Moscow has some beautiful museums. If you have enough time, I would definitely recommend choosing one in your area of interest and spending a few hours away from the city crowds. My personal favorites are the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Tretyakov Gallery of Russian Art and the Oriental Arts Museum. If you feel like spending a day in a beautiful park, take a day trip to one of the old preserved estates in the Moscow suburbs. They are easy to get to and worth a visit. Some, like Ostankinskoe Estate are within city limits and you will get an added benefit of seeing the Moscow famous televison tower that burned in 2000, up close. Most museums are closed on Mondays. Below is a listing of most major Moscow museums that I composed from various sources.
Kremlin Museums: A multitude of museums including ancient churches, displays of precious antiquities, Gems and jewelry owned by the Russian tsars and armory. Definitely worth visiting. 10.00 to 17.00, except Thursdays. Address: "Biblioteka Lenina" or "Aleksandrovsky Sad" Metro stations
Tel.: 921-4720
The State Museum of Oriental Arts: The art of oriental countries: China, Korea, Japan, India, Middle and South-East Asia, Kazakhstan. Nikitsky Bulvar Street, 12a, "Pushkinskaya" or "Arbatskaya" Metro stations, tel.: 202-4555, open daily from 10.00 to 20.00, except Monday.
Old Tretyakov Gallery main exhibit halls: masterpieces of Russian icon art, paintings by 18th-century portrait masters, world-famous 19th- and early 20th-century paintings. Old Tretyakov Gallery, 10/12 Lavrushinsky Pereulok. M. Tretyakovskaya. 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., closed Mon. 230-7788, 951-1362, 238-1378.
New Tretyakov Gallery main exhibit halls: 20th-century Russian art. New Tretyakov Gallery, 10 Krymsky Val. M. Oktyabrskaya, Park Kultury. 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., closed Mon. 230-7788, 951-1362, 238-1378.
Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts permanent collection: works from ancient Egypt, Assyria, Greece and Rome, plus works from the Middle Ages to the early 20th century. Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, 12 Volkhonka. M. Kropotkinskaya. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed Mon. 203-7998/9578.
Battle of Borodino (Borodinskaya Bitva): paintings, gravures, uniforms, weapons and archaeological finds tell the story of the 1812 Battle of Borodino and mark the 40th anniversary of the Borodino Museum, to June 30.Historical Museum, 1 Red Square. M. Ploshchad Revolyutsii. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., closed Tues. 292-3731.
Museum of the 20th Century (Musei Dvadtsatogo Veka): an exhibit of objects that symbolized life in the 20th century, to June 18.Historical Museum, 1 Red Square. M. Ploshchad Revolyutsii. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., closed Tues. 292-3731.
Andrei Sakharov Museum & Public Center is devoted to the legacy of this human rights activist and physicist and chronicles the political repression of Soviet citizens from 1917 to the 1980s with photographs and other documentary materials. Andrei Sakharov Museum & Public Center, 57 Zemlyanoi Val, Bldg. 6. M. Kurskaya. Tues. to Sun. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. 923-4401/4420.
Novodevichy Convent: museum of 16th- and 17th-century Russian history and architecture. Smolensky Cathedral with its murals and icons is open. Novodevichy Convent, 1 Novodevichy Proyezd. M. Sportivnaya. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Tues. 246-8526.
Fyodor Dostoevsky Museum: a small display devoted to the author of "Crime and Punishment" and "The Brothers Karamazov" in the home where he was born. 2 Ul. Dostoevskogo. M. Novoslobodskaya. Wed. and Fri. 2 to 8 p.m., Thurs., Sat. and Sun. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed Mon., Tues. and the last day of the month. 281-1085.
Pushkin Museum at Zakharovo v Bolshiye Vyazyomy: "Pushkin and His Contemporaries" (Pushkin i Ego Sovremenniki) display includes portraits, paintings and personal belongings and tells the story of this Golitsyn estate from the time of Pushkin's stay there. "The World of Childhood" (Mir Detstva) display features children's portraits, toys, letters and other items from the late 18th to early 20th century from the Tropinin Museum, the Ostankino Museum and the Bolshiye Vyazyomy collections. Pushkin Museum at Zakharovo f Bolshiye Vyazyomy, from Belorussky Station to Golitsyno, then a 20-minute walk or bus No. 38 to the Institut stop. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Mon. and Tues. 8-233-41-557.
Literary Museum: books, manuscripts and other items that tell the stories of Russia's great writers. 28 Petrovka. M. Pushkinskaya. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Mon. and Tues. 923-7343.
Anton Chekhov House: the home furnished more or less as it was when the writer lived here from 1892 to 1898 when he wrote his famous play "The Seagull." Melikhovo, from the Kursky Station to Chekhov, then bus No. 25. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 8-272-240-79.
Anton Chekhov Museum: the great writer's Moscow apartment, with a small display of photos and manuscripts. 6 Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya Ul. M. Barrikadnaya. Tues., Thurs. and Sat. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wed. and Fri. 2 to 6 p.m., closed Sun. and Mon. 291-6154.
Maxim Gorky Museum: a small display of items devoted to the writer who, in the early Soviet years, became the standard for Socialist Realism. 25A Povarskaya Ul. M. Arbatskaya, Barrikadnaya. Mon. and Thurs. 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Tues., Wed. and Fri. noon to 6 p.m., closed Sat. and Sun. 290-5130.
Maxim Gorky Memorial Museum: spectacular art-nouveau mansion in which the writer lived from his return to the Soviet Union until his death. 6/2 Malaya Nikitskaya Ul. M. Pushkinskaya, then trolley 15, 31 to Nikitskiye Vorota. Thurs., Sat. and Sun. 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Wed. and Fri. noon to 6:30 p.m., closed Mon. and Tues. 290-0535.
Mikhail Lermontov Museum: a small display dedicated to the poet who was the closest that Russian literature had to a representative of the Romantic movement. 2 Malaya Molchanovka. M. Arbatskaya. 291-5298.
Vsevolod Meyerhold Museum: a small museum devoted to the director who, until his arrest and murder in prison in 1940, was one of the world leaders of the avant-garde. 12 Bryusovsky Pereulok, Apt. 11. M. Pushkinskaya. Noon to 5 p.m., closed Mon. and Tues. 229-5322.
Boris Pasternak Museum: the famous dacha home where the author of "Dr. Zhivago" weathered the attacks on him after being awarded the 1958 Nobel Prize for Literature. Peredelkino, 3 Ul. Pavlenko. From Kievsky Station to Peredelkino, then bus No. 47 to Dom Tvorchestva. Thurs. to Sun. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. 934-5175.
Konstantin Stanislavsky Museum: the apartment that was long occupied by the co-founder of the Moscow Art Theater and the creator of the famous "acting system." 6 Leontyevsky Pereulok. M. Tverskaya. Thurs., Sat. and Sun. 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wed. and Fri. 2 p.m. to 7 p.m., closed Mon. and Tues. 229-2442/2855.
Maria Yermolova Museum: a small but elegant apartment museum dedicated to the great Maly Theater actress of the end of the 19th century. 11 Tverskoi Bulvar. M. Tverskaya. Wed. to Fri. noon to 6 p.m. 290-5416.
Fyodor Chaliapin Museum: small exhibit devoted to the great Russian bass. 25 Novinsky Bulvar. M. Barrikadnaya. Tues. and Sat. 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Wed., Thurs. and Sun. 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed Mon., Fri. and the last day of the month. 205-6236, 205-7300.
Nikolai Roerich Museum: a small display dedicated to the great painter best known for his landscapes of India. 3/5 Maly Znamensky Pereulok. M. Kropotkinskaya. 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., closed Mon. 203-7988.
Bakhrushin Theater Museum: posters, photos, costumes and other memorabilia of famous Russian actors and directors of the last two centuries. 31/12 Ul. Bakhrushina. M. Paveletskaya. Noon to 7 p.m., closed Tues. 953-4848/4720.
Pushkin Apartment Museum. 53 Arbat. M. Smolenskaya. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., closed Mon., Tues. and the last Fri. of the month. 241-9295.
Bulat Okudzhava Memorial Museum: The former dacha of the late bard and novelist features books, poetry and memorabilia. Free events for the public, including poetry readings and concerts, take place Sundays at 5 p.m. The Bulat Okudzhava Memorial Museum in Michurinets, 11 Ul. Dovzhenko. Thurs., Fri., Sat. and Sun. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. From Kievsky Station to Michurinets, then walk north on the cracked paved road that leads from the east end of the platform to Ul. Dovzhenko and turn left. 593-5208, 269-8738.
Leo Tolstoy Museum: This series of museums dedicated to the author of "War and Peace" and "Anna Karenina" has three branches. 11 Prechistenka. M. Kropotkinskaya. 201-5811. Branch on 12 Pyatnitskaya Ul. M. Novokuznetskaya. 951-7402. Branch in Khamovniki, 21 Ul. Lva Tolstogo. M. Park Kultury. 246-9444.
Estate Museums:
Ostankino Estate Museum: Classic 18th century palace, famous house theatre, works of art and antiques. 1st Ostankinskaya Street, 5, "VDNH" Metro station, tram No. 11, tel.: 283-4645, open May-September from 10.00 to 18.00)
Abramtsevo Estate Museum features works by the famous Russian artists Vasily Polenov, Viktor Vasnetsov, Ilya Repin, Mikhail Vrubel and others. From Yaroslavsky Station to the Abramtsevo stop. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Closed Mon. and Tues. and the last Fri. of the month. 584-5533.
Ostafyevo Estate Museum: excursions and lectures about Russian poets. From Kursky Station to the Shcherbinka stop, then bus No. 45. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Mon. and Tues. 119-7300.
Arkhangelskoye Estate Museum: Exhibit "History and Art Collection of the Arkhangelskoye Estate" at the Kontorsky Wing Hall is temporarily closed. M. Tushinskaya then bus No. 549 to Arkhangelskoye or bus No. 151 to Sanatory. May to Sept. Wed. to Sun. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. 561-9660. Excursions available upon request at 363-1375.
Dacha: this "Russian dacha" museum features furnishings and photographs from the Tretyakov, Bakhrushin, Vertinsky, Kachalov, Mikhalkov and other family archives, permanent display.Dacha, Rublyovo-Uspenskoye Shosse, Posyolok Zhukovka. 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. 778-1486. .
