Articles on Moscow’s history and culture help you prepare for a guided walk and choose a private tour on a subject that interests you.
Why the Kumanin family’s Moscow estate is known as Rogozhin’s House
The house at 17 Bolshaya Ordynka is known as the Moscow house of Rogozhin from Fyodor Dostoevsky’s novel The Idiot. The name reflects a theory that it served as a literary model: the character’s address is on Gorokhovaya Street in St Petersburg. The estate belonged to the writer’s relatives, the Kumanin family; researchers compare its original layout with the description of Parfyon’s home. The present-day Moscow façade cannot be regarded as a literal depiction of the hou…
Pushkin and Goncharova’s first meeting: why the date and venue of the ball are disputed
When did Pushkin first meet Natalia Goncharova? One museum publication dates their first meeting at Pyotr Iogel’s ball to late 1828, another to spring 1829. Moscow historian Sergei Romanyuk also considers an earlier possibility: 1826–1827. The poet’s letter of 1 May 1829 establishes a firm latest possible date: by that day, they had already met, and Pushkin had received Natalia’s mother’s r…
‘Until the Cranes’: Breakfast at the Slavyansky Bazar
The expression ‘to breakfast until the cranes’ referred to Moscow’s Slavyansky Bazar restaurant on Nikolskaya Street, where ‘cranes’ was the name given to a sealed decanter of cognac decorated with images of the birds. Once the bill was paid, the guest kept the decanter. This detail helps explain how a lengthy meal became an extension of business negotiations and a display of wealth.
Khitrovka Market: how a market square became a labour exchange
Khitrovsky Market began in the 1820s as a market square with rows of meat and vegetable stalls. In the second half of the 19th century, workers arriving in Moscow began to be hired here, while cheap lodging houses opened in neighbouring buildings. Its reputation as a Moscow slum grew out of this close connection between the search for work, accommodation for people with no fixed abode and the criminal underworld. Building re…
The Fresco in the Belarus Pavilion at VDNKh: Why It Was Thought to Be Lost
In the Belarus pavilion at VDNKh, the fresco ‘The People of Belarus Have Built Socialism’, located above the entrance, had been covered by a layer of plaster since the mid-1970s. The mural was no longer visible and, according to the exhibition’s official website, was considered lost. During restoration, it was returned to the ceremonial loggia. The entrance as it stands today incorporates elements from different periods: individual architectural details were recreated,…
Why Vorobyovy Gory Station Was Closed for 19 Years and How the Metro Bridge Was Rebuilt
Vorobyovy Gory metro station closed to passengers on 20 October 1983 because the Luzhniki Metro Bridge was structurally unsafe. Following reconstruction, it reopened on 14 December 2002. The phrase ‘19 years of closure’ refers to passengers boarding and alighting at the station. For most of that period, trains on the Sokolnicheskaya line continued to cross the Moskva River: first through the empty station hall, and later on b…
How the Azerbaijan Pavilion at VDNKh Swapped Cotton for Computers and Returned to Culture
The Azerbaijan Pavilion at VDNKh changed its exhibition theme three times. In 1939, its halls presented the agriculture and everyday culture of the Azerbaijan SSR; in 1959, industry and oil extraction took over much of the space; after the pavilion was repurposed in 1963, it showcased Soviet computing equipment. The Azerbaijan Centre, which opened following restoration in 2019, brought back a national programme, but did not recreate the displays of 1939.
Archaeological finds in Zaryadye: what a letter, seals and a hoard reveal about life in Moscow
Archaeological finds from Zaryadye offer a glimpse of life in medieval Moscow’s trading and artisan quarter through a letter about an unsuccessful journey to Kostroma, lead seals, wooden drains and a hoard of silver coins. These pieces of evidence come from different centuries and different parts of the district. Together, they reveal the variety of activities along the Moskva River, but they do not form the history of a single house or prove that a market…
The State Pushkin Museum: Authentic Objects and Recreated Interiors
The State Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin Museum in Moscow presents several kinds of historical evidence: authentic belongings of the poet and his contemporaries, objects from the same period, and recreated interiors. They cannot all be interpreted in the same way. The mansion on Prechistenka retains the architecture of Pushkin’s time, but there is no documentary evidence that the poet visited this house. Pushkin’s Memorial Apartment on Arbat is in the house where…
Why Mosfilm moved from Zhitnaya Street to Potylikha and how the tram arrived there
Mosfilm moved from Zhitnaya Street to Potylikha because its old premises could no longer accommodate its growing film production. The new site made it possible to bring shooting stages, workshops, warehouses and editing facilities together in a single complex. But the extra space came with a daily difficulty: reaching the film production centre on the outskirts was a challenge. Beyond the studio gates, transport access still had to be provided after the filming build…
Why did the unveiling of the Pushkin monument in 1880 become a literary event?
The monument to Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin in Moscow was unveiled on 6 June 1880 according to the Old Style calendar (18 June New Style). The unveiling near the entrance to Tverskoy Boulevard was followed by public readings and meetings at which writers debated the poet’s significance. Dostoevsky delivered his speech on Pushkin on 8 June Old Style, two days after the ceremony.
How ‘Mechanisation’ at VDNKh Became ‘Cosmos’: The Story of Pavilion No. 34
Pavilion No. 34 at VDNKh was built to display agricultural machinery, while the exhibition’s official history dates its present name and permanent thematic exhibition to 1967. Meanwhile, the authors of a restoration study published in 2017, and a 2025 historical and cultural assessment report date the pairing of “Cosmos” and “Mechanical Engineering” to 1963. The sources make it possible to distinguish the building’s construction from changes to its exhibits, and an early…
Why the Monument to Minin and Pozharsky Was Moved: Its Location and the Excavations
The monument to Minin and Pozharsky originally stood in the central part of Red Square, opposite the entrance to the Upper Trading Rows. In the summer of 1931, it was moved towards St Basil’s Cathedral because its former position obstructed demonstrations and parades. Excavations in 2021 near the present pedestal showed that traces of old paving survived at the new site and that builders reused carved white-stone elements when constructing the fo…
The History of GUM: Why Fashion Shows Began After the Store Opened
GUM’s Demonstration Hall on Red Square, on the third floor of its first arcade, has served several different audiences. Before the revolution, it hosted shareholders’ meetings and concerts. In the 1930s, it served as a private club; after the building returned to retail use, it became a venue for fashion shows. The store opened to the public in December 1953, but regular fashion shows in the hall did not begin until Septe…
Where Pushkin and Goncharova Were Married: Documents on the Church of the Great Ascension
Pushkin and Natalia Goncharova were married in the Church of the Great Ascension on 18 February 1831. The main body of the new church by Nikitsky Gate was still unfinished; services were held in the section consecrated earlier. The documents establish the parish and explain the course of construction, but do not establish beyond doubt the exact spot inside the churchwhere the bride and groom stood.
Advantages of individual excursions over group ones
- All attention is on you. Answers to all your questions.
- An atmosphere of tranquility and privacy.
- We pay special attention to the places that interest you.
- Possibility of adapting the route to your preferences and interests.
- You hear everything the tour guide says.
- At individual excursion you dive deeper.
- No one is in a hurry. Take a good look at the sights - they won't leave without you.
- Without loud laughter and inappropriate jokes from other tour participants.
- Your photos will not be crowded with other participants.
- The opportunity to discuss personal impressions and emotions with the guide during the process.
- Take a break when needed - to rest or take photos.
- A personal guide remembers you, and you remember him. Such moments remain in memory.
- There is less strain on your hearing and attention, since the guide is literally right next to you and speaks only for you.
- The excursion can be either educational or easy, depending on your wishes.
- Opportunity to gain insight or exclusive information.
- Absence of outside pressure.
- The guide doesn't make stops at points of sale (at least we certainly don't).
- You don't have to get up early or come at an inconvenient time. You choose when.
- Possibility to visit places closed to large groups.
How much more expensive are personal tours than mass tours?
If you are alone or in pairs, then a sum of several thousand for a walking tour of the city or twenty thousand for a car excursion is significant.
But if you're going for a walk with family or friends, the cost for an individual participant approaches one or two thousand - the amount that each person would pay for a group excursion with strangers.
For your group of 8 or more people, the price becomes even lower when calculated per person, making a private tour truly attractive.
***
A mass excursion is tourism, an individual excursion is a journey through the city’s secrets with a personal guide.
The Radius excursion bureau offers fascinating excursions on the history of Moscow in Russian and foreign languages. You can choose a walking tour or a sightseeing trip by car, as well as order an individual route. Our stylish guides will provide a lively speech without cliches, immersing you in the rich history of the capital. In addition, we offer corporate excursions, and our experience of cooperation with such companies as Yandex and Faberlic confirms our competence.
For those who want to make an original gift, gift certificates for our excursions are available. This is the perfect way to give an educational walk around Moscow with a modern guide. Our excursions are conducted in Russian, English, German, Spanish and Hebrew, and can include walks, bike rides, scooter rides or a boat ride on the Radisson Royal on the Moscow River.