Cultural programme

The Moscow Kremlin is one of the largest architectural and urban ensembles in the world. It is located at the centre of the Russian capital, on a high hill above the Moscow River. The height of the Kremlin walls, narrow loopholes, battle platforms, and evenly spaced towers all indicate that this is, first and foremost, a fortress. But once you enter the Kremlin, your impression will change. The 28-hectare territory is home to spacious squares and beautiful gardens, majestic palaces, and numerous churches. It is an entire city within a city, created over many centuries, which today preserves monuments of Russian architecture from the 14th to 20th centuries. They form the ensembles of the Cathedral, Ivanovskaya, Senatskaya, Dvortsovaya, and Troitskaya Squares, as well as the Spasskaya, Borovitskaya, and Dvortsovaya streets. All the Kremlin’s ancient and new squares constitute a single urban whole, but each has its own particular history and distinctive architectural appearance.
The Museums of the Moscow Kremlin include the Armoury Chamber and the architectural ensemble of Cathedral Square, which contains the Cathedral of the Assumption, the Cathedral of the Archangel, the Cathedral of the Annunciation, the Church of the Deposition of the Robe, the Patriarch’s Palace, the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, and exhibition halls in the Assumption Bell Tower and the One-Pillar Chamber of the Patriarch’s Palace.
Entry to the Kremlin grounds is through the Kutafiya Tower; entry to the Armoury Chamber is via the Borovitsky Gate. Since there are often queues, we recommend planning your visit to the Museums around 30–40 minutes in advance.

The New Tretyakov Gallery presents the most comprehensive permanent exhibition of 20th century Russian art in all its diversity: avant-garde, socialist realism, the ‘austere style’, underground art, and the latest trends. It hosts major retrospectives of great Russian artists and experimental exhibitions by young artists. The lecture hall and creative workshop offer a wide range of theoretical knowledge and practical classes for children, students, and adults on art of the 20th and early 21st centuries.
Halls 27–35 and 37 feature a recently refreshed exhibition of Russian art from the second half of the 20th century. In addition to well-known masterpieces from the museum’s collection, it also features new acquisitions and gifts that have been added to the Tretyakov Gallery’s collection in recent years. For the first time, the exhibition concludes with halls dedicated to ‘unofficial’ art of the 1960s–1980s and the latest trends of the late 20th century.

The historic building of the Tretyakov Gallery at 10, Lavrushinsky Pereulok is located within a complex of buildings, the core of which is a mansion dating from the second half of the 18th century which the Tretyakov family acquired in 1851. Pavel Tretyakov began collecting paintings by Russian artists in 1856 and displayed them in his living quarters. As his collection grew, new premises were needed to display it, and from 1872, extensions were added to the house. During Tretyakov’s lifetime, such work was carried out five times. In 1902–1904, the exterior of the building on the side of Lavrushinsky Pereulok was rebuilt according to a design based on a drawing by Viktor Vasnetsov. The new Russian-style façade became the emblem of the museum, whose collection grew rapidly in the 20th century. In 1936, another exhibition building was added. In 1986–1995, a major renovation of the building was carried out, which made it possible to increase the exhibition space by covering the inner courtyards. The building is a cultural heritage site of federal significance.
Today, the historic building of the Tretyakov Gallery houses an exhibition of Russian art from the 12th to the early 20th century. It occupies 62 rooms on two floors, is organized chronologically, and provides an overview of the development of the national artistic tradition.

The exhibition presents a collection of over 800 African art artifacts, assembled over nearly 30 years—beginning in the 1980s—by the Leningrad- and New York-based artist and sculptor Mikhail Zvyagin.
The exhibition is notable for its scale and depth; it has been many years since an exposition of African art of such breadth and systematic organization has appeared in a Russian art museum. This is a pioneering endeavor of this magnitude, in which objects from various collections and historical periods are presented as a cohesive whole, framed by a carefully conceived spatial narrative.

The Russia: My History multimedia parks offer gigabytes of history at your fingertips in 24 cities. Each park provides a fascinating journey, featuring original installations, cinemas, interactive exhibits, and quests.

The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts is a museum complex with one of Russia’s largest collections of foreign art. Today, the museum is home to about 700,000 works from different eras, ranging from Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece to the beginning of the 21st century. One of the museum’s most exceptional collections is its collection of 19th and 20th century French art, which is one of the most famous in the world.

We will discuss the creation of the “Art-Africa” project; how personal experience and the challenges of a changing world shape the aesthetic and artistic preferences of an artist or photographer; the nature of engagement with museums and galleries across various African countries; and what makes the Russian art scene attractive to new participants.

The exhibition presents a collection of over 800 African art artifacts, assembled over nearly 30 years—beginning in the 1980s—by the Leningrad- and New York-based artist and sculptor Mikhail Zvyagin.
The exhibition is notable for its scale and depth; it has been many years since an exposition of African art of such breadth and systematic organization has appeared in a Russian art museum. This is a pioneering endeavor of this magnitude, in which objects from various collections and historical periods are presented as a cohesive whole, framed by a carefully conceived spatial narrative.

The historic building of the Tretyakov Gallery at 10, Lavrushinsky Pereulok is located within a complex of buildings, the core of which is a mansion dating from the second half of the 18th century which the Tretyakov family acquired in 1851. Pavel Tretyakov began collecting paintings by Russian artists in 1856 and displayed them in his living quarters. As his collection grew, new premises were needed to display it, and from 1872, extensions were added to the house. During Tretyakov’s lifetime, such work was carried out five times. In 1902–1904, the exterior of the building on the side of Lavrushinsky Pereulok was rebuilt according to a design based on a drawing by Viktor Vasnetsov. The new Russian-style façade became the emblem of the museum, whose collection grew rapidly in the 20th century. In 1936, another exhibition building was added. In 1986–1995, a major renovation of the building was carried out, which made it possible to increase the exhibition space by covering the inner courtyards. The building is a cultural heritage site of federal significance.
Today, the historic building of the Tretyakov Gallery houses an exhibition of Russian art from the 12th to the early 20th century. It occupies 62 rooms on two floors, is organized chronologically, and provides an overview of the development of the national artistic tradition.

The New Tretyakov Gallery presents the most comprehensive permanent exhibition of 20th century Russian art in all its diversity: avant-garde, socialist realism, the ‘austere style’, underground art, and the latest trends. It hosts major retrospectives of great Russian artists and experimental exhibitions by young artists. The lecture hall and creative workshop offer a wide range of theoretical knowledge and practical classes for children, students, and adults on art of the 20th and early 21st centuries.
Halls 27–35 and 37 feature a recently refreshed exhibition of Russian art from the second half of the 20th century. In addition to well-known masterpieces from the museum’s collection, it also features new acquisitions and gifts that have been added to the Tretyakov Gallery’s collection in recent years. For the first time, the exhibition concludes with halls dedicated to ‘unofficial’ art of the 1960s–1980s and the latest trends of the late 20th century.

The Moscow Kremlin is one of the largest architectural and urban ensembles in the world. It is located at the centre of the Russian capital, on a high hill above the Moscow River. The height of the Kremlin walls, narrow loopholes, battle platforms, and evenly spaced towers all indicate that this is, first and foremost, a fortress. But once you enter the Kremlin, your impression will change. The 28-hectare territory is home to spacious squares and beautiful gardens, majestic palaces, and numerous churches. It is an entire city within a city, created over many centuries, which today preserves monuments of Russian architecture from the 14th to 20th centuries. They form the ensembles of the Cathedral, Ivanovskaya, Senatskaya, Dvortsovaya, and Troitskaya Squares, as well as the Spasskaya, Borovitskaya, and Dvortsovaya streets. All the Kremlin’s ancient and new squares constitute a single urban whole, but each has its own particular history and distinctive architectural appearance.
The Museums of the Moscow Kremlin include the Armoury Chamber and the architectural ensemble of Cathedral Square, which contains the Cathedral of the Assumption, the Cathedral of the Archangel, the Cathedral of the Annunciation, the Church of the Deposition of the Robe, the Patriarch’s Palace, the Ivan the Great Bell Tower, and exhibition halls in the Assumption Bell Tower and the One-Pillar Chamber of the Patriarch’s Palace.
Entry to the Kremlin grounds is through the Kutafiya Tower; entry to the Armoury Chamber is via the Borovitsky Gate. Since there are often queues, we recommend planning your visit to the Museums around 30–40 minutes in advance.

The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts is a museum complex with one of Russia’s largest collections of foreign art. Today, the museum is home to about 700,000 works from different eras, ranging from Ancient Egypt and Ancient Greece to the beginning of the 21st century. One of the museum’s most exceptional collections is its collection of 19th and 20th century French art, which is one of the most famous in the world.

The Russia: My History multimedia parks offer gigabytes of history at your fingertips in 24 cities. Each park provides a fascinating journey, featuring original installations, cinemas, interactive exhibits, and quests.

We will talk about how contemporary African artists conceptualize cultural memory, identity and changes in society. Using the example of the works of participants in the Art-Africa project, we will discuss the diversity of artistic languages of the continent, the connection of art with history and everyday life, as well as themes and images that remain little known outside Africa.