Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
11am-6pm Tue-Wed & Fri-Sun, noon-8pm Thu; Teatralnaya)
Amid all the swanky shops on ul Petrovka, an archway leads to a courtyard that is strung
with barbed wire and hung with portraits of political prisoners. This is the entrance to a
unique museum dedicated to the Chief Administration of Corrective Labour Camps and Co-
lonies, better known as the Gulag. Guides dressed like guards describe the vast network of
labour camps that once existed in the former Soviet Union, and recount the horrors of camp
life.
Millions of prisoners spent years in these labour camps, made famous by Alexander
Solzhenitsyn's book
The Gulag Archipelago
. More than 18 million people passed through
this system during its peak years, from 1929 to 1953, although many camps remained in op-
eration until the end of the 1980s. The gulag became a chilling symbol of political repres-
sion, as many of the prisoners were serving time for 'antisocial' or 'counter-revolutionary'
behaviour. The museum serves as a history lesson about the system, as well as a memorial
to its victims.
MUSEUM
MOSCOW MUSEUM OF MODERN ART
noon-8pm Tue-Wed & Fri-Sun, 1-9pm Thu; Chekhovskaya)
A pet project of the ubiquitous Zurab Tsereteli, this museum is housed in a classical 18th-
century merchant's home, originally designed by Matvei Kazakov (architect of the Kremlin
Senate). It is the perfect light-filled setting for an impressive collection of 20th-century
paintings, sculptures and graphics, which include both Russian and foreign artists. The high-
light is the collection of avant-garde art, with works by Chagall, Kandinsky and Malevich.
Unique to this museum is its exhibit of 'nonconformist' artists from the 1950s and `60s -
those whose work was not acceptable to the Soviet regime. The gallery also hosts temporary
exhibits that often feature contemporary artists. Be sure not to bypass the whimsical sculp-
ture garden in the courtyard. There are additional MMOMA outlets, used primarily for tem-
GOOGLE MAP
;
www.mmoma.ru
;
Yermolaevsky per 17; adult/student R200/100;
noon-8pm;
Mayakovskaya)
.
MONASTERY
UPPER ST PETER MONASTERY
8am-8pm;
Chekhovskaya)
