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Tours to Moscow
Museums and excursions in Moscow
EXCURSIONS IN MOSCOW
City tour
Tour would show you round Moscow - the capital of Russia.
You will learn the history of this ancient city, as
Moscow's origins have long been shrouded in the mystery of
time, there are many stories linked with it. You will see
the unique historical, architectural and cultural points:
the Kremlin, the Cathedral of the Intercession on the Moat
(which people renamed as the Cathedral of St. Basil the
Blessed), the Bolshoi Theatre, the Cathedral of Christ the
Savior.
You'll feel the originality and the grandeur of Moscow -
the center of cultural, spiritual, financial and political
life of Russia. City tour + St. Basil's Cathedral
The Red Square has always been the main square in Moscow.
It was here that the town criers would run with the Tsar's
decrees, and tell of the Sovereign's will to the crowds
who gathered. On days of great church festivals there
would be a religious procession from the Kremlin to red
Square, and on such days the whole square would fill with
people, and it would have the appearance of an open-air
church. It was here that the magnificent cathedrals were
built. One of them is the Cathedral of the Intercession of
the Mother of God at the Moat. The cathedral was built in
the mid-16th century by decree of Ivan the Terrible in
honor of one of the wars. The small church of Saint Basil,
which was built later on the grave of a God's fool much
respected in Moscow, gave the whole cathedral its second,
more widely known name of St. Basil's cathedral. St.
Basil's cathedral is unique among Moscow's churches. It is
not simply a place where people came to pray, but it is
also itself an icon in stone.
Kremlin + cathedrals
The Kremlin is the historical centre of the city, the
heart of Moscow. This is one of the most famous museums of
the world, which continues to attract visitors in great
numbers. Kremlin is located on a hill washed from one side
by the Moscow-river. On the Kremlin grounds you can see
the Tsar Bell and the Tsar Cannon and visit Annunciation (Blagoveschensky),
Arkhangel (Arkhangelsky) and Assumption (Voznesensky)
Cathedrals, the Bell -Tower of Ivan the Great and the
Church of the Twelve Apostles - the wonderful monuments of
Russian church architecture with unique richly decorated
interiors.
The Kremlin + Armoury
The world-famous Armoury is one of the oldest museums of
Russia, a virtual treasure house. It is the collection of
Russian, Eastern, Western art works of the V-XX centuries,
the tsar's thrones, garb and armor, the unique silver and
golden dishes. The tsars and grand prince's regalia, the
coaches of different centuries, the collection of arms,
learn a lot of remarkable stories about the life of their
owners. The Armoury as a depository of tsar's treasures
was first mentioned in chronicles at the beginning of the
16th century. That was the prototype of the future museum.
Nowadays the collection of the museum numbers over four
thousand items.
The Kremlin + Armoury + Diamond Collection
The Diamond Fond is one of the largest collections of
jewels in the world. The pride of the collection is
historical relics, such as state regalia, unique precious
stones and articles made thereof. This is a part of the
royal treasures, which were previously kept in the Diamond
Room of the Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg. This
collection is not only expensive, but also has a great
cultural and historical value. One can see the largest
imperial crown, consisting of 5 thousand diamonds,
world-known Orlov and Shah diamonds, the most value
Russian medals, and the largest in the world platinum
nugget, golden nugget. The priceless treasures of the
Diamond Collection are a part of the country's national
wealth. They are kept under strict control by the state.
New Maiden Convent
It is one of the most famous historical places of interest
in Moscow of the 16th century. At the same time it is the
functioning convent, which belongs to The Russian Orthodox
Church. The architectural ensemble of the nunnery was
completed at the end of the 17th century and till this day
remains among the best of Russia. This was the richest
convent in Moscow. Noblewomen of the time became
novitiates in this nunnery. The territory of the
Novodevitchy nunnery is also the burial place.
New Maiden Cemetery is divided into "old" and "new". The
quiet, "old" cemetery is situated on the territory of the
convent itself, and it is a burial place for: the daughter
of Ivan the Terrible, sisters of Peter the First, the
heroes of the patriotic war of 1812, prominent writers,
philosophers, poets and so on. The "new" cemetery was laid
between 1898 and 1904. It is adjoins the convent on its
south side. It was extended in the Soviet period when New
Maiden Convent became the second most honored place for
burials in the USSR, after the Kremlin walls. Among those
who were buried on the grounds of the new cemetery was:
Chekhov, Gogol, Bulgakov, the wife of Stalin and Nikita
Khrushchev.
State Tretiakov Gallery
The State Tretiakov Gallery is the national treasury of
Russian fine art and one of the greatest museums in the
world. It was formed in 1856 and named after its founder,
Pavel Tretiakov, who donated his private collection to the
City of Moscow in 1892.
The main building of the museum is located not far from
the Kremlin. The collection consists of about 125,000
works of art. Among the items are the unique examples of
ancient Russian icons, including the outstanding icons
painted by Andrei Rublev, Dionissus and Simon Ushakov.
There are a lot of works of painters of XIII - XIX c.
Pushkin Fine Art Museum
The Pushkin Museum is one of the major art museums in
Russia. It is located in the center of Moscow, not far
from Kremlin, opposite the Cathedral Of Christ the Savior.
The collection holds more than half a million items from
different epochs. Among them there is a unique collection
of plaster copies of famous works of sculpture from the
Antiquity, the Middle Ages and The Renaissance. The
collection of the museum contains art works of great
artists from Italy, Holland, Flanders, Spain, England,
France and Germany. There is a world famous collection of
French paintings from the 19th to the beginning of the
20th century, which contains major works by Monet, Renoir,
Degas, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Cezanne, Matisse and Picasso
from the collection of Moscow's legendary art patrons.
Museum of KGB
Opened in 1984 the Museum was created for professional
training and educating of the State Security services
employees. The training was done according to the best
traditions of the Soviet special services. More than 2000
exhibits demonstrate intelligence and counterintelligence
activity in Russian state. During the tour one would know
the name of the first Russian double agent who obtained
valuable information of Mamai's plans in 1380 and also a
lot of evidences referring to 19th and 20th centuries. A
number of stands comment on the events of mass repression
during Stalin's era and scrupulous work for
rehabilitation. A separate hall illustrates the security
services activity during the World War II. Some exhibits
of counterintelligence activity nowadays are of great
interest. Much attention was paid to technical means of
Intelligence. There are pictures of apprehension & foreign
agents caught red-handed and the accomplices of that.
Metro (without transport) + Arbat Street
Famous Moscow metro is symbol of glory of constructivism,
decorated with chandeliers and tons of marble. Most of its
stations have been designated as architectural landmarks.
The length of the underground lines exceeds 250 kilometres,
it has more than 160 metro stations, new ones are
continuously added. The vestibules of the metro stations,
which are among the most beautiful in the world, were
built about fifty years ago; the first line was opened in
1935.
Old Arbat Street is a street with activity at any time of
day and night. Arbat Street is a cobbled pedestrian
passage and one of the most popular meeting and shopping
spots in Moscow. It is here that that artist, musicians,
lovers of poetry and amateur songwriters like to get
together.
Kolomenskoe (territory + Petrov house)
Kolomenskoe is a former estate of the Moscow grand dukes
and the Russian tsars, situated on the high right bank of
the Moscva River. Today it is a museum-reserve, a monument
of the 16th and 17th century Russian architecture. More
ten twenty architectural monuments have survived at
Kolomenskoe, among them is the Church of the Ascension of
the 16th century, which is considered to be a "wondrous
wonder". On the grounds o the Kolomenskoye Museum -
Reserve are a number of interesting samples of wooden
building. One of them is Petrov House.
Sergiev Posad (Zagorsk)
Sergiev Posad - the center of Russian Orthodox Church. All
the history of the formation of Moscow not only as of the
main center of administrative, but also of the religious
life of the Russian state would be shown to you during
this excursion. You will visit the chapels, churches,
cathedrals and monasteries of Moscow. This is a visit to
the Holy-Trinity Sergeius Monastery (Lavra), founded by
St. Sergeius of Radonezh (1314 - 1392) in 1340. You'll
visit the Sacrisity, where the treasures of Lavra are
held: the unique icons, the church clothes, book,
presented by the Russian Tsars and grand princes. You'll
see the austere and elegant churches of XV-XVII c.,
Theological Academy. You'll learn about the event,
connected with Lavra and it's role in the spiritual life
of Russia.
Kuskovo
Kuskovo is an outstanding 18th century palace and park
ensemble, which belonged to the family of count
Sheremetievs. The main building of the estate, The Kuskovo
Palace, was built on the bank of a large pond. It is the
dominant architectural feature of the entire ensemble of
the grand courtyard, which includes a church, kitchens and
a bell tower with a spire. The park's main alley ends at
the large building of the Conservatory - a winter garden
with a dance hall in the canter. Also in the park there is
a Grotto, which imitates an underwater cave - "Neptune's
Kingdom". In 1918 the Kuskovo estate was given the status
of a museum. And in 1932 a Museum of porcelain was opened
here. It boasts an immensely rich collection of Russian,
Chinese, German, English, French and Danish china and
faience, majolica and glass.
Abramtsevo
Here, in the settlement of Abramtsevo near Moscow, the
modest beauty of Russian nature manifests itself in an
unusual manner. Abramtsevo is one of the rare museums that
have preserved the appearance and charm of genuinely olden
days. In its park one can find Aksakov's old house, the
Church of Christ the Saviour, and the wooden structures in
the neo-Russian style - the Terem, art studio, and
children's "forest hut on birds' legs", created by
Vasnetsov on the basis of Russian folklore.
All these buildings hold many unique objects of Russian
daily life of the 18th to early 20th centuries. The
exhibits include works by famous artists and also kitchen
utensils, spinning wheels, dolls, and other objects
created by anonymous folk craftsmen.
The Abramtsevo Memorial Estate is more than a collection
of exhibits. It's a place where artistic life continues
today, where one can come in touch with the nation's
creative spirit. It's also a place for those who would
like to experience the charm of the unhurried life of the
Russian country gentry in the 19th century.
Yuri Gagarin Training Centre (Star city)
The tour to the famous all over the world Russian
Cosmonauts Training Centre named after Yuri Gagarin who
did the first manned flight to the space. On the grounds
of the Centre there is a local museum and memorial office
of Yuri Gagarin. During the tour one will visit special
technical zone of the Centre where there are unique
simulators, the centrifuge, the hydro-lab with models of
space vehicles. In a huge swimming pool (diameter 23 m,
depth 19 m) there is a model of a space station. Water
weightlessness enables cosmonauts to practice their skills
necessary for their travelling into outer space. The
astronavigation function simulating stand created at
cosmic planetarium gives the possibility to study the star
sky and to define orientation of manned spacecraft. The
stand allows to simulate the star sky observed at
altitudes of 500 km and it generates 9000 stars.
Monino (museum of aviation)
Aircraft museum's collection numbers more than 170
aircraft, there are conventional planes, helicopters and
gliders, as well as unusual flying machines, such as
V.Tatlin flapflyer, A.Rafaelynts turboflyer, the second
stage of orbital space plane, developed under the "Spiral"
program and others. The collection also includes a lot of
model aircraft, air guns, missiles and rockets, bombs,
fuses and ammunition, navigation instruments, pieces of
radio and communication equipment, rescue equipment,
flight insignia, uniform, combat banners and flags,
documents, letters, personal things of pilots, as well as
many art exhibits. The Museum's exposition, the total area
of which is about 20 hectares (including the airfield), is
located on the tarmac, in hangar and halls, shops of the
former aircraft repair plant were adopted for the halls.
The vast territory allows the museum to expend its
exposition, while the nearby runway can receive new
exhibits: many of museum airplanes and helicopters made
their last landing on that runway. In the halls historical
material and exhibits are arranged chronologically, in the
open air planes and helicopters are mainly arranged
according to the names of their design bureaus.
Museum of P.I. Tchaikovsky in Klin
There are quite a few places, both in Russia and abroad,
where P.I. Tchaikovsky stayed or lived, and the memory of
the great composer is carefully preserved there.
Nevertheless, no one of these places possesses such
attractiveness for visitors as the ancient town of Klin.
The house in Klin where Tchaikovsky settled in May 1892
and wherefrom seventeen months later he left for St.
Petersburg for his last concert trip has been preserved,
and for a century already it is known the world over as P.
I. Tchaikovsky House-Museum in Klin. The Museum's
collection initiated by M. I. Tchaikovsky, the composer's
brother, has become one of the largest of this kind and
made it possible to carry out vast scientific work on
studying Tchaikovsky's life and popularising his creative
work, publish his musical and literary heredity, arrange
conferences and exhibitions, both in this country and
abroad. P. I. Tchaikovsky House-Museum in Klin is a real
Mecca of all music lovers. During the Museum's century-old
history it was visited by millions of people from all
spots of the world. Tchaikovsky's music, his life, the
great master's house with his library, manuscripts,
personal effects - all this continues to excite people,
remain attractive and essential for them. During the tour
the piano concert can be organized.
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