Moscow’s Sights

Moscow is a major cultural and scientific center of the world. It has more than 70 theaters, 100 museums and 142 exhibition centers.
The city has 85 higher schools, including 31 universities and 19 academies.
Moscow has over 4,000 libraries, including the Russian State Library (formerly Lenin Library), which contains the country’s largest collection of books and manuscripts.
The Kremlin lies at the heart of Moscow’s historical center. The monument to Minin and Pozharsky, St. Basil’s Cathedral and Lenin’s mausoleum are to be found on Red Square near the Kremlin.

In 1997, Manezh Square was opened. Situated between the Manezh exhibition center and Alexander Gardens, Manezh Square is not just a large shopping mall. It is also a recreation area with numerous fountains and sculptures based on characters from Alexander Pushkin’s fairy tales.

Moscow’s historical districts are Kitai-Gorod, Pushkin Square, Tverskoy Boulevard, and Teatralnaya Ploshchad. The most well-known pedestrian street is Stary Arbat. This street is frequented by street artists, musicians and poets. There is a wide variety of souvenirs on sale and there are also many cafes and restaurants.

The seven skyscrapers that were built in the late 1940s - early 1950s on the basis of a common construction plan occupy a special place in the history of Moscow’s architecture: Lomonosov State University, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Smolenskaya Square, an office and apartment building on Lermontov Square, Hotel Leningradskaya, Hotel Ukraina, and apartment buildings on Ploshchad Vosstaniya and Kotelnicheskaya Embankment.

The Church of Christ the Savior, the largest Russian Orthodox church, was reconstructed. It holds up to 10,000 people. In a horizontal section, it resembles an 85-meter wide equilateral cross. The overall height of the building is 103 meters and of the internal space – 79 meters.

Neskuchny Garden, the oldest part of Gorky Park, is situated on the bank of Moskva River and occupy an area of 100 hectares. Planted with maple, willow, poplar and lime trees, the gardens are known for their ponds, flower beds, fountains, beautiful alleys and sculptures.

The Memorial to the Victory in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945 is situated on Poklonnaya Hill. The Victory Memorial was inaugurated on May 9, 1995.

The Panorama Museum of the Battle of Borodino, which is situated on Kutuzovsky Prospekt in downtown Moscow (where the village of Fili once stood), is now the only Russian museum telling the whole story of the 1812 campaign.

The estate museum Kolomenskoye, the Andronnikov and Donskoy monasteries and the Novodevichy nunnery, and the Kuzminki, Kuskovo, and Ostankino estates are especially popular with Muscovites.

Moscow Zoo, which opened in 1864, is the largest zoo in Russia. It houses a total of 5,150 animals and birds and 960 species. Teachers often take their pupils to the zoo. Visiting lectures are organized during which people have the chance to see tamed animals close up. The zoo is a pets corner in the very center of the city and it is popular with Muscovites and tourists alike. The picturesque Presnenskiye Ponds are within the grounds of the zoo. The animals are kept in open aviaries and pavilions that replicate specific features of their natural habitats and provide additional information about zoology and nature conservation. 

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