Museums by ASLA

Museums in St Petersburg

The State Hermitage Museum

Address: 2 Dvortsovaya ploshad
Description: The State Hermitage is one of the largest museums in the world. It occupies 6 buildings including Winter Palace - the residence of Russian tsars. The Hermitage keeps about 3 million monuments of culture and art of the European and Oriental peoples, from high antiquity till nowadays: pictures, graphic sheets, sculptures, a rich collection of applied art items, over a million coins and medals, archaeologic materials. Among the Hermitage's treasures, there are artworks by Leonardo da Vinci, Raphael, Michelangelo, Titian, Rembrandt, Rubens, famous collection of impressionists and post-impressionists, Matisse and Picasso. World-renowned are the collections of Scythian gold and the antiquities from the Black Sea North Littoral.
Open days: Closed on Mondays
Open times: 10:30 - 17:00; 10:30 - 16:00 on Sundays
Telephone: +7 812 710 9625
Website: www.hermitagemuseum.org
Nearest metro: Nevsky Prospect

St Isaac's Cathedral

Address: Isaakievskaya ploshad
Description: One of the finest architectural monuments of the XIX century (architect A.Montferrand), formerly principal cathedral of the Russian capital, the largest cathedral in town. The cathedral is graced with 112 solid granite columns weighing up to 114 tons each, and about 400 relieves and bronze sculptures. The observation platform on the colonnade provides a magnificent view of the city.
Open days: Closed on Wednesdays and last Fridays of the month
Open times: 11:00 - 18:00
Telephone: +7 812 315 9732
Nearest metro: Gostiny Dvor, Nevsky Prospect

The Peter and Paul Fortress

Address: 3 Petropavlovskaya Krepost
Description: The Peter and Paul Fortress was founded by Peter the Great in 1703. Except the old fortifications themselves, there are the Sts Peter and Paul Cathedral of the early XVIII century (architect D.Trezzini) with the burial vault of Peter the Great and other Russian tsars, the museum in Trubetskoy Bastion prison, the exhibitions 'The History of St.Petersburg - Petrograd. 1830-1918', 'Museum to Old Petersburg', 'Pechatnya (Printing Workshop)', 'Museum for Adults and Children', 'Three Centuries above the City' (dedicated to the history of building Cathedral's belfry), and museum on space exploration and missilery. An excursion route 'Panorama of the Neva' goes over the roofs of the fortress bastions and curtains.
Open days: Closed on Wednesdays and last Tuesdays of the month
Open times: 11:00 - 17:00; 11:00 - 16:00 on Tuesdays
Telephone: +7 812 498 0505
Website: www.spbmuseum.ru
Nearest metro: Gorkovskaya

The Menshikov Palace

Address: 15 Universitetskaya nab.
Description: The palace of Prince Alexander Menshikov, first governor - general of St Petersburg, was founded on Vasilevsky Island in 1710. It is one of the oldest surviving buildings in the city, and once combined both residential and administrative functions. The palace also features an exhibition, owing to the Hermitage collections, on Russian culture in the era of Peter the Great.
Open days: Closed on Mondays
Open times: 10:30 - 16:00
Telephone: +7 812 323 1112
Website: www.hermitagemuseum.org/html_En/03/hm3_9.html
Nearest metro: Vasileostrovskaya

Mikhaylovsky (Inzhenerny) Castle

Address: 2 Sadovaya Ulitsa
Description: The castle was constructed to protect the Russian emperor Paul I. Ironically, it was here where he was assassinated on the night of March 12, 1801. Since 1817, the castle housed an Engineering School, which was attended by many great Russian figures of the past, including the writer F.Dostoyevsky. Permanent exhibitions: 'Classic Subjects in Russian Art' and 'The Renaissance and the Creative Activity of Russian Artists'.
Open days: Closed on Tuesdays
Open times: 10:00 - 17:00; 10:00 - 16:00 on Mondays
Telephone: +7 812 313 4173
Nearest metro: Gostiny Dvor, Nevsky prospect

Museum of Porcelain

Address: 151 Obukhovskoy Oborony Prospect
Description: A new department of the State Hermitage, opened on Lomonosov Porcelain Factory grounds. 2 restored halls contain the exhibition of porcelain made in Royal Porcelain Manufacture during 1744-1917, an exhibition on how the museum collection was formed, and products by the famous West-European porcelain manufactures and artistic glassware.
Open days: Closed on Mondays
Open times: 10:30 - 17:00; 10:30 - 16:00 on Sundays
Telephone: +7 812 560 8300
Nearest metro: Lomonosovskaya

The Zoological Museum

Address: 1 Universitetskaya nab.
Description: One of the largest in the world. The museum's research collection contains 17 million species, 500,000 of which are on display.
Open days: Closed on Fridays
Open times: 11:00 - 17:00
Telephone: +7 812 328 0112
Website: www.zin.ru/museum/
Nearest metro: Vasileostrovskaya

Museum on board the cruiser Aurora

Address: Petrogradskaya nab.
Description: A cruiser of the Russian Navy put on eternal mooring. The museum on board illustrates the Aurora's participation in the battle of Tsushima in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905, revolutionary events of the early XX century, and the World War II, 1941-45.
Open days: Closed on Mondays and Fridays
Open times: 10:30 - 16:00
Telephone: +7 812 230 8440
Nearest metro: Gorkovskaya

The Museum of the Political History of Russia

Address: 2/4 Kuybysheva ulitsa
Description: The museum features original objects, documents, photographs on the history of Russia in the XIX-XX centuries. A special section is devoted to the famous Russian ballerina M.Kshessinskaya, the former owner of the mansion. Other exhibitions include 'Deeming on the State Duma (The history of Russian parliamentarism in the XX century)', 'Thanks to Comrade Stalin... (Individual and power in the USSR in 1920-30s)'.
Open days: Closed on Thursdays
Open times: 10:00 - 17:00
Telephone: +7 812 233 7052
Website: www.polithistory.ru
Nearest metro: Gorkovskaya

Monument to the Heroic Defenders of Leningrad

Address: Pobedy ploshad
Description: This memorial is dedicated to the 900-days of unprecedented heroic defence of the city in the World War II, 1941-1945. Consists of an obelisk, sculptural composition, and an underground Memorial Hall, where original documents and items of that time are displayed.
Open days: Closed on Wednesdays and last Tuesdays of the month
Open times: 10:00 - 18:00; 10:00 - 17:00 on Tuesdays and Fridays
Telephone: +7 812 373 6563
Nearest metro: Moskovskaya

The State Russian Museum

Address: 2 Inzhenernaya Ulitsa
Description: Opened in 1898 in the Mikhaylovsky Palace (architect C.Rossi), the museum possesses nearly 400,000 exhibits. It is the largest in the country collection of Russian art. Renewed exhibition 'The Art of the XX Century' contains works by M.Vrubel, V.Serov, K.Petrov-Vodkin, M.Chagall, K.Malevich, P.Filonov, and others, less renowned painters from the largest artistic unions of last century.
Open days: Closed on Tuesdays
Open times: 10:00 - 17:00; 10:00 - 16:00 on Mondays
Telephone: +7 812 595 4248
Website: www.rusmuseum.ru
Nearest metro: Gostiny Dvor, Nevsky Prospect

Church of the Saviour on the Spilled Blood

Address: 2a Griboyedova Kanala nab.
Description: Completed in 1907 as a memorial church to the Russian emperor Alexander II, on the very spot of crucial terroristic attempt upon him. A sample of 'Russian Revival style' in architecture and decorative art at the turn of the XIX-XX centuries. Mosaics revetting the church (over 7,000 sq.m) were created to the design of 30 artists, among them V.Vasnetsov, M.Nesterov, A.Ryabushkin, V.Belyaev, N.Kharlamov.
Open days: Closed on Wednesdays
Open times: 11:00 - 18:00
Telephone: +7 812 315 1636
Nearest metro: Nevsky Prospect, Gostiny Dvor

The Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography named after Peter the Great (The Chamber of Curiosities)

Address: 3 Universitetskaya nab.
Description: The collection stems from the exhibits of the first Russian museum - Kunstkamera, founded by Peter I, and contains over a million exhibits on the lifestyles of different peoples of the world. Many of them are unique. Permanent expositions: 'First Collections on Natural Sciences in Kunstkamera', 'M.Lomonosov and the Academy of Sciences in the XVIII Century', 'The First Astronomical Observatory in the Russian Academy of Sciences', 'Grand Gotthorp Globe-Planetarium'.
Open days: Closed on Mondays and last Thursdays of the month
Open times: 11:00 - 16:30
Telephone: +7 812 328 1412
Website: www.kunstkamera.ru
Nearest metro: Vasileostrovskaya

The Marble Palace

Address: 5/11 Millionnaya Ulitsa
Description: An architectural monument of the mid-XVIII century (architect A.Rinaldi). Over 30 tints of marble were used for the decoration of the palace, hence the name Marble Palace, which was bestowed by delighted contemporaries. The main exhibitions: 'Peter Ludvig Museum in the Russian Museum', 'The Collection of Brothers Rzhevskiy', 'Konstantin Romanov - a Poet of the Silver Age'.
Open days: Closed on Tuesdays
Open times: 10:00 - 17:00; 10:00 - 16:00 on Mondays
Telephone: +7 812 312 9196
Nearest metro: Gostiny Dvor, Nevsky Prospect

Stroganoff Palace

Address: 17 Nevsky Prospect
Description: The oldest of palaces under the Russian Museum supervision. For almost 2 centuries, it was the property of Barons and Counts Stroganoff. Its building was begun in 1738 and headed by M.Zemtsov. However, F.Rastrelli is considered as its real author who completed the outward appearance of the palace. The interiors were worked out by the remarkable Russian architects F.Demertsov, A.Voronikhin, G.Bosse, et al. A permanent exhibition 'The Gallery of Russian Porcelain' is opened in the restored first-floor suite of rooms.
Open days: Closed o Tuesdays
Open times: 10:00 - 17:00; 10:00 - 16:00 on Mondays
Telephone: +7 812 571 2360
Nearest metro: Gostiny Dvor

The Russian Ethnographic Museum

Address: 4/1 Inzhenernaya Ulitsa
Description: The exhibitions of the museum illustrate the everyday life and culture of the peoples of Russia in the XIX-XX centuries. The collections of the museum have over half a million exhibits. In the Special Storeroom, shown are jewelry, weapons, and religious objects, made of precious metals. A new permanent exhibition 'Peoples of Russian North-West and Baltic Countries' is open.
Open days: Closed on Mondays and last Fridays of the month
Open times: 10:00 - 17:00
Telephone: +7 812 313 4320
Website: www.ethnomuseum.ru
Nearest metro: Gostiny Dvor, Nevsky Prospect

The Central Naval Museum

Address
Description: Located in the historical building of the Stock Exchange, designed by the architect T. de Thomon, constructed in the early XIX century, it is the largest naval museum in the world. Founded in 1709, the museum has over 800,000 items, including 'The Grandfather of the Russian Navy' - the childhood boat of Peter the Great, models of vessels, examples of weaponry and military machinery, marine paintings.
Open days: Closed on Mondays, Tuesdays and last Thursdays of the month
Open times: 10:30 - 16:45
Telephone: +7 812 328 2501
Website: www.museum.navy.ru
Nearest metro: Vasileostrovskaya

The Cabin of Peter the Great

Address: 6 Petrovskaya nab.
Description: Constructed for Peter the Great in May 1703, it is the first building in St.Petersburg. The exhibition of the museum includes personal belongings of Peter the Great, domestic items from the early XVIII century, and a description of Russian victories in the Northern War of 1700-1721.
Open days: Closed on Tuesdays and last Mondays of the month
Open times: 10:00 - 17:30
Telephone: +7 812 232 4576
Nearest metro: Gorkovskaya

Rumyantsev Mansion

Address: 44 Angliyskaya nab.
Description: A branch of the Museum of St.Petersburg History. The mansion bears the name of one of its owners - Count N.Rumyantsev, the founder of the famous Rumyantsevsky Museum which was located in the mansion's premises in the first half of the XIX century. Nowadays, it hosts the exhibitions: 'Leningrad in the Second World War', displaying over 2,000 relics of the war period, 'From Workdays to Holidays. City Sketches of 1930s', 'The Story of Rumyantsev's Mansion', 'NEP: Image of the Town and the Townsmen'.
Open days: Closed on Wednesdays and last Tuesdays of the month
Open times: 11:00 - 17:00; 11:00 - 16:00 on Tuesdays
Telephone: +7 812 571 7544
Nearest metro: Nevsky Prospect

Museums in Moscow

Tretyakov Gallery

Address: 10 Lavrushinsky Lane
Description: The National Museum of Russian Fine Art, the State Tretyakov Gallery, is one of the largest museums in the world. Its collections embrace the period from the 10th to 20th century and all schools of Russian painting - from ancient icons to avant-guard. The Gallery treasures priceless collection of old Russian icons, paintings, sculptures and graphics.
Open days: All week apart from Mondays
Open times: 10.00am-19.30pm

Museum of Moscow History

Address: 12 Novaya Sq
Description: The Museum of Moscow History that is one of the oldest Museums of the city was established on the initiative of Russian scientific community in 1896.
Open days: All week apart from Monday
Open times: 10.00-17.00

Paleontology Musuem

Address: 123 Profsoyuznaya Street
Description: The Paleontology Museum named after Yuri Orlov is reckoned among the world largest natural-science museums. It originates from the Kunstkammer established by Peter the Great in Saint Petersburg. The Kunstkammer's collection was comprised of all kind of rarities including teeth and bones of ancient creatures found in different parts of the world.
Open days: All week apart from Monday and Tuesday
Open times: 11:00-18:00

Historical Museum

Address: 1/2 Red Square
Description: The largest historic museum of Russia, the State Historical Museum, was established in 1872 on the initiative of the Russian scientific community. Articles and monuments representing the culture and the history of the multinational Russian State were brought to the new museum from all the regions of Russia.
Open days: All week apart from Tuesday and every first Monday of the month
Open times: 10.00-18.00 11.00-18.00 (Sunday)

Lenin's Mausoleum

Address: Red Square
Description: Lenin's Mausoleum, the monument and the burial-vault, is the compositional center of the Red Square in Moscow. In the Funeral Hall of the Mausoleum there is the crystal sarcophagus, which contains the embalmed body of Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the Bolsheviks
Open days: closed on Monday, Friday, and Sunday
Open times: 10.00-13.00

Museum of Vladimir Vysotsky

Address: Nizhne-Tagansky Tupik, 3
Description: The idea of Vysotsky Museum foundation appeared in 1980, just after the poet's death in 1980. The Taganka Theater, where Vysotsky had worked as an actor, was overflowed with letters from ordinary people who offered the establishment of the exposition dedicated to the life and creativity of the outstanding poet and bard.
Open days: All week apart from Sundays, Mondays
Open times: 11.00-17.30

Museums in Kiev

National Art Museum of Ukraine

Address: 6 Grushevskogo St.
Description: The National Art Museum of Ukraine is of course not the oldest in the list of most famous museums of the world. But its prestige is constantly becoming higher. And the belief of museum founders that Ukrainian culture is valuable on international level today has spread around the world.
Telephone: 38-044-2286429

Ukrainian Museum of Folk Decorative Art

Address: 21 Sichnevoho Povstannia
Description: This Museum represents one of the best collections of decorative art and original work Ukrainian craftsmen. There are several permanent exhibitions, among them are: 'Porcelain, Ceramics, Glass'; 'Katheryna Bilokur' and 'Maria Prymachenko'.
Open days: Wednesday - Monday
Open times: 11:00 - 17:00
Nearest metro: Arsenalnaya

One Street Museum

Address: Andriivs'kyi uzviz 2 B
Description: Fascinating little museum near the bottom of Andriivs'kyi uzviz (descent) tells the rich history of this important street through the years. Special attention is paid to recreating the atmosphere of this thoroughfare during the turn of the 20th century
Open days: Tuesday - Sunday
Open times: 10:00 - 17:00
Telephone: +38 044 425 03 98
Nearest metro: Kontraktova Ploscha

Kyiv Fortress Museum

Address: 24 A,Hospital'na Street
Description: This part of the city's fortifications was built in 1844. Although the structure's history probably has more do with defenseless people. It was here that supporters of the tsar carried out executions of political prisoners, including the leaders of a Polish rebellion, in the 1860s. At the beginning of the 20th century, participants in a revolt of the Kyiv Pioneer Regiment met the same fate. Also during this time, ammunition and weapons were stored in this semi-underground fortress with brick and stone walls.
Open days: Saturday - Thursday
Open times: 10:00 - 17:00
Telephone: +38 044 235 01 46

The Museum of The Spiritual Treasures of Ukraine

Address: 12 Desiatynna
Description: This museum is the first private art museum in Ukraine. The icon paintings have deep roots in Ukraine. Moreover the icons are signs of spirituality and devotions. In bright spacious halls of museum more than 300 first class works of Ukrainian icon-painters of 15th-19th centuries are presented from almost all regions from West to East of Ukraine and more than 100 iconographical images and themes. The museum has also the collection of the works of the world-known Ukrainian painter Maria Prymachenko. 50 of her best works of native art are presented at the museum.
Open days: Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday
Open times: 11:00 - 19:00
Telephone: +38 044 278 83 08, 278 52 58, 278 83 08

Museum of the Great Patriotic War

Address: 44 Sichnevoho Povstannia Street
Description: This World War II memorial complex, which opened in 1981, includes a museum with different galleries, an eternal flame, plaques honoring particularly heroic Soviet cities and an outdoor display containing military planes and other equipment from various wars. The most impressive replica of it all is the massive titanium statue of a woman, 62m tall to be exact, grasping a 12-ton sword and a shield. It is called the Statue of Motherland and symbolizes the victory and invincible country. The museum consists of 16 halls that reflect different war stages. All of them are full of weapon, war equipments, cars, trapping and even war plates and sauce-pans that will make you feel like being witnesses of all these horrible events. You will be horrified by the consequences of the concentration camp activity when people did not have names but numbers and where of the human skin the gloves where made. Also you will see the bred scales. During the war the little piece of bred was weighted before it was given to the soldier. You will have chance to see different awards that was given during the Second World War. In one of the halls you will be touched by the great deal of pictures of the unknown soldiers.
Open days: Tuesday - Sunday
Open times: 10:00 - 17:00
Telephone: +38 044 285 94 52
Website: warmuseum.kiev.ua/
Nearest metro: Druzhbi Narodov

National museum 'Chornobyl'

Address: 1 Khorevyi Lane
Description: This museum is the concentration of pain and regret about the national tragedy for Ukrainian Nation. Museum consists for 3 halls with witnesses and always alive traces of this horrible event. One hall is dedicated to the tragedy itself and first action against it. The second tells us about consequence of this terrible catastrophe. The whole atmosphere of the museum with movie fragments, photos from the place of the tragedy and musical accompaniment are created to convey the core problem to all people in the world - we shall do everything not to repeat this horror once again. It is very touching especially the photos of the children, the innocent victims that suffered of the tragedy
Open days: Monday - Saturday
Open times: 10:00 - 18:00 Saturday: 10:00 - 17:00
Telephone: +38 044 417 54 27
Nearest metro: Kontraktova Ploscha

Ukrainian Museum of Historical Treasures

Address: 25 Sichnego Povsstaniya St
Description: Ukrainian Museum of Historical Treasures (Scythian Gold) is located in the Pecherskaya lavra, the Monastery of Caves, and has one the richest collections of golden articles in the FSU countries. The works of the jewelers from the earliest periods of Ukrainian history were gathered and carefully kept for years. Exhibits, presented in the museum

Museum of Russian Art

Address: 9 Tereschenkivs'ka Street
Description: One of the largest collections of Russian art is exhibited in this museum. The building belonged to the upper-class Tereschenko family and was built in the 1880s. Private artworks confiscated and nationalized by the Soviet authority along with the Tereschenkos' holdings formed the bulk of the museum's exhibits when it was opened in 1922. The most prized displays are a collection of exceptional Russian icons dating back to the late 13th century. The museum represents the artwork from many famous Russian painters such as I. Repin, M. Vrubel and N. Rerikh, as well as sculptures, handicraft and graphics.
Open days: Friday - Tuesda
Open times: 10:00 - 17:00
Telephone: +38 044 234 62 18
Nearest metro: Teatralna

National Art Museum

Address: 6 M.Hrushevs'koho Street
Description: Built in the late 19th century in the style of a Greek temple with a six-column portico designed by Kyiv architects Horodets'kyi and Boytsov. There you will find 21 galleries full with valuable collections mainly unknown to Western visitors. Pieces include Ukrainian icons, paintings, and sculptures from the 14th century through the early 20th century. Works of Ukrainian artist and poet Taras Shevchenko, N.Pymonenko, K.Kostandi and H.Narbut are some of the highlights of the museum.
Open days: 10:00 - 18:00 Monday: 11:00 - 19:00, Friday: 11:00 - 19:00
Open times: Open Daily
Telephone: +38 044 278 74 54
Website: www.antiq.com.ua/museum/kiev/nhmu.htm
Nearest metro: Khreschatyk

Bulgakov Museum

Address: 13 Andriivs'kyi uzviz
Description: The celebrated Russian writer Mikhail Bulgakov lived in this house from 1906-1916 and again from 1918-1919. It was here that he wrote the novel The White Guard and the play Days of Turbins. The old Bulgakov family house is the Bulgakov Museum, which displays the author's personal things and family photos. Literary memorial museum of M. Bulgakov is the attempt to combine the real life and fictional world of Bulgakov's characters.
Open days: Thursday - Tuesday
Open times: 10:00 - 18:00
Telephone: +38 044 425 31 88
Website: www.museum-bulgakov.iatp.org.ua

National History Museum

Address: 2 Volodymyrs'ka Street
Description: The museum carries forth on a wide range of topics concerning Ukraine's history from prehistoric times up to the present day. There are extensive collections of old books, coins and bills, works of art and archaeological and ethnographical findings. You will find there hetman's equipment so called 'kleynods'. Behind the museum is a path that leads to a wonderful view from Old Kyiv's highest point overlooking the lower town of Podil.
Open days: Thursday - Tuesday
Open times: 10:00 - 17:00
Telephone: +38 044 228 65 45, 228 48 64
Nearest metro: Maidan Nezalazhnosti

Open-air of Folk Architecture and Life Museum 'Pyrogovo'

Address
Description: Pyrogovo is a picturesque open-air museum of old Ukrainian lifestyle and folk culture. The museum is divided into areas representing different regions of Ukraine, recreating authentic village atmosphere: clay huts roofed with grass or wooden shingles, archaic barns and wells - everything is meant to bring you back to Ukraine of 16th to 19th century. At Pyrohovo you will find wooden churches, windmills, and even a school building typical of rural areas from recent centuries. Different kinds of structures: water-mills, cattle-sheds and granary, threshing floors and 'stodota' for storing cereals, apiaries and hen houses, cellars and wells. All this will tell you how Ukrainians lived in Ukraine centuries ago. Most of the buildings are original and were moved here piece by piece from villages all over Ukraine. There are represented different regions of Ukraine and you will have the opportunity to notice how different they were. It's very interesting to compare the churches and the bell towers, they are silent witnesses of the spiritual growth of Ukraine, its customs and traditions. The exposition of village cottages or huts (khatas in Ukrainian) here is unique for their age (1587 to 1687). Every item is displayed in its natural environment and you could even see them in operation, as museum employs people to play different roles of the ancient village life.
Open days: Open daily
Open times: 10:00 - 17:00
Telephone: +38 044 526 55 42

Museums in Odessa

Archaelogy Museum

Address: 4 Lastochkin St.
Description: The oldest museum in the city, with 170 thousand exhibits from times of the paleolithic perid, and coin collection - about 50 thousand exhibits