 3
Kutafya Tower is the sole sur- Патриарший дворец

vivor of the circle of towers Patriarshiy dvorets
that were originally built to

defend the Kremlin walls. The Kremlin. Map 7 A1.

In September 1812 Napoleon # 10am–5pm Fri–Wed. &

triumphantly marched his army

into the Kremlin through the The metropolitans of the

Trinity Gate – they left only a Russian Orthodox Church

month later when the Russians lived on the site of the current

set fire to the city (see pp24–5). Patriarch’s Palace for many

State Kremlin years. In the 16th century, the
patriarchate was created, and

Palace 2 the patriarch took over from
the metropolitans as the most
Ґосуддрственныи senior figure in the Russian

Кремлёвский дворєц Church. As a result the bishops

Gosudarstvennyy Kremlevskiy of Krutitsy became metro-

dvorets politans (see p140) while the

Trinity Tower, with the modern patriarch lived in the Kremlin.

Palace of Congresses on the right The Kremlin. Map 7 A1. When Nikon became the

Trinity Tower 1 # for performances only. patriarch in 1652, he felt that
the existing residence and the

Трoицкая башня Commissioned by Russian small Church of the Deposition
Troitskaya bashnya premier Nikita Khrushchev of the Robe (see pp62–3) were
in 1959 to host Communist not grand enough for him. He

The Kremlin. Map 7 A1. Party conferences, the Palace had the residence extended
of Congresses is the Kremlin’s and renovated to create the

This tower takes its name only modern building. It was Patriarch’s Palace, with its

from the Trinity Monastery completed in 1961 by a team integral Church of the Twelve

of St Sergius (see pp162–5), of architects led by Apostles. Com-

which once had a mission Mikhail Posokhin. pleted in 1656,

nearby. The tower’s Trinity Roughly 120 m the work was

Gate used to be the entrance (395 ft) long, the carried out by a

for patriarchs and the tsars’ palace was sunk team of master

wives and daughters. Today it 15 m (49ft) into builders led by

is one of only two that admit the ground so as Ivan Semenov

visitors. The other is in the not to dwarf the and Aleksey

Borovitskaya Tower (see p66) surrounding Korolkov.

to the southwest. buildings. Tsarevich Alexis’ The palace is

At 76 m (249 ft) high, the Until 1991 the school book now the Museum

seven-storey Trinity Tower is 6,000-seat auditorium of 17th-Century Life

the Kremlin’s tallest. It was was the venue for political and Applied Art. Recently

built in 1495–9 and in 1516 meetings. Now it is used by renovated, it comprises a new

was linked by a bridge over the Kremlin Ballet Company exhibition hall and more than

the Neglinnaya river to the (see p200) and for staging 1,000 exhibits drawn from the

Kutafya Tower. The river now operas and rock concerts. State Armoury collection (see

pp64–5) and from churches

and monasteries that were

destroyed by Stalin in the

1930s (see p75).

Entry to the museum is up a

short flight of stairs. The first

room houses an exhibition on

the history of the palace. In

the Gala Antechamber is a

dazzling array of 17th-century

patriarchs’ robes. Some of

Nikon’s own vestments are on

display, including a chasuble

(sakkos), a set of beautifully

carved staffs and a cowl made

from damask and satin, and

embroidered with gold thread.

Two rooms in the museum

have been refurbished in the

style of a 17th-century boyar’s

Refurbished residence of a boyar in the Patriarch’s Palace apartment. In one of them is

THE KREMLIN 57

a display of old, hand-written Ivan the Great Bell Tower, with the Assumption Belfry and annexe
books, including Tsarevich
Alexis’ primer. Each page Ivan the Great Bell about the Kremlin. The tent-
features one letter of the alpha-
bet and a selection of objects Tower 4 roofed annexe next to the
beginning with that letter. belfry was commissioned by
Колокольня Ивана Великого Patriarch Filaret in 1642.
The impressive Chamber
of the Cross, to the left of the Kolokolnya Ivana Velikovo Outside the bell tower is the
stairs, has an area of 280 sq m
(3,013 sq ft). When this cere- The Kremlin. Map 7 A1. enormous Tsar Bell. The largest
monial hall was built, it was in the world, it weighs over
the largest room in Russia
without columns supporting This elegant bell tower 200 tonnes. When it fell from
its roof. Its ceiling is painted
with a delicate tracery of (currently under restoration) the bell tower and shattered in
flowers. The room was later
used for producing conse- was built in 1505–8 to a a fire in 1701, the fragments
crated oil called miro, and the
silver vats and ornate stove design by Marco Bon Friazin. were used in a second bell
used still stand in the room.
It takes its name from the ordered by Tsarina Anna. This
Nikon’s rejection of new
architectural forms, such as Church of St Ivan Climacus, still lay in its casting pit when
tent roofs, dictated a traditional
design for the Church of the which stood on the site in the the Kremlin caught fire again
Twelve Apostles. Located to
the right of the stairs, it houses 14th century. The bell tower is in 1737. Cold water was
some brilliant icons, including
works by master iconogra- called “the Great” because of poured over the hot bell and
phers such as Semen Ushakov.
The iconostasis dates from its height. In 1600 it became a large piece (displayed
around 1700. It was brought to
the church from the Kremlin the tallest building in Moscow beside the bell) broke off.
Convent of the Ascension
prior to its demolition in 1929. when Tsar Boris

PATRIARCH NIKON Godunov added a
A zealous reformer of the
Russian Orthodox Church, third story to extend
Patriarch Nikon was so in-
tent on returning it to its it to 81m (266 ft).
Byzantine roots that he
caused his adversaries, the The four-storey
Old Believers, to split from
the rest of the Church. Assumption Belfry,
Nikon also advocated the
supremacy of Church over with its single gilded
State, angering Tsar Alexis
(see p19). His autocratic dome,was built be-
style made him unpopular
and he retreated to a mon- side the bell tower
astery outside the city. He
was deposed in 1667. by Petrok Maliy in

1532–43. It holds

21 bells, the largest

of which, the 64-

tonne Assumption

Bell, traditionally

tolled three times

when the tsar died.

A small museum on

the first floor houses The Tsar Bell, the largest in the world, with the

changing displays 11.5-tonne section that broke off

58 M O S C O W A R E A B Y A R E A

Cathedral of the Assumption 5 The golden
domes stand on
Успенский собор
towers inset
Uspenskiy sobor with windows

From the early 14th century, the Cathedral of the Assumption which allow
light to flood
was the most important church in Moscow. It was here that into the interior
of the cathedral.
princes were crowned and the metropolitans and patriarchs of the

Orthodox Church were buried. In the 1470s Ivan the Great (see p18)

decided to build a more imposing cathedral, to reflect the growing

might of the nation during his reign. When the first version collapsed

possibly in an earthquake, Ivan summoned the Italian architect

Aristotele Fioravanti to

Moscow. He designed a

light and spacious Orthodox

masterpiece in the spirit cross

of the Renaissance.

Scenes from the Life
of Metropolitan Peter

Attributed to the great
artist Dionysius (see

p61), this 15th-century
icon is located on the

cathedral’s south wall. It
depicts different events in

the life of this religious
and political leader.

. Frescoes
In 1642–4, a team of artists headed by
Sidor Pospeev and Ivan and Boris
Paisein painted these frescoes. The walls
of the cathedral were first gilded to give
the look of an illuminated manuscript.

Metropolitans’ and patriarchs’ The Tsarina’s The
tombs line the walls of the nave Throne (17th–
and the crypt. Almost all of the 19th centuries) Tabernacle
leaders of the Russian Orthodox is gilded and has contains holy relics including the remains
Church are buried in the cathedral. a double–headed of Patriarch Hermogen, who starved to death
eagle crest. in 1612 during the Polish invasion (see p19).
STAR FEATURES
. Frescoes

. Iconostasis Western door
and main
entrance

THE KREMLIN 59

. Iconostasis VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
The haunting 14th-
century Icon of the Kremlin. Map 7 A1. q Alexan-
Saviour Not Made With drovskiy sad, Biblioteka imeni
Hands is one of several Lenina, Borovitskaya. @ 6, К. v
icons forming part of the 1, 2, 12, 16, 33. # 10am–5pm
cathedral’s iconostasis Fri–Wed. &  religious holdays.
The iconostasis itself www.kremlin.museum.ru

dates from 1652.

Frescoes in The pillars that
the central stand in the centre
dome
of the cathedral
are painted with
over 100 figures

of canonized
martyrs and

warriors.

Royal
Gate

Monomakh Throne The Harvest South Portal
This splendid arched portal,
The Patriarch’s Seat was Chandelier decorated with 17th-century
carved from white stone in contains silver frescoes, was the entrance
1653 for use by the head of recovered from used for royal processions.
the Russian Orthodox Church. the French after Brought to Moscow from
their occupation Suzdal in 1401 the door’s
of the city in 1812 reverse side is engraved
(see pp23 –5). with scenes from the Bible.

THE MONOMAKH THRONE

The royal seat of Ivan the
Terrible (see p18) is decorated
with carvings relating the ex-
ploits of Prince Vladimir
Monomakh (see p161). The
panels depict his military
campaigns and one
shows him receiving
the crown from the
Byzantine emperor
Constantine Mono-
machus. This legend
was used to confer
legitimacy on the
idea that the Russian
monarchs were the
heirs to Byzantium.

Inscribed legend
of Prince Vladimir

Panels depicting
scenes from Vladimir’s life

60 M O S C O W A R E A B Y A R E A

Cathedral of the portraits of Russian

Archangel 6 rulers, as well as some
striking images of the
Архангельский собор Archangel Michael,
traditionally the pro-
Arkhangelskiy sobor

The Kremlin. Map 7 A2. & tector of the rulers
of early Moscow.

The fresco in the

This was the last of the great cathedral’s central

cathedrals in the Kremlin to cupola depicts the

be built. It was commissioned threefold nature of

by Ivan III in 1505, shortly God. The Father holds

before his death. Designed the Son on his lap and

by a Venetian architect, Aleviz the Holy Spirit, in the

Novyy, it is a skilful combi- form of a white dove,

nation of Early-Russian and hovers between them.

Italian Renaissance architec- The four-tiered

ture. The most striking of the iconostasis was con- The glorious Cathedral of the Annunciation
Italian features is the scallop structed in 1680–81.

shell motif underneath the However, the Icon of the fire in 1547, the corner chapels

zakomary gables (see p44). Archangel Michael on the lowest were added and the galleries

This site was the burial place tier dates from the 14th century. were enclosed. On the south

for Moscow’s princes and tsars façade is the Groznenskiy

from 1340, first in an earlier Porch, added by Ivan the
Terrible when he contravened
cathedral and then in the current Cathedral of the
building. The tombs of the tsars, church law by marrying for the
white stone sarcophagi with Annunciation 7 fourth time in 1572. Barred
from attending religious ser-
bronze covers inscribed in Old Благовещенский собор

Slavonic, are in the nave. The Blagoveshchenskiy sobor vices, he could only watch

tomb of Tsarevich Dmitry, the The Kremlin. Map 7 A2. & through a grille in the porch.

youngest son of Ivan the The whole of the interior

Terrible (see p18), has a carved, of the cathedral, including the

painted canopy above it. The Unlike the other Kremlin galleries, is painted with fres-

tsars were no longer buried here cathedrals, which were created coes. The artwork around the

after the capital city was moved by Italians, the ornate Cathedral iconostasis was painted in 1508

to St Petersburg in 1712. Peter II, of the Annunciation is a wholly by the monk Feodosius, the

who died of smallpox in Russian affair. Commissioned son of the icon painter

Moscow in 1730, was the only by Ivan III in 1484 as a royal Dionysius who worked on the

later ruler to be buried here. chapel, it stands be-side the Cathedral of the Assumption

The walls, pillars and domes Faceted Palace (see p62), (see pp58–9). The warm col-

of the cathedral are covered which is all that remains of a ours of the frescoes create an

with superb frescoes painted in large palace built for Ivan III atmosphere of intimacy (this

1652–66 by a team of artists led around the same time. The was the tsars’ family church).

by Semen Ushakov, the head of cathedral, built by architects At the same time the vertical

the icon workshop in the State from Pskov (see p44), originally thrust of the pillars draws the

Armoury (see pp64–5). There had three domes and open eye upwards to the cupola and

are over 60 full-length idealized galleries on all sides but, after a its awe-inspiring painting of

Christ Pantocrator (Christ as

ruler of the universe).

Three of the greatest masters

of icon painting in Russia

contributed to the iconostasis,

widely considered the finest in

Russia. Theophanes the Greek

painted the images of Christ,

the Virgin and the Archangel

Gabriel in the Deesis Tier,

while the Icon of the Archangel

Michael on this tier is attributed

to Andrey Rublev. Several of

the icons in the Festival Tier,

including The Annunciation

and The Nativity were also

painted by Rublev. Most of the

other icons in this tier,

including the The Last Supper

and The Crucifixion are the

The fresco in the central cupola of the Cathedral of the Archangel work of Prokhor Gorodetskiy.

THE KREMLIN 61

The Art of Icon Painting in Russia

The Russian Orthodox Byzantium. Kiev was Russia’s

church uses icons for both main icon painting centre

worship and teaching until the Mongols conquered

and there are strict rules for it in 1240. Influential schools

creating each image. Icons then sprang up in Novgorod

were thought to be imbued and the Vladimir-Suzdal area.

with power from the saint The Moscow school was

they depicted and were in- founded in the late 14th

voked for protection during century and its greatest

wars. Because content was Festival Tier icon period was during the 15th

more important than style, old century, when renowned icon-

revered icons were often repainted. The painters such as Andrey Rublev and

first icons were brought to Russia from Dionysius were at work.

Theophanes the Greek
(c.1340–1405) is thought
to have painted this icon
of the Assumption (ascent
into heaven) of the Virgin
Mary. Originally from
Byzantium, Theophanes
became famous first in
Novgorod and then in
Moscow. The figures in his
icons are renowned for
their delicate features and
individual expressions.

The Virgin of
Vladimir, from 12th-
century Byzantium,
is highly venerated
and has had a pro-
found influence on
Russian iconography.

ICONOSTASIS
Separating the sanctuary from the main part of the church, the
iconostasis also symbolizes the boundary between the spiritual
and temporal worlds. The icons are arranged in tiers (usually four,
five or six), each with its own subject matter and significance.

The Festival Tier The top tier of Andrey Rublev became a
depicts important the iconostasis monk at the Trinity
feast days and hol- depicts patriarchs Monastery of St Sergius
idays in the Russian and prophets of (see pp162–5). Later he
Orthodox calendar. the Old Testament. moved to a monastery
in Moscow. Rublev
Christ Enthroned The Deesis Tier is painted this icon of the
is always shown the most important Archangel Michael in
in the iconostasis about 1410. The bene-
at the centre of and depicts saints, volent appearance of
the Deesis Tier, apostles and the archangel is typical
and is normally archangels. of Rublev’s figures.
flanked by the
Virgin Mary and The Royal Gate, at the centre of the Local Tier, The Local Tier contains
John the Baptist. is usually decorated with panels showing the four icons of saints with a strong
apostles and the Annunciation – when Mary learns link to the church, such as
An additional tier she is to bear the Son of God. The gate represents the church’s namesake or
between the Local and the entrance from the temporal to the spiritual world. saints after whom patrons
Deesis Tiers often depicts of the church were named.
the months of the year.

62 M O S C O W A R E A B Y A R E A

The enormous vaulted main hall of the Faceted Palace, which was lavishly repainted in the 1880s

Faceted Palace 8 The first floor of the Faceted In the Streltsy Rebellion of 1682
Palace consists of the main (see p22) several of Peter the
Грановитая палата hall and adjoining Sacred Great’s relatives were hurled
Granovitaya palata Vestibule. Both are decorated down the Red Staircase onto
with rich frescoes and gilded the pikes of the Streltsy guard.
The Kremlin. Map 7 A2. ¢ to public. carvings. The splendid
vaulted main hall has an area Demolished by Stalin in the
In the 19th century, the of about 500 sq m (5,380 sq 1930s, the staircase was rebuilt
Faceted Palace, along with ft). It was the throne room in 1994 at great expense.
the Terem Palace, was incor- and banqueting hall of the
porated into the Great Kremlin tsars and is now used for Church of the
Palace. Named after its distinc- holding receptions. Deposition of the
tive stonework façade, the Robe 9
Faceted Palace is all that is left On the palace’s southern
of a larger 15th-century royal façade is the Red Staircase. The Церковь Ризположения
palace. It was commissioned tsars passed down this staircase Tserkov Rizopolozheniya
by Ivan III (see p18) in 1485 on their way to the Cathedral
and finished six years later. of the Assumption for their The Kremlin. Map 7 A1. &
The Faceted Palace is the work coronations. The last such
of two Italian architects, Marco procession was at the coro- Crowned by a single golden
Ruffo and Pietro Solario. nation of Nicholas II in 1896. dome, this beautiful, but
simply designed, church was
The southern façade of the Faceted Palace, with the Red Staircase built as the domestic church
of the metropolitans in 1484-6.
It was designed by architects
from Pskov (see p44)

The church is named after a
Byzantine feast day, which cel-
ebrates the arrival, in the city
of Constantinople, of a robe
supposed to have belonged to
the Virgin Mary. The robe is
believed to have saved the city
from invasion several times.

The exterior of the church
has distinctive ogee arches,
which are shaped like the
cross-section of an onion
and feature on many
Russian churches from this

THE KREMLIN 63

period. They are a favourite Kremlin Palace
device of the Pskov school of
architecture. Inside the church, that previously
the walls and slender columns
are covered with 17th-century stood on the
frescoes by artists including
Ivan Borisov, Sidor Pospeev site but had
and Semen Abramov. Many
depict scenes from the life become dilapi-
of the Virgin. Others depict
Christ, the prophets, royalty dated. In 1837
and the Moscow metropolitans.
Tsar Nicholas I
The impressive iconostasis
was created by Nazariy Istomin commissioned
in 1627. To the left of the royal
gate is a splendid image of the the Great
Trinity and to its right is the
patronal Icon of the Deposition Kremlin Palace
of the Virgin’s Robe.
as the Moscow
The small, single-domed Church
of the Deposition of the Robe residence of the

Terem Palace 0 royal family,

Теремной двороц where they
Teremnoy dvorets
stayed when
The Kremlin. Map 7 A2. ¢ to public.
The ornately decorated anteroom in the Terem Palace visiting from

St Petersburg,

Beyond this are the throne then the capital. Designed by

room, the tsar’s bedchamber a team of architects led by

and a small prayer room. Konstantin Ton (see p45), it

Most of the splendid Terem took 12 years to build. Ton’s

Palace is not visible from the design integrated the Terem

areas of the Kremlin to which and Faceted Palaces with the

the public have access. The new palace, creating a single

eleven richly decorated onion complex. He also rebuilt the

domes of the four palace State Armoury (see pp64–5).

churches, at one end of the On the palace’s ground floor

palace, are all that can be seen. are the luxurious private rooms

of the royal family. The state

Great Kremlin chambers, on the first floor, in-
Palace q clude several vast ceremonial
halls. The imposing St George’s

Большой Кремлёвский Hall has white walls engraved

дворец| in gold with the names of

Bolshoy Kremlevskiy dvorets those awarded the Order of
StGeorge, one of Russia’s

The Kremlin. Map 7 A2. ¢ to public. highest military decorations.

Despite spending massive

The Impressive 125-m (410-ft) amounts on the interior, the

façade of this yellow and tsar rarely used the palace. In

white palace is best admired the 1930s two of the halls were

from the Kremlin embankment, joined to form a huge meeting

outside the Kremlin walls. The room for the Supreme Soviet.

Great Kremlin Palace was built Now the palace’s halls are used

to replace the 18th-century to receive foreign dignitaries.

Commissioned by Tsar Mikhail The Great Kremlin Palace viewed from the Kremlin embankment
Romanov (see p19), the
Terem Palace was built next to
the Faceted Palace in 1635-7.
It was constructed by a team
of stonemasons led by Bazhen
Ogurtsov. The palace takes its
name from the terem, a pavil-
ion-like structure with a red
and white chequered roof on
top of the main building. The
interior has small, low-vaulted,
simply furnished rooms.

The Tsar had five sumptuous
rooms situated on the third
floor of the palace. The ante-
room, where boyars (see p20)
and foreign dignitaries waited
to be received, leads into the
council chamber, where the
tsar held meetings with boyars.

64 M O S C O W A R E A B Y A R E A

State Armoury w

Oружейная палата

Oruzheynaya palata

The collection of the State Armoury represents the wealth accumu-

lated by Russian princes and tsars over many centuries. The first

written mention of a state armoury occurs in 1508, but there were

forges in the Kremlin producing weapons and armour as early as

the 13th century. Later, gold- and silversmiths, workshops producing

icons and embroidery, and the Office of the Royal Stables all

moved into the Kremlin. The original armoury was demolished

in 1960 to make way for the State

Kremlin Palace (see p56). The . Fabergé Eggs
current State Armoury was built as This egg, also a musical box,
a museum on the orders of
Nicholas I. It was designed was made in 1904 in the St
by Konstantin Ton (see p45) Petersburg workshops of the
in 1844 and was
completed famous House of Fabergé.
in 1851. The egg forms part of a stylized

model of the Kremlin.

Arms and armour made in

the Kremlin workshops are 2

on show here, along with

items from Western

Europe and Persia.

4

Carriages and Sledges 3
This magnificent collection includes the
beautiful gilded summer carriage shown 5
here. It was presented to Catherine the
Great (see p23) by Count Orlov. The
oldest carriage displayed was
a gift from King James I of
England to Boris Godunov.

First Floor

9

THE STATE DIAMOND FUND Ground
This dazzling exhibition of diamonds, crowns, floor
jewellery and state regalia includes the famous
Orlov Diamond. Taken from an Indian temple, Ambassadors’ gifts, pre-
it was one of many presents given to Catherine sented by visiting emissaries
the Great by her lover Count Grigoriy Orlov. from the Netherlands, Poland,
The tsarina had it mounted at the top of her England and Scandinavia
sceptre. Also on show are Catherine’s imperial are displayed here.
crown, inset with almost 5,000 gems, and the
Shah Diamond, which was Main entrance
given to Tsar
Nicholas I by
Shah Mirza.

The Orlov Diamond
on the sceptre of Catherine the Great

THE KREMLIN 65

. Crown of Monomakh VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Emperor Constantine Monomachus
was said to have given this 13th- The Kremlin. Map 7 A2. Tel 921
or 14th-century gold crown 4720. q Alexandrovskiy sad, Bib-
to Vladimir Monomakh (see lioteka imeni Lenina, Borovitskaya.
p59). Decorated with sable # admittance at 10am, 12pm,
and gems, it was used at 2:30pm and 4:30pm Fri–Wed. &
royal coronations until 1682. 9 8 English (book in advance:
202 4256). = State Diamond
Stairs to Stairs to Fund Tel 629 2036. # 10am–
first floor ground floor 1pm, 2pm–5pm Fri–Wed. & 8
English (book in advance). =

1
Precious
fabrics

6

. Catherine the Great’s

Coronation Dress

Among the richly decorated clothes

from the royal court is an ornate

State brocade gown embroidered
Diamond
with double-headed eagles

8 Fund in gold thread. It was made
7
entrance in 1762 for Catherine the

Great’s coronation.

Harnesses GALLERY GUIDE
and other The State Armoury’s main
equipment, origi- entrance leads to the ticket office
nally produced in the basement. Stairs at the
for the Office of far end of the basement lead
the Royal Stables, up to the exhibits. Rooms 1–5
are on show here. on the first floor contain gold
and silverware and arms and
armour. Rooms 6–9 downstairs

house royal regalia. The
State Diamond Fund, a sep-
arate museum, is also housed
in the State Armoury building.

KEY

STAR EXHIBITS Diamond Throne Russian gold and silver
. Fabergé Eggs Made in Persia in 1659, this Arms and armour
Works by European craftsmen
. Crown of throne was presented to Russian dress and fabrics
Monomakh Tsar Alexis (see p19) by an Carriages and harnesses
Armenian trading company. State regalia
. Catherine the Great’s Non-exhibition space
Coronation Dress It is encrusted with 900
diamonds and turquoises

and is the most valuable
throne in the collection.

66 M O S C O W A R E A B Y A R E A

Saviour’s Tower e Every person using Saviour’s Red Army officers, and later
Gate, even the tsar, had to in- as the headquarters of the
Спасская башня dicate respect for the icon by Presidium of the Supreme
Spasskaya bashnya taking his hat off. The icon was Soviet, an executive arm of the
removed after the Revolution. Soviet parliament. Today it is
The Kremlin. Map 7 B1. home to part of the Russian
Saviour’s Tower was built in presidential administration.
Rising majestically above Red two stages. The lower part was
Square to a height of 70 m designed by Italian architect The Presidential Administration
(230 ft), Saviour’s Tower is Pietro Solario in 1491. Bazhen
named after an icon of Christ Ogurtsov and Englishman Senate t
installed over its gate in 1648. Christopher Galloway added
The gate is no longer open to the upper part and tent roof Сенат
the public, but it used to be in 1625. Originally the chimes Senat
the Kremlin’s main entrance. of the clock played the
Preobrazhenskyy March and
Kol’ Slaven Nash Gospod’ v
Sione. Now they play the
Russian National Anthem.

Presidential
Administration r

Администрация Президента

Administraya Presidenta

The Kremlin. Map 7 A1. ¢ to public. The Kremlin. Map 7 A1. ¢ to public.

Saviour’s Tower, once the main Two important religious insti- Completed in 1790, this Neo-
entrance to the Kremlin tutions, the Monastery of Classical building was
the Miracles and the Convent constructed to house several of
of the Ascension, used to stand the Senate’s departments. De-
here. They were demolished in signed by Matvey Kazakov (see
1929 to make way for the pp44–5), who regarded it as his
Presidential Administration. best work, it is triangular, with
The building was originally a central, domed rotunda, from
used as a training school for which the Russian flag flies.

KREMLIN TOWERS Corner
Arsenal Tower
There are 19 towers in the walls of the Kremlin, with a bridge leading from the
Trinity Tower to a 20th, the Kutafya Tower. In 1935 the double-headed imperial
eagles were removed from the five tallest towers and replaced two years later
with stars made of red glass, each weighing between 1 and 1.5 tonnes.

Borovitskaya Annunciation Tower Trinity Tower Nicholas’ Tower is the

THE KREMLIN 67

The domed rotunda of the yellow and white Senate, behind the Senate Tower and the Lenin Mausoleum

From 1918 to 1991, the Senate Bakarev, Ivan Tamanskiy, Ivan imperial eagle was taken down
housed the Soviet government. Mironovskiy and Evgraf Tyurin after the Revolution and the
Lenin had his office here and were commissioned to design inscription was replaced by
his family lived in a flat on a new Arsenal. Their attractive the names of revolutionary
the top floor. During World yellow and white Neo-Classical thinkers, such as Karl Marx
War II the Red Army Supreme building was finished in 1828. and Friedrich Engels.
Command, headed by Stalin,
was based in the building. The Arsenal was constructed The Tomb of the Unknown
as a storehouse for weapons, Soldier, a short distance away,
Today the Senate is the offi- ammunition and other military was unveiled in 1967. Its eter-
cial seat of the president of supplies. Around 750 cannons, nal flame was lit with a torch
the Russian Federation. including some that were lit from the flame at the Field
captured from Napoleon’s of Mars in St Petersburg. It
retreating troops, are lined up burns for all the Russians who
outside. Now the command died in World War II. The body
post of the Kremlin guard, the of a soldier is buried beneath
interior and much of the exte- the monument, which bears an
rior of the Arsenal are strictly inscription, “Your name is un-
out of bounds to visitors. known, your deeds immortal”.

Alexander Gardens u In 1996, an huge shopping
complex was constructed be-
Александровский сад neath Manezhnaya ploshchad,
the large square to the north
Aleksandrovskiy sad of Alexander Gardens.

The Kremlin. Map 7 A1.

Corner Arsenal Tower with the Designed by architect Osip Path through Alexander Gardens,
Arsenal and Nicholas’ Tower Bove (see p45) in 1821, with the Trinity Tower behind
these gardens are named after
Arsenal y Tsar Alexander I, who presided
over the restoration of the city,
Арсенал including the Kremlin, after
Arsenal the Napoleonic Wars. Before
the gardens were built, the
The Kremlin. Map 7 A1. ¢ to public. Neglinnaya river, part of the
Kremlin moat, was channelled
Peter the Great ordered the underground. The only visible
Arsenal to be built in 1701, reminder of its presence is
but various setbacks, includ- the stone bridge linking the
ing a fire in 1711, delayed its Kutafya and Trinity towers.
completion until 1736. In 1812
the building was partly blown In front of the Middle Arsenal
up by Napoleon’s army (see Tower in the northern half of
pp23–5). Architects Aleksandr the gardens is an obelisk erect-
ed in 1913 to mark 300 years
of the Romanov dynasty. The



MOSCOW AREA BY AREA 69

A R B AT S K AYA

The name “Arbat” is thought intellectuals and artists, attracted
to derive from a Mongol by the area’s rambling back-
word meaning suburb, streets, dilapidated cottages

and was first applied in the and overgrown courtyards.

15th century to the entire area In the Old Arbat, with its

west of the Kremlin, then inhab- pedestrianized main street,

ited by the tsar’s artisans and there are historic churches,

equerries. Though still com- timber houses and early 19th-

memorated in street names, the century mansions around pereulok

artisans moved elsewhere in Fayoum portrait, Sivtsev Vrazhek. Yet, not far

the late 18th century. The aris- Pushkin Museum away are the kiosks, cafés and

tocracy moved in and were huge Soviet-era apartment

followed by Moscow’s professionals, blocks and shops of the New Arbat.

SIGHTS AT A GLANCE

Museums and Galleries Cathedrals

Bely House-Museum 5 Cathedral of Christ the

Lermontov House-Museum e Redeemer 7

Museum of Private Collections 8 Historic Buildings
Pushkin House-Museum 4 Melnikov House 3
Pushkin Museum of Pashkov House 0

Fine Arts pp78–81 9 Streets and Squares
Shalyapin House-Museum r Arbat Square w
Shchusev Museum of Architecture q Spasopeskovskiy
Skryabin House-Museum 1
Pereulok 2

1 07" 3 4, ":" 6 - * 5 4 " Ulitsa Prechistenka 6 . 0 , ) 0 7 ":" 6 - * 5 4 "
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$)*45:: 1&3&6-0, This area is served by several metro
-&/ ."--&74)*/4,*: 1&3 stations: Arbatskaya, Biblioteka imeni
,30105,*/4,: 1&3 Lenina, Borovitskaya, Kropotkinskaya and
1&3& Smolenskaya. It is also easily accessible by
trolleybus (1, 2, 5, 10, 15, 16, 31, 33, 39, 79,
4,*: & Б) and there are several buses that run
(-";074,*: 1&3 #0- -&74)*/4,*: 1&3&6-0, through the district (6, 64, 132 & К).
6-0,
KEY 13&$)*45&/,"
Street-by-Street map #6-
pp70–71
7
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Busy ulitsa Arbat, the heart of the Old Arbat, overlooked by the monumental Stalinist Foreign Affairs Ministry

70 M O S C O W A R E A B Y A R E A

Street-by-Street: Old Arbat Spaso House
is a grand Neo-
At the heart of the Old Arbat is the pedestrianized ulitsa Arbat. Classical mansion.
It is lined with antique shops, boutiques, souvenir stalls, It has been the
pavement cafés and a variety of restaurants, from pizzerias and residence of the
hamburger joints to lively examples of the traditional Russian pub US ambassador
(traktir). In the 19th century, the Old Arbat was the haunt of artists, since 1933.
musicians, poets, writers and intellectuals. Some of their homes
have been preserved and opened as museums, and are among the
district’s many houses of that era that have been lovingly restored

and painted in pastel shades of blue, green and ochre.
Today, pavement artists, buskers and street poets give it a

renewed bohemian atmosphere.

This small garden
contains a statue of the
poet Alexander Pushkin.

Novyy SMOLENSKAYA PLOSHCHAD SLOBODY SPASOPESKOVSKIY PEREULOK
Arbat KAMENNOY
PEREULOK
. Pushkin House-Museum
The poet Alexander Pushkin lived PEREULOK
here just after his marriage in KARMANITSKIY
1831. The interior of the house
has been carefully renovated 4

Ulitsa Arbat D
By the time of the Soviet era, ulitsa Arbat
had lost most of its 19th-century character. EPNEERZEHUNL
It was pedestrianized in 1985, however,
and its lively shops, restaurants and cafés Y
are now popular with Muscovites and O
visitors to the city alike.
Y
Smolenskaya K

Bely House- Georgian
Museum Centre
Andrei Bely, best
known for two works, The Foreign Ministry
a novel, Petersburg, is one of Moscow’s
and his memoirs, lived seven Stalinist-Gothic
in this flat for the first skyscrapers (see p45).
26 years of his life. It is
now a museum and the exhibits on
display include this photo of Bely
with his wife and the fascinating
illustration, Line of Life (see p73) 5

A R B AT S K AYA 71

Spasopeskovskiy Pereulok TVERSKAYA
On one side of this peaceful ARBATSKAYA
lane is the 18th-century
Church of the Saviour on the
Sands, with its white bell
tower. It overlooks a secluded
square and garden, a remin-
der that the Arbat was at that
time a genteel suburb 2

LOCATOR MAP
See Street Finder, map 6

BOLSHOY NIKOLOPESKOVSKIY PEREULOK The Vakhtangova Theatre was
established here in 1921 by Yevgeniy
Vakhtangov, one of Moscow’s lead-
ing theatre directors. The current
theatre building dates from 1947.

Square

KALOSHIN PEREULOKARBAT . Skryabin House-Museum
PLOTNIKOV PEREULOKULITSA This comfortable apartment has been
preserved as it was in 1912–15 when
These pre-Revolution
apartments, designed for experimental composer Aleksandr
Skryabin lived here. The furniture in
wealthy Muscovites, are
decorated with fanciful turrets the rooms is Style Moderne and the
lighting is dim, since Skryabin
and sculptures of knights. disliked direct light 1
Melnikov House
Pushkin The Herzen House-Museum
This unusual cylindrical house is Museum of was the home of the radical
now dwarfed by the apartments Fine Arts writer Aleksandr Herzen for

on ulitsa Arbat. It was built in the three years from 1843.
1920s by Constructivist architect
Konstantin Melnikov, who lived 0 metres 100
here until his death in 1974 3
0 yards 100

STAR SIGHTS

. Pushkin
House-Museum

. Skryabin
House-Museum

KEY

Suggested route

72 M O S C O W A R E A B Y A R E A

Skryabin
House-Museum 1

Дом-музей АН Скрябина

Dom-muzey AN Skryabina

Bolshoy Nikolopeskovskiy pereulok
11. Map 6 D1. Tel 241 1901. q Smo-
lenskaya, Arbatskaya. # noon–6pm
Wed & Fri–Sun, 10am–5pm Thu. &
8 English (book in advance).

The flat where the pianist and The Classical-style Spaso House on Spasopeskovskaya ploshchad
composer Aleksandr Skryabin
(1872–1915) died, at the age device for projecting Melnikov House 3
of 43, has been preserved as flickering light. Regular
it was when he lived there. concerts are held in the Дом Мельникова
Skryabin studied at the rooms on the ground floor.
Moscow Conservatory (see Dom Melnikova
p94), where he established an
international reputation as a Spasopeskovskiy Krivoarbatskiy pereulok 10. Map 6
concert pianist. He was also a D1. q Smolenskaya. # to public.
highly original composer and
musical theorist, best known Pereulok 2 This unique house, almost
for his orchestral works such hidden by office blocks,
as Prometheus and A Poem of Спасопесковский переулок was designed by Konstantin
Ecstasy. Skryabin’s music had Melnikov (1890–1974), one of
a great influence on the young Spasopeskovskiy pereulok
Igor Stravinsky (1882–1971),
and leading composer Sergei Map 6 D1. q Smolenskaya. Russia’s greatest Constructivist
Rachmaninov (1873–1943) was architects (see p45), in 1927.
a regular visitor to his flat.
The charms of the Old Arbat Made from brick overlaid
Although Skryabin spent
much of his time abroad have been preserved in with white stucco, the house
giving concerts, he was an
aesthete and paid considerable this secluded lane and the consists of two interlocking
attention to furnishing and
decorating his fashionable peaceful adjoining square, cylinders. These are studded
apartment. The lofty rooms
house his pianos, autographed Spasopeskovskaya ploshchad. with rows of hexagonal
manuscripts and Style-Moderne
furniture. However, the most In 1878, Vasiliy windows, creating
original item on show is a
Polenov painted A a curious
A room in Aleksandr Skryabin’s
apartment, with one of his pianos Moscow Courtyard, honeycomb

depicting effect. A spiral

Spasopeskovskaya staircase rises

ploshchad as a bu- through the space

colic haven in the where the cylin-

midst of the city. ders overlap,

Today the square linking the light,

still provides a res- airy living spaces.

pite from the hustle Melnikov’s house

and bustle pre- was built for his

vailing elsewhere. Viktor Melnikov’s studio family, but it was

At the centre of in the Melnikov House also to have been

Polenov’s picture, a prototype for

now in the Tretyakov Gallery future housing developments.

(see pp118–21), is the white However, his career was

bell tower of the Church of blighted when Stalin

the Saviour on the Sands encouraged architects to

(Tserkov Spas na Peskakh) adopt a new monumental

from which the lane gets its style (see p45). Although he

name. This 18th-century had won the Gold Medal at

church still dominates the the Paris World’s Fair in 1925,

square. In front of it is a small Melnikov’s work was ridiculed

garden dedicated to the poet or ignored. However, he did

Alexander Pushkin. remain in his house for the

The handsome Classical-style rest of his life, one of the

mansion standing on the far very few residents of central

side of the square was built Moscow allowed to live in a

in 1913 as a private residence. privately built dwelling.

Known as Spaso House, it Melnikov’s son, Viktor

has been the home of the US Melnikov, had a studio in the

ambassador since 1933. house until his death in 2006.

A R B AT S K AYA 73

ALEXANDER PUSHKIN shrine more than a museum.
Pushkin holds a special place
Born in 1799 into Russia’s aris- in Russians’ hearts and they
tocracy, Alexander Pushkin is treat his work and memory
Russia’s most famous poet. He with reverence.
had established a reputation as

both a poet and a rebel by the Bely House-
time he was 20. In 1820, he Museum 5
was sent into exile because the

Tsarist government did not Музей-квартира Андрея
approve of his liberal verse, Белого
but eventually was set free. Muzey-kvartira Andreya Belovo

Pushkin’s early work consisted

of narrative poems such as The Ulitsa Arbat 55. Map 6 D2.
Robber Brothers (1821), and his Tel 241 7702. q Smolenskaya.
most famous work is Eugene Onegin (1823–30), a novel in # 10am–6pm Wed–Sun. & ^ 8
verse. From 1830 Pushkin wrote mostly prose. He developed

a unique style in pieces such as The Queen of Spades (1834) In the adjoining building to
and is credited with giving Russian literature its own identity. the Pushkin House-Museum

is the childhood home of the

Pushkin symbolist writer Andrei Bely.
to a duel. Mortally wounded in Bely was born Boris Bugaev

House-Museum 4 the contest, Pushkin died two in 1880, but later adopted the
days later. name by which he is known
Mузей-квартира АС as a writer. He grew up here
The fascinating exhibition
Пушкина
located in the before becoming a

Muzey-kvartira AS Pushkina museum’s ground student at Moscow

floor rooms gives University (see

Ulitsa Arbat 53. Map 6 D2. an idea of what the p94), where he

Tel 241 4212. q Smolenskaya. city would have began to write

# 10am–6pm Wed–Sun. & ^ been like in the verse. He is best

8 English (book in advance). period when known, however,

Pushkin was grow- for Petersburg, a

Alexander Pushkin rented this ing up, before the novel completed

elegant, blue and white Empire- great fire of 1812. in 1916, and for

style flat for the first three Among the prints, his memoirs.

months of his marriage to lithographs and Only two rooms

society beauty Natalya watercolours are of the Bugaev fam-

Goncharova. They were married some unusual wax ily apartment have

in the Church of the Great figures of a serf been preserved.

Ascension on Bolshaya orchestra that A portrait of Pushkin’s A photographic

Nikitskaya ulitsa (see p93) in belonged to the wife, Natalya Goncharova exhibition on the

February 1831, when she was Goncharova family. writer’s life and

18 years old. Pushkin wrote to Pushkin and Natalya lived on work is housed in one room.

his friend Pyotr Pletnev: “I am the first floor. There are The most interesting item in

married – and happy. My only disappointingly few personal the museum is the Line of

wish is that nothing in my life possessions here, although the Life, an illustration by Bely to

should change; I couldn’t poet’s writing bureau and some show how his mood swings

possibly expect anything better.” family portraits are displayed. combined with cultural influ-

However, by May 1831 The atmosphere resembles a ences to direct his work.

Pushkin had tired of

life in Moscow, and

the couple moved to

St Petersburg, where

sadly a tragic fate

awaited him. Gossip

began to circulate

there that Pushkin’s

brother-in-law, a

French officer called

d’Anthès, was making

advances to Natalya.

Upon receiving letters

informing him that he

was now the “Grand

Master to the Order of

Cuckolds”, Pushkin

challenged d’Anthès The Line of Life illustration drawn by the symbolist writer Andrei Bely

74 M O S C O W A R E A B Y A R E A

Stone eagles among the ornate decoration on No. 20 ulitsa Prechistenka was built between 1994–97.
For much of the intervening
Ulitsa Prechistenka 6 storey mansion decorated with time, the site was occupied
eagles, urns, heraldic symbols by an outdoor swimming
Улица Пречистенка and scallop shells. Until 1861 it pool, but this was eventually
was home to General Aleksey filled in.
Ulitsa Prechistenka
The project courted con-
Map 6 D3–E2. q Kropotkinskaya. Yermolov, a commander-in- troversy from the start, both
chief in the Russian army. After on grounds of taste and cost.
In 1995 a presidential decree
Moscow’s Aristocracy first the Revolution, the American declared that not a kopek
of public money should be
settled in this street in dancer Isadora Duncan and spent on it – funds were to
be raised through donations
the late 18th century and their the poet Sergey Yesenin lived from the public, the Russian
Church and foreign donors
elegant mansions still line it here during their brief, among the big multinational
companies operating in
today. In Soviet times it was tempestuous marriage. Russia. However, in practice,
the better part of the total bill
known as Kropotkinskaya The two spoke no of over US$200 million came
from the state budget, which
ulitsa, after Prince Pyotr common language, raised objections at a time
when Muscovites were
Kropotkin, a famous and Yesenin stated his suffering extreme poverty.

anarchist (see p23). feelings by writing The original cathedral was
built to commemorate the
The Empire- the Russian for miraculous deliverance of
Moscow from Napoleon’s
style house at “I love you” Grande Armée (see pp23–4).
Begun in 1839, but not
No.12 ulitsa in lipstick on completed until 1883, it
was designed by Konstantin
Prechistenka is the bedroom Ton (see p45). The cathedral
was the tallest building in
now the Pushkin Lion at No. 16 mirror. Moscow at that time, the
gilded dome rising to a height
Literary Museum ulitsa Prechistenka The most of 103 m (338 ft) and
dominating the skyline for
(not to be confused distinguished miles around. With a floor
area of 9,000 sq m (97,000 sq
with the Pushkin House- house is at No. 19. Rebuilt ft), it could accommodate
more than 10,000 worshippers.
Museum, see p73). The house after the 1812 fire (see p24)
In 1998, a small museum
was originally designed for the for the Dolgorukov family, it and a church on the ground
floor opened to the public.
Khrushchev family (no has an ochre and white There are spectacular views
of the city from the dome.
connection with Nikita façade. Adjoining it, at No. 21,
Cathedral of Christ the Redeemer,
Khrushchev) by Afanasiy is another early 19th-century rebuilt in the 1990s at huge cost

Grigorev (see p45), one of the mansion, now the Academy

leading exponents of this style of Arts, where exhibitions are

in Moscow. The building has a sometimes put on.

wooden frame, skilfully hidden

by Classical columns and Cathedral of Christ
ornate stucco decoration. the Redeemer 7

Across the street another

great writer is honoured at Храм Христа Спасителя
No. 11 in the Tolstoy Literary Khram Khrista Spasitelya
Museum. In contrast to the

Tolstoy House-Museum (see Ulitsa Volkhonka 15. Map 6 F2.
p134), it concentrates on the q Kropotkinskaya.
man’s work rather than his life.

The building however, has no Rebuilding this cathedral,

connection with Tolstoy; it was blown up on Stalin’s

built in 1822, also to a design by orders in 1931, was the most

Afanasiy Grigorev, for the noble ambitious of the construction

Lopukhin family. On display projects undertaken by the

are many letters, manuscripts enterprising mayor of Moscow,

and family portraits. Yuriy Luzhkov. The basic

At No. 20 is an elegant two- structure of the new cathedral

A R B AT S K AYA 75

STALIN’S PLAN FOR A PALACE OF SOVIETS is thought probably to have
been Vasiliy Bazhenov (see
The original Cathedral of Christ p44), to surpass himself with
the grandeur of the design.
the Redeemer was to have been The mansion’s height was
achieved by placing it on an
replaced by a Palace of Soviets – enormous stone base and the
building is surmounted by a
a soaring tower, 315m (1,034 ft) beautifully proportioned
rotunda. Surprisingly the most
high, topped by a 100-m (328-ft) impressive façade is to the
rear of the building, which
statue of Lenin. It was designed originally led to a garden.
The original main entrance is
as the highlight of Stalin’s recon- through an ornate stone
gateway located on
struction of Moscow, much of the Starovagankovskiy pereulok.

rest of which was realized: broad In 1839, a relative of Captain
Pashkov sold the house to the
boulevards, skyscrapers and the Moscow Institute for Nobles,
which occupied the premises
metro system (see pp38–41) are until 1861. It was then taken
over by the Rumyantsev
now familiar features of the city. Museum, which moved to the
capital from St Petersburg at
The result was also, however, the that time. The museum brought
with it an art collection and a
destruction of many supposedly library of more than one
million volumes.
unnecessary buildings, especially
After the Revolution, the
churches and monasteries, even library was nationalized and
renamed the Lenin Library. A
inside the Kremlin. The scheme new, and infinitely less attrac-
tive, extension for the rapidly
for the Palace of Soviets was Artist’s impression of expanding book collection was
begun next door in 1928 and
eventually abandoned and the Stalin’s proposed awe- completed during the 1950s.
Now known as the Russian
cathedral was rebuilt in the 1990s. inspiring Palace of Soviets State Library, it contains some

Pashkov House 0 40 million items including
books, periodicals,
Дом Пашкова manuscripts, record-
ings, microfilms
Dom Pashkova and pictures.

Ulitsa Znamenka 6. Map 6 F1.
¢ to public. q Borovitskaya,
Biblioteka imeni Lenina.

The Museum of Private Collections, This magnificent mansion,
housed in a former hotel currently under restoration,
was once the finest private
Museum of Private house in Moscow and enjoys
Collections 8 a wonderful hilltop location
overlooking the Kremlin. It
Музей личных коллекций was built in the Neo-Classical
Muzey lichnykh kollektsiy style in 1784–8 for the fabu-
lously wealthy Captain
Ulitsa Volkhonka 14. Map 6 F2. Pyotr Pashkov.
Tel 203 1546. # noon–6pm Pashkov encouraged
Wed–Sun. q Kropotkinskaya. & ^ his architect, who

Before the revolution the
Knyazhiy Dvor hotel,
whose guests included Maxim
Gorky and artist Ilya Repin,
occupied this building.

The museum opened in 1994
and is based on private collec-
tions. The largest is that of Ilya
Zilberstein, which includes a
vast range of work by promi-
nent Russian artists such as
Ivan Shishkin, Ilya Repin and
Konstantin Somov. There are
also works by Aleksandr Rod-
chenko, and rooms devoted to
periodic specialist exhibitions.

Pushkin Museum
of Fine Arts 9

See pp78–81. The imposing Pashkov House overlooking the Kremlin

Balloons over Moscow, below them two of the seven Stalinist-Gothic towers that dominate the city





78 M O S C O W A R E A B Y A R E A

Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts 9

Музей изобразительных искусств имени АС Пушкина
Muzey izobrazitelnykb iskusstv imeni AS Pushkina

Founded in 1898, the Pushkin Museum houses an
excellent collection of French Impressionist and Post-
Impressionist paintings. It also has an enviable
collection of old masters. Following the collapse of
the Soviet Union (see pp30–31), the curators
admitted that they had countless works of art
hidden away for ideological reasons. Some
of these are now on show, includ-ing
paintings by Russian-born artists Vasily
Kandinsky and Marc Chagall. The museum
building was designed by Roman Klein. It
was originally built to house plaster casts of
classical sculptures for Moscow University art
students to use for research.

Room 23 houses
mostly 19th-century
French paintings.

. Nude (1876) Stairs to
The natural beauty of the ground floor
female body is captured in
this picture by Impressionist First floor
painter Pierre Auguste Renoir.
The gallery owns a number of
other paintings by Renoir in-
cluding Bathing in the Seine.

GALLERY GUIDE Room 5 houses
The ticket office is in the Italian, German
entrance hall. The displays and Dutch paint-
are spread over two floors, ings from the 15th
but although the museum and 16th centuries.
halls are numbered, the
layout is not strictly chrono- . Annunciation
logical. Paintings from the Painted around 1490 by Italian
17th and 18th centuries are artist Sandro Botticelli, this work
on the ground floor while was originally part of a large
works from the 19th and altar-piece. It shows the angel
20th centuries are upstairs. Gabriel telling the Virgin Mary
Collections of art that date she is to bear the Son of God.
from before the 17th cen-
tury can be found on both Altar Triptych
floors. The cloakroom and The panels of this altar-
toilets are in the basement.
piece were painted
STAR PAINTINGS by Pietro di Giovanni
Lianori in the 14th cen-
. Annunciation tury. Above the central
by Botticelli image of the Virgin and
Child is a picture of the
. Nude by Renoir crucifixion. Figures of
the saints are painted
. Montagne Ste on the triptych’s wings.
Victoire by Cézanne

A R B AT S K AYA 79

. Mont Ste- VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
Victoire (1905)
This work by Paul Ulitsa Volkhonka 12. Map 6 F2.
Cézanne is one of Tel 203 9578. q Kropotkinskaya.
the many views he  1,2,16,33.# 10am–7pm
painted of this Tue–Sun. & 8 = 9 English.
mountain, east of www.museum.ru/gmii
Aix-en-Provence,
after he settled in
the region in 1886.

Room 17 houses a collection
of early works by Picasso.

Room 11 contains Goldfish (1911–12)
European 17th- Henri Matisse painted

century paintings, this remarkable still
notably Bacchanalia life of goldfish, with its
(c.1615) by Peter Paul bright, clear colours,
Rubens and Satyr and
Peasant (c.1621) by in his workshop at
Issy-les-Moulineaux,
Jacob Jordaens. near Paris. His friend,
the Russian collector

Sergey Shchukin,
purchased it on sight

the following year.

Stairs to
first floor

=
&

Ahasuerus, Haman and Esther
In this biblical scene by Rembrandt
(1660), the Persian king, Ahasuerus,
is flanked by his Jewish wife and his
minister, Haman. Esther, lit by a
single ray of light, accuses Haman
of plotting to destroy the Jews.

Tickets and

Ground information

floor Entrance

KEY

Art of ancient civilizations Fayoum Portrait
European art 13th–16th centuries Painted in the 1st century AD,

this is one of a collection of

European art 17th–18th centuries portraits discovered at a burial

European art 19th century ground at the Fayoum oasis in
Egypt in the 1870s. They were
Post-Impressionist and painted while the subjects were
20th-century European art still alive to be used as death masks
on their mummies when they died.
Temporary exhibition space

80 M O S C O W A R E A B Y A R E A

Exploring the Pushkin Museum of FineArts

EUROPEAN ART
The accumulated treasures of the Pushkin 17TH–18TH CENTURIES

Museum of Fine Arts reflect the tastes

of many private collectors, whose holdings The Pushkin Museum has an
enviable collection of 17th-
Religious icon were nationalized by the Soviet government century Dutch and Flemish
after the Revolution. The most important of masters. It includes Anthony
these belonged to two outstanding connois- Van Dyck’s accomplished por-
seurs, Sergey Shchukin and Ivan Morozov. traits of the wealthy burgher,
By 1914, Shchukin had acquired more than Adriaen Stevens, and his wife,
220 paintings by French artists, including Maria Boschaert, both painted

(c.14th–15th many by Cézanne. Even more importantly, in 1629, and some evocative

century) Shchukin championed Matisse and Picasso landscapes by Jan Van Goyen
and Jacob van Ruysdael. Also
when they were still relatively unknown. on show are still lifes by Frans
Morozov also collected canvases by these two painters Snyders, some delightful genre
along with pictures by Renoir, Van Gogh and Gauguin. scenes by Jan Steen, Pieter de

Hooch and Gabriel Metsu and

several works by Peter Paul

Rubens, including the charac-

teristically flamboyant and

sensual Bacchanalia (c.1615).

Six of Rembrandt’s masterly

canvases, along with some of

his drawings and etchings, are

displayed in the gallery. The

paintings include the biblical

Ahasuerus, Haman and

Greek marble sarcophagus, dating from around AD 210 Esther (1660), Christ Driving

the Money-Changers from the

in the Byzantine tradition by Temple (1626) and An Old

ART OF ANCIENT Italian artists. Siena was a Woman, a sensitive portrait of

CIVILIZATIONS major artistic centre in the 14th the artist’s mother (1654).

century and Simone Martini The gallery has a modest

The museum’s archaeological was a leading master of the collection of Spanish and

exhibits come from as far Sienese school. His naturalistic Italian paintings from the 17th

afield as ancient Mesopotamia images of St Augustine and and 18th centuries. Of the

and the Mayan Empire. Among Mary Magdalene, painted in the Spanish artists, Bartholomé

them is a fascinating collection 1320s, are among the exhibits. Esteban Murillo, known for his

donated by the Egyptologist There are also a number of religious scenes and portraits,

Vladimir Golenishchev in 1913. later religious pieces on show, is probably the best known.

The display includes the including a triptych by Pietro The works on show by Italian

renowned tomb portraits from di Giovanni Lianori. Two out- artists include Betrothal of the

Fayoum and two exquisite standing old masters painted Doge and the Sea (1729–30) by

ebony figurines of the high in the 1490s are also

priest Amen-Hotep and his displayed here: the

wife, the priestess Re-nai. superb Annunciation,

There is also an assortment painted by Sandro

of items from ancient Greece Botticelli, and the

and Rome including a fine Madonna and Child

collection of black-figure and by Pietro Perugino.

red-figure style Greek vases. The museum is not

The fabulous Treasure of so well endowed with

Troy display, with gold German and Flemish

artifacts excavated from the art of the period.

legendary city in the 1870s is However, two notable

now open to the public again. exceptions are Pieter

Breughel the Younger’s

Winter Landscape with

EUROPEAN ART Bird Trap and Lucas

13TH–16TH CENTURIES Cranach the Elder’s

Virgin and Child.

The Pushkin Museum contains Painted on wood, the

a small, but memorable, latter places the Virgin

collection of Medieval and and Child in the

Renaissance art. It includes a context of a typical A section of the Virgin and Child, painted

series of altar panels painted German landscape. by Lucas Cranach the Elder in about 1525

A R B AT S K AYA 81

Canaletto, widely considered Pierre Auguste
the master of the style of urban
landscape known as veduta. Renoir and

The Pushkin Museum is Claude Monet.
justly famous for its collection
of French art, which includes The museum
paintings of classical and epic
subjects by a variety of artists. owns eleven
Among the paintings on show
are Nicolas Poussin’s dramatic paintings by
work, The Battle of the Israelites
with the Amorri (c.1625) and Monet, including
François Boucher’s painting,
Hercules and Omphale (1730s). Lilac in the Sun
The latter depicts the myth of
Hercules, who was sold as a (1873) and two
slave to Queen Omphale.
from a series of
Hercules and Omphale, painted
in the 1730s by François Boucher 20 paintings of

EUROPEAN ART 19TH the cathedral at
CENTURY
Rouen. There
In the early 19th century
Classicism in art gradually are also some
yielded to Romanticism. Works
such as After the Shipwreck excellent
(1847) by Eugène Delacroix,
which portrays the sea as a paintings by Improvisation No 20 by Vasily Kandinsky
force of nature, unpredictable
and hostile to man, were the Renoir including
result of this shift. Works by
other artists of the period, such Nude and the radiant Portrait A marvellous array of paint-
as the landscape painters John
Constable and Caspar David of the Actress Jeanne Samary ings by Paul Cézanne is on
Friedrich, are also on show.
(1877). Alongside landscapes show in the gallery, including
The Pushkin Museum has a
fine collection of paintings by and street scenes by Alfred his Self-portrait (early 1880s),
artists of the French Barbizon
school, who were the prede- Sisley and Camille Pisarro are Pierrot and Harlequin (1888)
cessors of the Impressionists.
These include landscapes by Blue Dancers (c.1899) and and a late version of Mont
Camille Corot, François Millet
and Gustave Courbet. Dancers at a Rehearsal Ste-Victoire (1905). His

Paintings from the enormous (1875–77), two of Degas’ Pierrot and Harlequin (1888)
collection of works by the
Impressionists themselves are many ballet scenes. depicts characters from the
displayed in rotation. Visitors
can look forward to a selection Sculptures by Auguste Rodin Mardi-Gras Carnivals.
of canvases by artists such as
Edouard Manet, Edgar Degas, are also part of the collection. In 1888, Paul Gauguin stayed

They include a bust of Victor with Van Gogh for two months

Hugo and preparatory studies in Arles. Gauguin’s Café in

for the famous Kiss (1886) and Arles and Van Gogh’s intense

Burghers of Calais (1884–6). Red Vineyards in Arles, both

painted during the visit, hang

in the Pushkin Museum.

The gallery also has several

later works by Van Gogh, in-

cluding The Prison Courtyard

(1890) and Wheatfields in

Auvers, After the Rain (1890).

His Portrait of Dr Rey (1889)

emphasizes the sympathetic

nature of the doctor who

showed so much kindness to

the sick artist.

In 1891 Gauguin moved to

Tahiti and a number of works

from this period, including

Are You Jealous? (1892) and

The Great Buddha (1899), are

also displayed here.

Some of Henri Matisse’s

greatest masterpieces are in the

Claude Monet’s Rouen Cathedral Pushkin Museum, including

at Sunset, painted in 1894 The Painter’s Studio (1911)

and Goldfish (1911). There

are also over 50 paintings by

POST-IMPRESSIONIST AND Matisse’s friend, Pablo Picasso,

20TH-CENTURY including Young Acrobat on a

EUROPEAN ART Ball, painted in 1905, (see

p48) and Harlequin and His

Post-Impressionism is the term Companion, dating from 1901.

generally used to describe A number of other 20th-cen-

the various styles of painting tury artists are also represented

developed by the generation in the collection. Highlights

of artists that came after the include The Artist and his

Impressionists. This school in- Bride (1980) by Marc Chagall

cludes Vincent Van Gogh, Paul and the abstract Improvisation

Cézanne and Paul Gauguin. No. 20 by Vasily Kandinsky.

82 M O S C O W A R E A B Y A R E A

The wide expanse of Arbat Square, located between the Old and New Arbat refurbished to re-emerge as a
very elegant establishment
Shchusev Museum development of architecture serving high-quality cuisine in
a variety of national styles.
of Architecture q from medieval times to the
present day. Sadly it is now The small white building at
Музей архитектуры имени confined to two rather less the other end of the underpass
АВ Щусева ambitious exhibitions in the dates from 1909, but it was
main building, and another redesigned three years later
Muzey arkhitektury imeni AV by Fyodor Shekhtel (see p45)
for the pioneering Russian
Shchuseva display in the 17th-century film studio boss, Aleksandr
Khanzhonkov. Now known as
former Apothecary’s Office. the Arts Cinema (see p201), it
was one of the first cinemas
Ulitsa Vozdvizhenka 5. Map 6 F1. Various temporary to open in Moscow.

Tel 290 4855. q Alexandrovskiy exhibitions are on show Lermontov
House-Museum e
sad, Biblioteka imeni Lenina, throughout the year displaying
Дом-музей МЮ Лермонтова
Borovitskaya, Arbatskaya. different aspects of Russian Dom-muzey MYu Lermontova

Main building # 11am–5:45pm architecture and architects. Ulitsa Malaya Molchanovka 2.
Map 6 D1. Tel 291 5298. q
Tue–Fri, 11am–4pm Sat & Sun. Arbatskaya. # 2pm – 4pm Wed, Fri,
11am–4pm Thu & Sat. &
Apothecary’s Office # same as Arbat Square w
Main building. & ^ 8 English. A portrait of the poet and novelist
Lermontov (1814 – 41) as a child
Арбатская площадь
Tucked away behind the
An enormous 18th-century Arbatskaya ploshchad tower blocks of the New
Arbat is the modest timber
mansion houses this house that was once home to
Mikhail Lermontov. The great
museum dedicated to Russian Map 6 E1. q Arbatskaya. Romantic poet and novelist
lived here with his grand-
architecture. It is named after mother, Yelizaveta Arseneva,
from 1829–32 while he was a
the Soviet architect Aleksey A chaotic mass of kiosks, student at Moscow University.
While here, he wrote an early
Shchusev (see p45), who traffic and underpasses, draft of his narrative poem
The Demon (1839).
carried out parts of Stalin’s Arbat Square is the link
Lermontov was more inter-
reconstruction of Moscow between the vividly contrast- ested in writing poetry than in
his studies and left university
during the 1930s and also ing areas of Old and New without graduating. He then
became a guardsman. How-
designed the monumental Arbat. Beneath the square, ever, he was exiled to the
Caucasus for a year because
Lenin Mausoleum the underpasses contain a of the bitter criticisms of the
authorities expressed in his
(see p107). society of their own. Expect

The museum to come across an impromptu

once occupied rock concert, kittens and

the whole puppies for sale and, in late

building, with summer, children selling

beautiful bulbous, hand-picked mush-

displays rooms (though buying these

covering the may not be advisable).

On the corner of

ulitsa Arbat is the

yellow wedge-

shaped Praga res-

taurant (see p184),

dating from before

the Revolution, but

reconstructed in

1954. Despite still

retaining the ele-

gance of its dining

halls, it became a

fairly uninspiring

snack-bar during

the later Soviet era.

A model of the Lenin Mausoleum in Red Square, However, it has

in the Shchusev Museum of Architecture now been entirely

A R B AT S K AYA 83

reburied in the Novodevichiy

Cemetery (see p131) along-

side other famous Russians.

This is one of Moscow’s

newer house-museums and

one of the best. Amusing

drawings of Shalyapin by his

children and a china doll

bought in France decorate

the green-upholstered sitting

room. The mementos in the

blue study, meanwhile,

include portraits of the singer

in his various operatic roles.

The carved chair in front of

the dining room stove was a

Lermontov’s tranquil study in the Lermontov House-Museum gift from writer Maxim Gorky

(see p95), while the paintings

poem Death of a Poet (1837). here. The renowned Russian on the walls are by the artist

This poem about the death of bass, Fyodor Shalyapin, Konstantin Korovin.

Pushkin (see p73) marked a occupied this large house The heavily labelled trunks

turning point in Lermontov’s from 1910 until he emigrated stored in the box room are a

writing and is generally agreed from Soviet Russia in 1922. reminder that Shalyapin was

to be the first of his mature Born in Kazan in 1873, also in great demand at

works. His most famous com- Shalyapin began his career opera houses abroad. Other

position, the novel A Hero of in great poverty, working items on display in the

our Time, was written in 1840. as a stevedore on the house include the singer’s

Lermontov died the next year, Volga before his unique make-up table and one

aged only 26. Like Pushkin, vocal talent was dis- of his wigs. In the

he was killed in a duel. covered. He made his concert room visitors

There are only five rooms international debut at can listen to recordings

in the museum, but each La Scala, Milan, in 1901, of Shalyapin at work.

bears testament both to and went on to sing After singing for his

Lermontov’s dazzling intel- a variety of the great guests, Shalyapin would

lectual gifts and also to his operatic bass roles, in- often take them next

zest for life. The study on the cluding Don Quixote, door for a game of

mezzanine was his favourite Ivan the Terrible and Stone bust of billiards. Shalyapin was

room. Here he would play Boris Godunov. opera singer not a very good loser

the guitar, piano and violin, Shalyapin died in Shalyapin and, depending on his

and even compose music. Paris in 1938, but his mood, his wife would

The drawing room, which remains have since been only invite friends with grace

still contains many of its ori- returned to Russia and were enough to let him win.

ginal furnishings, was often

the site of lively dancing,

singing and masquerades.

Many of Lermontov’s

manuscripts are on display

downstairs, together with

drawings and watercolours,

some by Lermontov himself.

Shalyapin
House-Museum r

Дом-музей Ф.И. Шаляпина

Dom-muzey FI Shalyapina

Novinskiy bulvar 25. Map 1 C5.
Tel 205 6236. q Smolenskaya,
Barrikadnaya. # 10am–5pm Tue &
Sat, 11:30am–7pm Wed & Thu,
10am–3pm Sun. & ^ 8

A stone bust and inscription Pictures drawn by Shalyapin’s children, on display in the sitting room
outside a yellow Empire-
style mansion record that one
of the greatest opera singers
of the 20th century once lived



MOSCOW AREA BY AREA 85

T V E R S K AYA

At heart a commercial district, that the street could be widened
Tverskaya centres on the road of and massive new apartment blocks

the same name, which were erected for workers. These

originally led to St Petersbur ooming grey buildings make

and was the processiona the street a showcase of the

route used by the tsars. Now monumental style of archi-

Moscow’s premier shopping tecture (see p45) favoured by

street, Tverskaya ulitsa under Stalin. The area’s surprisingly

went a major redevelopment in tranquil backstreets have been

the 1930s during the huge recon- Shell detail on the home to many famous artists,
struction of Moscow ordered by House of Friendship writers and actors, and, despite

Stalin (see p75). At that Stalin’s best efforts, still have some inter-

time many buildings were torn down so esting pre-Revolutionary houses.

SIGHTS AT A GLANCE

Museums Monasteries

Bulgakov Flat-Museum o Upper Monastery of St Peter s

Chekhov House-Museum y Streets and Squares
Gorky House-Museum t Bolshaya Nikitskaya Ulitsa 0
Museum of Modern History p Bryusov Pereulok 8
Stanislavskiy House-Museum 9 Patriarch’s Pond i

Historic Buildings Pushkin Square a

Hotel Metropol 1 Theatre Square 2

Hotel National 5 Tverskaya Ulitsa 6

House of Friendship r Theatres

House of Unions 4 Bolshoy Theatre pp90–91 3
Manège e Moscow Arts Theatre 7
Morozov Mansion u
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KEY GETTING THERE
Trolleybuses converge on this area from every direction: the 1, 2, 3,
Street-by-Street map 5, 10, 12, 15, 31, 33 and Б are useful routes. The 6 and К buses run
pp86–7 to a number of sights in the district. Metro stations in the area
include Okhotnyy Ryad, Teatralnaya, Chekhovskaya, Tverskaya,
q Metro station Pushkinskaya, Mayakovskaya and Biblioteka imeni Lenina.

The exquisitely ornate interior of the 19th-century Yeliseev’s Food Hall (see p89) on Tverskaya ulitsa

86 M O S C O W A R E A B Y A R E A

Moscow’s Theatreland is centred, quite Yuriy Dolgorukiy,
appropriately, around Theatre Square. Moscow’s founder (see
Dominating the square is one of the most famous p17), is depicted in this
opera and ballet stages in the world, the statue It was unveiled in
Bolshoy Theatre. The Ma
on the east side of the s
Russian Academic Youth
west. Further to the wes
shopping street, Tversk
more theatres, the Yermo
Moscow Arts Theatre. T
several excellent restaur
in this lively neighbourh

Bryus
A gra
leads f
ulitsa
once h
Vsevo
17th-
of the
visible
the la

Tverskaya Ulitsa
Most of the imposing

Stalinist blocks on
Moscow’s main shopping

street date from the
1930s, but a few older

buildings survive 6

Moscow Arts Theatre Q
This famous theatre will a
be associated with the dra y
Anton Chekhov (see p92) restored, its decor is
of his plays, including Th as impressive as it was
Orchard, were premiered before the Revolution,
when it was Moscow’s
STAR SIGHTS finest hotel 5

. Bolshoy Theatre

. House of Unions

T V E R S K AYA 87

. Bolshoy Theatre TVERSKAYA
Two earlier theatres
on this site, including ARBATSKAYA KREMLIN
the first Bolshoy, were
destroyed in fires. The LOCATOR MAP
See Street Finder, maps 2 & 3
ding was
y Albert
56 3

Passage is
e shopping
(see p194).

0 metres 150

atre 0 yards 150
st in
e of KEY
tury
andr Suggested route
ands
of it
00).

olshoy Hotel Metropol
mall Stage
Built in 1899–1905 by

see p90) Englishman William Walcot,

the Metropol (see p174) is one

Russian of Moscow’s grandest hotels.

Academic This painted, glazed ceiling
th Theatre
(see p199) is the outstanding feature

Q of the main dining room 1

Teatralnaya

. House of Unions Theatre Square
In the 1780s, architect Matvey Laid out in its present
form in the 1820s, part of
Kazakov converted this Neo- Theatre Square served as
Classical mansion into a noble- a military parade ground
from 1839–1911. Playbills
men’s club. The trade unions around the city advertise
took it over in the Soviet era 4
performances in the
theatres on the square 2

88 M O S C O W A R E A B Y A R E A

Theatre Square 2 industrialist and arts patron

Театральная площадь Savva Mamontov (1842–1914)

Teatralnaya ploshchad performed here. The careers of

opera singer Fyodor Shalyapin

Map 3 A5. q Teatralnaya, Ploshchad (see p83), composer Sergei

Revolyutsii, Okhotnyy Ryad. Rachmaninov and artist Vasiliy

Polenov, who designed sets

This Elegant Square is named and costumes, all began here

after the theatres on three with Mamontov’s company.

of its sides. Originally this area In the centre of the square is

was marshy ground, regularly a granite statue of Karl Marx.

flooded by the Neglinnaya Sculpted in 1961 by Leonid

The statue of Aleksandr Ostrovskiy river. In the 1820s it was paved Kerbel, it bears the words

in front of the Malyy Theatre over and the square was laid “Workers of the world unite!”

out to a design by Osip Bove

Hotel Metropol 1 (see p45). In 1839–1911 a

Гостиница Метрополь military parade ground occu- Bolshoy Theatre 3

pied part of the square. Today,

Gostinitsa Metropol Theatre Square is dominated See pp90–91.

by the Bolshoy Theatre.

Teatralnyy prospekt 1/4. Map 3 A5. On the square’s east

Tel 501 7810. q Teatralnaya. See side is a converted private

Where to Stay p174. mansion that houses the

Malyy (Small) Theatre

The Hotel Metropol, built (see p200). The Malyy is

by William Walcot and Lev particularly associated

Kekushev in 1899–1905, is a with playwright Aleksandr

fine example of Style-Moderne Ostrovskiy (1823–86),

architecture (see p45). The ex- whose satirical plays were

terior walls sport a number performed here. A sombre

of ceramic panels, including statue of him by Nikolay

Mikhail Vrubel’s large work at Andreev was erected in

the top of the façade. Called the forecourt in 1929.

The Daydreaming Princess, it is The Russian Academic
based on scenes from the play Youth Theatre (see p199), The well-proportioned Hall of Columns in
La Princesse Lointaine, written with its elaborate Neo- the elegant, 18th-century House of Unions

in 1895 by Edmond Rostand, Classical porch, stands on House of Unions 4
author of Cyrano de Bergerac. the square’s west side.Origi-

The building also has ornate nally designed by Osip Bove Дом Союзов
wrought-iron balconies and a (see p45), it was almost entirely Dom Soyuzov
superb painted glass roof in rebuilt by Boris Freidenberg in

its Metropol Zal restaurant. 1882. The theatre has occupied Bolshaya Dmitrovka ulitsa 1.
Over the years the Metropol this building since 1936. Map 3 A5. # for performances
only. q Teatralnaya, Okhotnyy Ryad.
has welcomed guests as varied To the northwest of Theatre
and famous as Irish dramatist Square is the Operetta Theatre

George Bernard Shaw and (see p200). In the 1890s the

American pop star private opera company This green and white Neo-

Michael Jackson. of the wealthy Classical mansion was originally

built in the first half of the 18th

century. In the early 1780s, it

was bought by a group of

Moscow nobles who

commissioned architect Matvey

Kazakov (see pp44–5) to turn it

into a noblemen’s club. Kazakov

added a number of rooms to the

existing building including the

magnificent ballroom, known as

the Hall of Columns. It was here,

in 1856, that Tsar Alexander II

addressed an audience of the

Russian nobility on the need to

emancipate the serfs.

After the Revolution, trade

unions took over the building,

hence its current name. In 1924

the hall was opened to the

The façade of the Hotel Metropol, designed by William Walcot public for more than a million

T V E R S K AYA 89

people to file past Lenin’s open
coffin. Many of his closest col-
leagues, members of the guard
of honour on that occasion,
were later tried here during the
show trials of 1936–8 (see p27).
Stalin, who was behind these
travesties of justice, also lay in
state here in 1953.

Nowadays the House of
Unions is used for concerts
and public meetings.

Hotel National 5

Гостиница Националь

Gostinitsa Natsional

Mokhovaya ulitsa 15/1. Map 2 F5. Tverskaya ulitsa, one of Moscow’s most popular shopping streets
Tel 258 7000. q Okhotnyy Ryad.

7 8 See Where to Stay p174. The National was completely a severe grey building with

refurbished in the early 1990s an illuminated globe outside.

Designed in 1903 by archi- and its Style-Moderne interiors It was designed by Ilya

tect Aleksandr Ivanov, the have been faithfully restored Rerberg in 1927. Through the

Hotel National is an eclectic to their original splendour. arch on the other side of the

mixture of Style-Moderne and road is a green-tiled building

Classical-style architecture (see Tverskaya ulitsa 6 with floral friezes and tent-
pp44–5). The façade is decor- roofed turrets. Built in 1905,
ated with sculpted nymphs and Тверская улица this was the Moscow mission

ornate stone tracery, but is Tverskaya ulitsa of the Savvinskiy Monastery. It

topped by a mosaic from the is now luxury flats and offices.

Soviet era. This features factory Map 2 F5, F4, E3. q Okhotnyy Further up the street is the

chimneys belching smoke, oil Ryad, Tverskaya, Pushkinskaya. soulless Tverskaya square,

derricks, electricity pylons, dominated by an equestrian

railway engines and tractors. Tverskaya Ulitsa was the statue of Moscow’s founder,

The National’s most famous grandest thoroughfare in Prince Yuriy Dolgorukiy (see

guest was Lenin, who stayed Moscow in the 19th century, p86). On the west side of the

in room 107 at the hotel for a when it was famous for its res- square looms the red and

week, in March 1918, before taurants, theatres, hotels and white city hall. Designed in

he moved to the Kremlin. purveyors of French fashions. 1782 by Matvey Kazakov (see

Stalin’s reconstruction pp44–5), it was the residence

of the city in the 1930s of the governor-general before

resulted in Tverskaya the Revolution and later be-

ulitsa being widened came the Moscow City Soviet

by 42 m (138 ft) and its or town hall. In 1944–6 extra

name being changed to storeys were added, more

ulitsa Gorkovo to com- than doubling its height.

memorate the writer Beyond Tverskaya square,

Maxim Gorky. Many at No. 14, is Moscow’s most

buildings were torn famous delicatessen. Now

down to make way for known by its pre-Revolutionary

huge apartment blocks name, Yeliseev’s Food Hall

to house party (see p194), in Soviet times it

bureaucrats, such as was called Gastronom No.1.

those at Nos. 9–11. In the 1820s this mansion was

Other buildings were the home of Princess Zinaida

rebuilt further back to Volkonskaya, whose soirées

stand on the new, were attended by great figures

wider road. Now of the day, including Alexander

called Tverskaya ulitsa Pushkin (see p73). In 1898

again, the street carries Grigoriy Yeliseev bought the

a huge volume of building, and had it lavishly

traffic. However, it is redecorated with stained-glass

still one of the city’s windows, crystal chandeliers,

most popular places carved pillars, polished wood

to eat out and shop. counters and large mirrors. It

Lobby of the Hotel National, with Style- At No.7 is the Cen- now stocks a wide range of im-

Moderne windows and Classical statues tral Telegraph Office, ported and Russian delicacies.

90 M O S C O W A R E A B Y A R E A

Bolshoy Theatre 3

Большой театр
Bolshoy teatr

Home to one of the oldest, and probably the most . Royal Box
famous, ballet companies in the world, the Bolshoy Situated at the centre of the
Theatre is also one of Moscow’s major landmarks. The gallery, the royal box, hung
first Bolshoy Theatre opened in 1780 and presented with crimson velvet, is one of over
masquerades, comedies and comic operas. It burnt down 120 boxes. The imperial crown
in 1805, but its successor was completed in 1825 to a on its pediment was removed in
design by Osip Bove (see p45) and Andrey Mikhaylov. the Soviet era but has now
This building too was destroyed by fire, in 1853, but the been restored.
essentials of its highly praised design were retained in
Albert Kavos’ reconstruction of 1856. The theatre is
currently closed for renovations; performances are now
being staged at the Bolshoy Small Stage opposite.

Neo-Classical Pediment
The relief on the Neo-Classical pediment was an addition by
Albert Kavos during his reconstruction of the theatre.
It depicts a pair of angels bearing aloft the lyre of
Apollo, the Greek god of music and light.

. Apollo in Eight-
the Chariot columned
of the Sun portico
This eye-catching
sculpture by Pyotr Klodt,
of the original 1825 building
was retained by Albert Kavos. It
depicts Apollo driving the chariot on
which he carried the sun across the sky.

Entrance

Vestibule
Patrons entering the
theatre find themselves in
this grand, black and white
tiled vestibule. Magnificent
staircases, lined with white
marble, lead up from either
side of the vestibule to the
spacious main foyer.

T V E R S K AYA 91

Beethoven Hall VISITORS’ CHECKLIST
This ornately decorated
room was formerly known Teatralnaya ploshchad 1. Map 3
as the Imperial Foyer. It is A4. Tel 927 6982. q Teatralnaya.
now used for occasional v 2, 12, 33. @ K. # Tue–Sun,
chamber concerts and for performances. ¢ July–Aug.
7 ^ in auditorium. 8 0
lectures. The stuccoed www.bolshoi.ru
decoration on the ceiling

includes approximately
3,000 rosettes and the

walls are adorned with
delicately embroidered
panels of crimson silk.

Main stage

The backstage area
provides jobs for over 700
workers, including crafts-

men and women making
ballet shoes, costumes
and stage props.

Apollo and the Muses
The ten painted panels

decorating the audi-
torium’s ceiling are by
Pyotr Titov. They depict
Apollo dancing with the

nine muses of Greek
myth, each of which is

connected with a
different branch of
the arts or sciences.

STAR FEATURES
. Apollo in the

Chariot of the Sun

. Royal Box

The auditorium Artists’ dressing room
has six tiers and a
seating capacity of THE BOLSHOY BALLET IN
2,500. When Kavos THE SOVIET ERA
rebuilt it he modified In the 1920s and 1930s new ballets
its shape to improve conforming to Revolutionary ideals
the accoustics. were created for the Bolshoy, but
the company’s heyday was in the
The main foyer extends around 1950s and 1960s. Ballets such as
the whole of the front of the build- Spartacus were produced and the
ing on the first floor. Its vaulted dancers toured abroad for the first
ceiling is decorated with paintings time to widespread acclaim. Yet a
and elaborate stucco work. number of dancers also defected
to the West in this period, in protest
at the company’s harsh manage-
ment and a lack of artistic freedom.

A production of Spartacus (1954), by
Aram Khachaturian, at the Bolshoy

92 M O S C O W A R E A B Y A R E A

Arch at the entrance to Bryusov pereulok, a street where artists and musicians lived in the 1920s

Moscow Arts duction of Anton Chekhov’s Bryusov Pereulok 8
Theatre 7 play The Seagull in the theatre’s Брюсов переулок
first year. When the play had
МХАТ имени АП Чехова been performed three years Bryusov pereulok
MKhAT imeni AP Chekhova
earlier in St Petersburg, it had Map 2 F5. q Okhotnyy Ryad,
Kamergerskiy pereulok 3. Map 2 F5. been a disastrous flop but,
Tel 629 8760/6748. q Teatralnaya, Arbatskaya.
Okhotnyy Ryad. # performances performed using Stanislavskiy’s
only. See Entertainment p200.
new Method acting, it was A Granite Arch on Tverskaya
The first ever performance
at the Moscow Arts Theatre extremely well received. ulitsa marks the entrance
(MKhAT) took place in 1898.
The theatre was founded by In 1902 architect Fyodor to this quiet side street. It is
a group of young enthusiasts,
led by the directors Konstantin Shekhtel (see p45) completely named after the Bruces, a
Stanislavskiy and Vladimir
Nemirovich-Danchenko. The reconstructed the interior of Scots family who were in-
MKhAT company had an
early success with their pro- the theatre, adding innova- volved with the Russian court.

The Moscow Arts Theatre entrance tions such as a central lighting In the 1920s new apartments
with The Wave bas-relief above
box and a revolving stage. here were assigned to the staff

The auditorium had very little of the Moscow state theatres.

decoration, so that audiences No. 17 was the home of two

were forced to actors from the

concentrate on Moscow Arts

the performance. Theatre, Vasiliy

The theatre Kachalov and

continued to Ivan Moskvin.

flourish after the No. 12 was

Revolution, but home to the

its repertoire was Stylized seagull on the exterior avant-garde dir-

restricted by state of the Moscow Arts Theatre ector Vsevolod

censorship. Most Meyerhold, who

of the plays produced were directed premieres of Vladimir

written by Maxim Gorky, whose Mayakovsky’s satires. He lived

work was in favour with the here from 1928 until his arrest

government. The frustrations in 1939 at the height of

and compromises of the period Stalin’s Great Purge (see p27).

were brilliantly satirized in the The Composers’ Union was

1930s by Mikhail Bulgakov at Nos. 8–10. It was here that

(who also worked as an composers Sergey Prokofiev

assistant director in the theatre) and Dmitriy Shostakovich were

in his novel Teatralnyy Roman. forced to read an apology for

These problems continued and works that deviated from

in the 1980s part of the com- Socialist Realism (see p135).

pany moved to the Gorky Arts About halfway along Bryusov

Theatre on Tverskoy bulvar. pereulok is the 17th-century

Today a variety of produc- single-domed Church of the

tions are staged at the Moscow Resurrection. This was one of

Arts Theatre, including many the few churches to remain

of Anton Chekhov’s plays. open during the Soviet era.

T V E R S K AYA 93

Stanislavskiy STANISLAVSKIY AND CHEKHOV
House-Museum 9
Konstantin Stanislavskiy in the Konstantin Stanislavskiy’s suc-
Дом-музей КС play Uncle Vanya by Chekhov cessful production of Anton
Станиславского Chekhov’s The Seagull took
Dom-muzey KS Stanislavskovo the theatre world by storm.
Stanislavskiy’s secret was his
Leontevskiy pereulok 6. Map 2 E5. new school of Method acting,
Tel 629 2855. q Arbatskaya, in which performers explored
Tverskaya. # 11am–5pm Thu, their characters’ inner motives.
Sat–Sun, noon–7pm Wed, Fri. Stanislavskiy and Chekhov
¢ public holidays. & ^ 8 collaborated on the premieres
of other Chekhov plays and
This 18th-century mansion the success of the productions
was the home of the great was such that their names
director and actor Konstantin have been linked ever since.
Stanislavskiy. He lived on the
first floor from 1920 until he blue façade was reconstructed 1929, directed by avant-garde
died in 1938, at the age of 75.
following the great fire of 1812 director Vsevolod Meyerhold.
Stanislavskiy found himself
disillusioned with the conser- (see pp24–5). The Neo-Classical One of the greatest innovators
vative ethos of the old Moscow
Theatre School, and created rear façade, which survived the of his era, Meyerhold was
an outlet for his innovative
ideas by founding the Moscow fire, dates from around 1775. executed by the State in 1940,
Arts Theatre (MKhAT) in 1898.
After moving into this flat, he Just opposite the Moscow largely because his work did
converted his ballroom into a
makeshift theatre where he Conservatory (see p94), is the not agree with the canons of
rehearsed his experimental
Opera Dramatic Group. Later, attractive white Church of the Socialist Realism (see p135).
when he was too ill to go out,
he also held rehearsals here Little Ascension. About halfway
for the MKhAT company.
Built around the along the road is
Stanislavskiy’s living room
and study, the dining room and end of the 16th Nikitskie Vorota
the bedroom of his wife, Maria
Lilina, are all open. Also on century, itwas ploshchad, named
display are an early Edison
phonograph and a vase that restored in 1739 after the medieval
was a gift from the dancer
Isadora Duncan. Downstairs following a fire. gate that used to
are props and costumes from
Stanislavskiy’s productions. Behind it is the stand here. On the

Bolshaya Gothic tower of St square is a modern
Nikitskaya Ulitsa 0
Andrew’s Anglican white building with
Большая Никитская улица
Bolshaya Nikitskaya ulitsa Church. It was a sign in the shape

built for Moscow’s of a large globe

English community Stone relief on Church hanging beneath

in 1882 by British of the Great Ascension its porch. This is

architect Richard the ITAR-TASS

Freeman. news agency, the mouthpiece

The heavily ornamented red- of the Communist Party in the

brick building at Nos. 19–20 Soviet era and now Russia’s

was once called the Paradise main news agency.

Theatre. It was renamed the Opposite is the Church of

Mayakovsky Theatre after the the Great Ascension. Begun

poet Vladimir Mayakovsky in 1798, it was rebuilt after the

(see p111). His plays Bath 1812 fire. Alexander Pushkin

House and The Bed Bug were (see p73) married Natalya

premiered here in 1928 and Goncharova here in 1831.

Map 2 F5, E5. q Arbatskaya,
Okhotnyy Ryad, Biblioteka imeni Lenina.

This historic street, once the Sign in the shape of a globe hanging outside the ITAR-TASS news agency
main road to Novgorod, is
named after the Nikitskiy Con-
vent which was founded in
the 16th century, but pulled
down by Stalin in the 1930s.

Prominent aristocratic famil-
ies such as the Menshikovs
and Orlovs built their palaces
here in the 18th century. The
finest is the former residence
of Prince Sergey Menshikov,
which can be reached via
Gazetniy pereulok. The pale

94 M O S C O W A R E A B Y A R E A

Ogarev and Aleksandr Herzen.
In 1836 the university acquired
a building on the far side of
Bolshaya Nikitskaya ulitsa. In
front of the New University is a
statue of Mikhail Lomonosov.
Nearby is the chapel of St
Tatyana, whose feast day is
celebrated by the students.

Manège e

Манеж

Manezh

Manezhnaya ploshchad 1. Map 6

The Bolshoy Zal (Great Hall) in the Moscow Conservatory F1. Tel 202 8976. q Biblioteka
imeni Lenina, Okhotnyy Ryad. #

Moscow at the Conservatory from 1942 exhibitions only. & -
Conservatory q until he fell from favour and
was sacked six years later for The Manège was originally
Московская консерватория “professional incompetence” built in 1817 as a military
during Stalin’s Purges (see p27). parade ground to a design by
Moskovskaya Konservatoriya

Bolshaya Nikitskaya ulitsa 13. Map 2 Moscow Old General Augustin de Béthen-
F5. Tel 629 7412. q Arbatskaya, University w court. The 45-m- (148-ft-) wide
Pushkinskaya. # performances only. roof had no supporting col-
umns, leaving an uninterrupted

The largest music school Московский университет floor space large enough for an
in Russia, the Moscow Moskovskiy Universitet infantry regiment to practise in.

In 1823–5 Osip Bove (see

Conservatory was founded in Mokhovaya ulitsa 9. Map 2 F5. p45) added a colonnade and
1866 by Nikolay Rubinstein, q Okhotnyy Ryad, Biblioteka imeni decorative frieze to the exterior.
the brother of composer and Lenina.
pianist Anton Rubinstein. The Manège became the
Central Exhibition Hall in 1957

One of the Conservatory’s Moscow University was and it was at an exhibition here
teachers was the young Pyotr founded by the scholar Mikhail in 1962 that Nikita Khrushchev
Tchaikovsky, who taught here Lomonosov in 1755, and is the (see p30) famously condemned
until 1878. On the forecourt is oldest university in Russia. It
his statue, wielding a baton de- moved into this im-posing abstract art. The brunt of the
spite the fact that Tchaikovsky building (now called the attack was borne by the
detested conducting. The work Old University) in 1793.
of Vera Mukhina, it dates from Designed by Matvey sculptor Ernst
1954. The pattern on the fore- Kazakov (see pp44–5), it Neizvestniy but,
court railings is made up of was extensively rebuilt curiously, in his will
Khrushchev chose
Neizvestniy to de-sign

the opening notes from some by Domenico Gilardi his tombstone (see

of Tchaikovsky’s works. after the 1812 fire (see Statue of p131). Fire all but
Portraits of famous com- pp24–5) and is a fine Mikhail destroyed the
example of Neo- Lomonosov building in 2004 but
posers adorn the walls of the Classical architecture it was swiftly rebuilt.
light, airy Bolshoy Zal (Great (see pp44–5). Today the Manège
Hall). Used for concerts since Outside are statues of is still mostly used to
1898, it is also the setting for radical writers Nikolay house exhibitions.
the prestigious Tchaikovsky
International Competition (see

p200). The Conservatory has

a small museum that is open

during perfomances.

The Conservatory has always

been an important training

ground for young Russian

composers and performers.

Among its best-known alumni

are pianist-composers Sergei

Rachmaninov and Aleksandr

Skryabin (see p72). Dmitriy

Shostakovich, the great Soviet

composer, lived nearby, at the

Composers’ Union on Bryusov

pereulok (see p92) . He taught The Manège, designed by Augustin de Béthencourt in 1817

95

The extravagant interior of the Fyodor Shekhtel designed this and his earlier support for the
19th-century House of Friendship masterpiece of Style-Moderne Bolshevik Party made him a
architecture (see p45) in 1900. useful propaganda tool for
House of The house belonged to arts the Soviet government. He
Friendship r patron and millionaire banker served this function by being
Stepan Ryabushinskiy until he presi-dent of the Union of
Дом дружбы left Russia with his family after Writers, which explains why
Dom Druzhby the Revolution. In 1931 Stalin the rooms are full of photos
presented the mansion as a gift of the author in the company
Vozdvizhenka ulitsa 16. Map 6 E1. Tel to the famous socialist writer of aspiring dramatists, Young
290 2069. q Arbatskaya, Biblioteka Maxim Gorky. Pioneers and ambitious
imeni Lenina. # performances only. Communist officials.
The interior of the house is
spectacular, featuring ceilings On display are Gorky’s hat,
with elaborate mouldings, overcoat and walking stick,
stained-glass windows and his remarkable collection of
carved door frames. However, oriental carvings and many of
the pièce de résistance is the his letters and books, includ-
flowing staircase of polished ing some first editions.
Estonian limestone, which ends
lamp resembling a jellyfish. Shortly after Gorky died in
1936, Genrikh Yagoda, the
By the time Gorky moved former head of the NKVD
to this house, his career as a (secret police), was accused
novelist and playwright was of murdering him. Although
in decline. While living here, the charge was probably fabri-
he wrote only one play, Yegor cated, Yagoda was found guilty
Bulychev and Others (1932), in one of the last of the noto-
and part of a novel, The Life rious show trials (see p27).
of Klim Samgin (unfinished at Rumours persist that Gorky
his death). However his fame was killed on Stalin’s orders.

This incredible mansion has
towers encrusted with stone
shells and topped by lacelike
stonework. Vladimir Mazyrin
designed it at the end of the
19th century for the playboy
Arseny Morozov, a member of
the wealthy Morozov family
(see p96). The interior is as
showy as the façade. Its rooms
include a Greek atrium and a
hunting hall filled with carved
animal heads. The only way to
see inside is to attend a concert
or lecture held here. In Soviet
times the mansion was used
by the Union of Friendship
Societies, hence its name.

Gorky
House-Museum t

Дом-музей АМ Горького

Dom-muzey AM Gorkovo

Malaya Nikitskaya ulitsa 6/2. Map 2
E5. Tel 290 0535. q Pushkinskaya.
# 11am–5:30pm Wed–Sun. ¢ last
Thu of the month. ^ 8 English.

A frieze of Irises against a The spectacular Style-Moderne staircase in the Gorky House-Museum
background of blue and purple
clouds runs round the top of
the yellow glazed-brick walls
of this extraordinary mansion.

96 M O S C O W A R E A B Y A R E A

Chekhov House-
Museum y

Дом-музей АП Чехова

Dom-muzey AP Chekhova

Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya ulitsa 6.
Map 2 D5. Tel 291 6154.
q Barrikadnaya. # 2pm–6pm
Wed–Fri, 11am–4pm Thu, Sat–Sun.
& ^ 8 (book in advance).

Anton Chekhov (1860–1904)

lived in this two-storey

house in 1886–90. It was later

refurbished in consultation

with the author’s widow, act- The Gothic-style Morozov Mansion, designed by Fyodor Shekhtel

ress Olga Knipper-Chekhova, Morozov Mansion u Margarita, in which the
and opened as a museum in

1954. However, it is only par- Дом ЗГ Морозовой Devil appears in Moscow

tially successful in recreating Dom ZG Morozovoy and causes havoc. Bulgakov

a period feeling and contains lived nearby for three years

few of Chekhov’s possessions. Ulitsa Spiridonovka 17. Map 2 D4. during the 1920s.

Chekhov was a qualified q Mayakovskaya. ¢ to public.

doctor and was practising

medicine when he lived here, Fyodor Shekhtel (see p45)

as the brass plate by the front built this house for his pat-

door testifies. He shared the ron, Savva Morozov, in 1893–8.

house with his parents, his Savva Morozov was a wealthy

brother, Mikhail, and his sister, textiles manufacturer and arts

Mariya. As the family’s main patron, a member of one of the

breadwinner, Chekhov could city’s richest merchant families.

only write in his spare time, The mansion was built in

but it was here that he created the Gothic style to resemble a

his first major play, Ivanov. He baronial castle, with turrets,

also wrote many short stories gargoyles and arched windows.

and several one-act plays here. Some of the stained-glass win-

Exhibits in the study, which dows were designed by the

doubled as a consulting room, Symbolist artist Mikhail Vrubel. Graffiti at Bulgakov’s flat by

include Chekhov’s doctor’s enthusiasts of his work

bag, manuscripts and pictures, Patriarch’s Pond i Bulgakov Flat-
including some of him with

Leo Tolstoy (see p134). Патриаршие пруды Museum o
Upstairs are a richly deco- Patriarshie prudy
Булгаковa дом-музей
rated living room and Mariya’s Map 2 D4. q Mayakovskaya.
room, which, in some ways, Bulgakova dom-muzey

is the most attractive in the Just a few minutes’ walk from Bolshaya Sadovaya ulitsa 10, flat 52.
house. Its furnishings include the busy Garden Ring is a Map 2 D3. Tel 291 6154. q Maya-
a sewing machine, ornaments secluded, tree-lined square kovskaya. # 3pm–8pm Tue–Sun.
and embroidered tablecloths.

There is also an exhibition with the large Patriarch’s

about Chekhov’s later career as Pond at its heart. The pond is This museum is dedicated

a playwright (see p93), which named after the patriarch who to Mikhail Bulgakov (1891–

includes adverts for his plays formerly owned the land. 1940), the Russian author

and first editions of his works. Near the children’s whose best-known work,

playground is a bronze The Master and Margarita,

statue of the 19th- was not published until long

century playwright and after his death. During his

writer of popular fables lifetime, many of his satirical

Ivan Krylov. Sculptures plays were banned. Bulgakov

of the creatures from became so frustrated that he

his stories are dotted wrote to Stalin asking to be

among the trees. exiled. Instead, he was given

Patriarch’s Pond is a job at the Moskow Arts

probably best known Theatre (see p92). The

as the setting for the museum displays many of

opening scene in Bulgakov’s possessions, but

Picture of Chekhov (on the left) talking with Mikhail Bulgakov’s he actually lived two doors

Leo Tolstoy, in the Chekhov House-Museum novel The Master and down the road.