Sights in Arbat District

Moscow's Arbat District is named after the famous Old and New Arbat streets which run west from the Kremlin to the River Moscow. The section of road immediately between the Kremlin and New Arbat is called Ulitsa Vozdvizhenka and this turns into the New Arbat after the Boulevard Ring at Ploschad Arbatskie Vorota (Arbat Gates Square) - so-called as gates of the Bely Gorod Wall once stood here.  It is bordered by the Khamovniki District in the south and the Presnensky District in the north. The district is served by the Borovitskaya (grey line), Biblioteka imena Lenina (red line), Arbatskaya (both dark blue and light blue lines) and Smolenskaya (also both dark blue and light blue lines) metro stations.

Around Arbatskaya Ploschad

Mansion of Arseni Morozov

  • 16 Ulitsa Vozdvizhenka
  • Arbatskaya

Probably the prettiest building on Ulitsa Vozdvizhenka is the Mansion of Arseni Morozov which is better known as the House of Friendship or Europe House. After travelling around Portugal and Spain, Arseni Morozov decided to build himself an extravagant mansion in Moscow. The bizarre building was designed by Viktor Mazyrin and constructed between 1895 and 1899. According to legend, upon seeing the completed mansion, Morozov's mother said to him "Before only I knew that you are a… Read more »

Nikolai Gogol House-Museum

  • 7A Nikitsky Bulvar
  • Arbatskaya
  • http://www.domgogolya.ru
  • 12:00 - 19:00 (Thursdays: 14:00 - 21:00; weekends: 12:00 - 17:00). Closed Tuesdays and the last day of the month.

The Nikolai Gogol House-Museum is both a memorial museum and a scientific library dedicated to the author. It is the only surviving house in Moscow where Gogol actually lived; he moved here in 1848 and later died here in 1852. It was here that Gogol wrote 'Dead Souls' and subsequently burned the second part of it in the house's fireplace. The memorial museum displays personal belongings of the author with each room featuring on a particular item and involving the use of video and… Read more »

Nikolai Gogol Monument (Happy Gogol)

  • intersection of Arbatskaya Ploschad and Gogolevsky Bulvar
  • Arbatskaya

The more prominent of the two Gogol statues around Arbatskaya Ploschad is this one located on Gogolevsky Bulvar which replaced the original statue which was deemed too gloomy. In 1952, on the 100th anniversary of Gogol's death, the original statue was taken down and replaced with this new statue by the sculptor Nikita Tomsky, who has managed to depict Gogol in a happier mood.  The only remaining feature of the original monument are the smiling lions at the bottom of the lampposts… Read more »

Nikolai Gogol Monument (Sad Gogol)

  • 7A Nikitsky Bulvar
  • Arbatskaya

Rather unusually there are actually two statues of Nikolai Gogol located close to each other around Arbatskaya Ploschad. The statue which now stands in the courtyard outside the Nikolai Gogol House is the oldest statue and was originally unveiled on Prechistensky Bulvar (later renamed Gogolevsky Bulvar) in 1909. It depicts Gogol sat down and looking rather downbeat, staring at the ground. The monument's pedestal is decorated with scenes from Gogol's work. According to legend,… Read more »

Resurrection Church by Arbatskaya Ploschad

  • 20 Filippovsky Pereulok
  • Arbatskaya

The small red Resurrection Church was built in 1688 and was originally dedicated to St Philip, Metropolitan of Moscow. In 1818 the church became a podvorye (embassy church) of the Orthodox Patriarchate of Jerusalem and was renamed the Resurrection Church in the following year. The church remained open throughout the Soviet period. ►sights by districts  ►sights in Arbat District Read more »

Around the New Arbat

Aleksander Scryabin Memorial Museum

  • 11 Bolshoy Nikolopeskovsky Pereulok
  • Arbatskaya, Smolenskaya
  • http://anscriabin.ru
  • 11:00 - 18:00 (Thursdays: 13:00 - 21:00). Closed on Mondays and the last Friday of the Month.

This memorial museum was founded in 1922 in the house where the famous Russian composer Aleksandr Scryabin (also transliterated as Alexander Scriabin) lived from 1912 until his death in 1915 and the museum's first director was Scriabin's widow. The interior of the house has been retained as it was when Scriabin lived here, complete with his personal belongings including a device he had created to combine music notes and coloured lights as Scryabin was before his time in wanting to… Read more »

Aleksandr Pushkin and Natalia Goncharova Monument

  • 53 Ulitsa Arbat
  • Smolenskaya

Immediately opposite the Aleksandr Pushkin Memorial Apartment is a bronze statue of Aleksandr Pushkin and his wife Natalia Goncharova. Pushkin and Goncharova married in the nearby Grand Ascension Church on 18 November 1831 and then moved into their apartment on Arbat and lived there for several months.  It says something of Pushkin's popularity that a place where he lived only very briefly has since been turned into a museum and has seen a monument to him erected outside! … Read more »

Aleksandr Pushkin Memorial Apartment on the Arbat

  • 53 Ulitsa Arbat
  • Smolenskaya
  • http://www.pushkinmuseum.ru/
  • 10:00 - 18:00 (Thursdays: 12:00 - 21:00). Closed on Mondays, Tuesdays and the last Friday of the month.

The Aleksandr Pushkin Memorial Apartment was opened in 1986 on the 155th anniversary of his marriage to Natalia Goncharova in the apartment where the newlyweds lived for several months in 1831. Inside, the exhibition 'Pushkin and Moscow' has seven halls detailing the cultural and everyday life of the city during Pushkin's time. The second floor is taken up by the memorial rooms where Pushkin lived although it is merely a recreation of how it would have looked during his time. The… Read more »

Alexander Herzen House Museum

  • 27 Pereulok Sivtsev Vrazhek
  • Arbatskaya, Smolenskaya
  • http://www.goslitmuz.ru/ru/herzen-museum
  • Currently closed for renovation (as of Nov 2012)

This small mansion known as Tuchkov House was bought in 1839 by Ivan Yakovlev, the father of the writer and philosopher Alexander Herzen. Herzen himself lived here from 1843 to 1847 when he emigrated. Inside, displays detail the life and work of the writer, including the time he spent in exile and abroad. The museum is run as a branch of the State Literary Museum. ►sights by districts  ►sights in Arbat District Read more »

Andrey Bely Memorial Apartment

  • 55 Ulitsa Arbat
  • Smolenskaya
  • http://kvartira-belogo.guru.ru
  • 10:00 - 18:00 (Thursdays: 12:00 - 21:00). Closed on Mondays, Tuesdays and the last Friday of the month.

The Russian writer and poet Andrey Bely spent the first 20 years of his life living in an apartment on Old Arbat which in 2000 was turned into a memorial apartment.  The rooms have been reconstructed to look as they would have when Bely lived there and one of the room's walls is taken up by a reproduction of graph drawn by Bely to reflect all the influences throughout his life.  The museum is run as a branch of the Aleksandr Pushkin State Museum. Admission to this museum is free on… Read more »

Bulat Okudzhava Monument

  • intersection of Ulitsa Arbat and Plotnikov Pereulok
  • Smolenskaya

Bulat Okudzhava was a popular singer-songwriter who lived on the Old Arbat and also wrote several songs about the street. After his death in 1997 plans were made to create a memorial to him on the Old Arbat and this statue was unveiled in 2002 on what would have been his 78th birthday. The monument depicts the bard strolling along in front of two large arches. ►sights by districts  ►sights in Arbat District Read more »

Ministry of Foreign Affairs

  • 32/34 Smolenskaya-Sennaya Ploschad
  • Smolenskaya

Located on Smolenskaya-Sennaya Ploschad at the end of Old Arbat is the impressive building of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation. The building is one of the seven gothic buildings known as Stalin's Skyscrapers or the Seven Sisters, and is probably the most imposing of them all. It towers 172 metres high and has 27 floors. It was built between 1948 and 1953. The original design did not feature a spire and was only added later to keep in with the appearance of… Read more »

Old Arbat

  • Ulitsa Arbat
  • Arbatskaya, Smolenskaya

The pedestrian street of Ulitsa Arbat, which is commonly called Old Arbat to distinguish it from Ulitsa Novy Arbat (New Arbat Street), is one of the most famous streets in Moscow. The street has existed since at least the 15th century and became Moscow's first pedestrian zone in the 1980s. Since then it has become a favourite spot for both locals and tourists. In addition to Old Arbat's book and souvenir stalls, street performers also gather here. Located on the street are many… Read more »

Spaso House

  • 10 Spasopeskovskaya Ploschad
  • Arbatskaya, Smolenskaya

Also located on Spasopeskovskaya Ploschad is Spaso House, which since 1933 has been the official residence of the US ambassador to the Russian Federation. The mansion was built in 1913 by the textile industrialist Nikolai Vtorov and in Russian the house is more commonly known as the Vtorov Mansion. In 1935 a spring ball was famously held at the house which featured flowers, live birds and several animals. One of the guests was Mikhail Bulgakov who later used it as inspiration for… Read more »

Transfiguration of the Saviour Church on Pesky

  • 4A Spasopeskovsky Pereulok
  • Arbatskaya, Smolenskaya
  • http://www.spas-na-peskah.prihod.ru/

Located just off the Old Arbat on Spasopeskovskaya Ploschad is the pretty Transfiguration of the Saviour Church on Pesky with its tent-dome bell tower. It was built in 1711 replacing an earlier wooden version. The church was damaged by fire and looting during Napoleon's invasion of 1812 and subsequently restored. In 1849 walls were built around the church and ornamental gates were added in 1891; only the gates have survived. In 1932 the church was closed and from 1956 used as an… Read more »

Viktor Tsoy Wall

  • 37/2cб Ulitsa Arbat
  • Arbatskaya, Smolenskaya

Viktor Tsoy was a Soviet rock musician and lead singer of the band Kino, who died aged 28 in a car crash in Latvia. On the day of his death a fan wrote "Today Viktor Tsoy Died" on the wall of the building at the beginning of Krivoarbatsky Pereulok off the Arbat. Someone then added the reply of "Tsoy Lives" and thereafter more and more graffiti was added. At first the authorities tried to stop this, but the wall has now become a landmark. Kino fans still gather here and often leave… Read more »

Around the Old Arbat

Feodor Chaliapin House-Museum

  • 25 Novinsky Bulvar
  • Smolenskaya
  • http://www.shalyapin-museum.org/
  • Tuesday + Saturday: 10:00 - 18:00, Wednesday + Thursday: 11:30 - 19:00, Sunday: 10:00 - 16:30. Closed on Mondays and the last weekday of the month.

In 1988 the Feodor Chaliapin House-Museum was opened in one of the few surviving 18th century estates in Moscow. Feodor Chaliapin was one of the leading opera singers of his days. He bought this estate in 1910 and it was the last place he lived in Moscow. After the Russian Revolution the house was turned into communal flats. In 1978 it was transferred to the Mikhail Glinka Central Music Museum which spent the next decade restoring the estate to how it looked when Chaliapin lived… Read more »

Marina Tsvetaeva House-Museum

  • 6c1 Borisoglebsky Pereulok
  • Arbatskaya, Smolenskaya
  • http://www.dommuseum.ru/
  • 12:00 - 18:00 (Thursdays: 12:00 - 21:00). Closed on Mondays and the last Friday of the month.
  • Free admission on the third Sunday of the month

In 1992, on the 100th annivserary of the birth of Marina Tsvetaeva, the Marina Tsvetaeva House-Museum Cultural Centre was opened in the building where the poet lived from 1914 to 1922. Inside the museum has exhibitions displaying photographs and manuscripts and the rooms where Tsvetaeva lived have been restored after being turned into kommunalka flats during the Soviet years. The museum also details the tragic family life of Tsvetaeva. Opposite to the museum is a statue of Marina… Read more »

Mikhail Lermontov House-Museum

  • 2 Ulitsa Malaya Molchanovka
  • Arbatskaya, Smolenskaya
  • http://www.goslitmuz.ru/ru/lervontov-museum
  • Currently closed for renovation (as of Nov 2012)

Located in the only surviving house in Moscow where the Mikhail Lermontov lived is now a museum dedicated to the poet. Lermontov lived here with his grandmother from 1829 to 1932. The small wooden house was built after the fire of 1812. The interior of the house has been preserved as it looked when Lermontov lived there. The museum is run as a branch of the State Literary Museum. ►sights by districts  ►sights in Arbat District Read more »

New Arbat

  • Ulitsa Novy Arbat
  • Arbatskaya, Smolenskaya

Ulitsa Novy Arbat was developed in the 1950s and was originally known as Prospekt Kalinina, which also incorporated Ulitsa Vozdvizhenka. In the 1990s the part of Prospekt Kalinina between Arbatskaya Ploschad and the Garden Ring was renamed Ulitsa Novy Arbat (New Arbat Street). Although with its ugly rows of office blocks New Arbat is nowhere near as attractive as its older neighbour, it still brings in the crowds with its bars and restaurants. The largest bookshop in Moscow can… Read more »

St Simeon the Stylite's Church on Povarskaya

  • 5 Ulitsa Povarskaya
  • Arbatskaya

On the intersection of Ulitsa Povarskaya and Ulitsa Novy Arbat stands St Simeon the Stylite's Church which was built between 1676 and 1679 on the orders of Tsar Feodor III. The church is an example of the style known as Russian Uzorochye which is evident by the ornate kokoshniks under the domes and the elaborate decorations on the bell tower and the window frames. ►sights by districts  ►sights in Arbat District Read more »

Around Ulitsa Mokhovaya

Aleksey Schusev State Architectural Museum

  • 5/25 Ulitsa Vozdvizhenka
  • Biblioteka imena Lenina
  • http://www.muar.ru/
  • 11:00 - 19:00 (Thursdays: 13:00 - 21:00). Closed on Mondays.

The Aleksey Schusev State Architectural Museum was established in 1934 and was originally located in the Donskoy Monastery. When the Donskoy Monastery was returned to the Russian Orthodox Church in the 1990s the museum was relocated to its present location in the former Talyzin Estate. The museum has a permanent exhibition entitled 'A Future which Did not Happen' which features a model of architect Vasili Bazhenov's vision of the Grand Kremlin Palace, the construction of which was… Read more »

Pashkov House

  • 3/5c1 Ulitsa Vozdvizhenka
  • Borovitskaya, Biblioteka imena Lenina

Paskhov House is named after Pyotr Pashkov on whose orders it was built between 1784 and 1786. The house was built on Vagankovsky Hill and instantly became a landmark of the city. In 1839 the building was purchased by Moscow State University which used it to house the Moscow Institute for the Nobility and then a grammar school. In 1861 the house was transferred to the Rumyantsevo Museum which was reorganised as the Vladimir Lenin State Library in 1921. Today the house is still… Read more »

Russian State Library and Fyodor Dostoevsky Monument

  • 3/5 Ulitsa Vozdvizhenka
  • Biblioteka imena Lenina
  • http://www.rsl.ru

The Russian State Library is the largest library in Russia and one of the largest in the world. It was founded in 1862 as part of the Rumyantsev Museum which was located in Pashkov House. In 1925 the library was renamed the Vladimir Lenin State Library of the USSR. The library's collections dramatically increased after the Revolution due to the influx of confiscated items and a new building was required. Work on the current neoclassical building started in 1930 and was completed in… Read more »