The Atlas Obscura Guide To Moscow

47 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Moscow, Russia

Updated March 9, 2022

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Unusual Attractions in Moscow

Looking down the hall to the bunker

Moscow, Russia

Bunker-42

Dr. Strangelove-esque tours reveal the inside a bunker once reserved for Stalin himself.

It contains museums, a market, and a number of exhibits celebrating Russian art.

Moscow, Russia

Izmailovo Kremlin

Moscow's other, lesser known kremlin is a fairytale-like cultural complex modeled after Old Russia.

Lenin's Mausoleum

Moscow, Russia

Lenin's Mausoleum

This building holds the embalmed remains of the leader of the Bolshevik Revolution.

Komsomolskaya station.

Moscow, Russia

Moscow Metro Stations

The gorgeous entrances into the city's underbelly look more like grand halls than subway stops.

Children are the Victims of Adult Vices

Moscow, Russia

Children are the Victims of Adult Vices

Thirteen sculptures in central Moscow graphically depicting vices of the modern world.

Moscow, Russia

Museum of Soviet Arcade Games

Immortal combat in a Moscow museum.

Laika Monument

Moscow, Russia

Laika Monument

It took over half a century but a Russian monument to a famous and tragic space pup finally stands in Moscow.

Soviet Moon Suit

Moscow, Russia

Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics

Museum celebrating the achievements of the Soviet space program.

See All 47 Things To Do in Moscow

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Explore Moscow, Russia

Soviet History 13

Architectural Oddities 7

Soviet Architecture 6

Museums And Collections 6

Cosmonauts 6

Space Exploration 5

Statues 5

Art 5

Animals 4

Subways 4

Monuments 4

Communism 4

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Stories About Moscow

Marguerite Harrison was raised at the turn of the century to be a Baltimore socialite. Instead, she traveled the world as a reporter, filmmaker, explorer, and spy.

The Society Editor Who Just Walked Into Soviet Russia and Started Spying

Marguerite Harrison was the United States’ first female foreign intelligence officer.

While many znachki (lapel pins) are miniature pieces of Soviet propaganda, the form is older than the 1917 revolution. This one celebrates toy production in Zagorsk, now called Sergiev Posad.

The U.S.S.R.'s Hottest Collectibles Are All Over eBay and Instagram

“Here was a piece of history that you could pin to your lapel."

by Susie Armitage

How Soviet Science Magazines Fantasized About Life in Outer Space

The Iron Curtain went to infinity and beyond.

The Lenin Museum opened in 1987, just a few years before the Soviet Union collapsed.

Russia's Retro Lenin Museum Still Runs on Decades-Old Apple II Computers

The same machine that popularized "The Oregon Trail" was secretly imported just a few years before the USSR collapsed.

by Yuri Litvinenko

October 7, 2019

Stolovaya 57 serves classic comfort foods such as porridge and pancakes.

Why Russians Are Lining Up for Soviet-Style Canteens

They haven’t lost their taste for Cold War-era comfort food.

by Susie Armitage

February 7, 2019

Russian coins can be surprising versatile tools.

Found: A Pickpocket's Coin, Used for Ill-Gotten Gains

In 18th-century Russia, a two-kopeck coin could be worth much more than face value.

by Natasha Frost

Creator of the peer review cube concept, Igor Chirikov.

A Moscow University Has Erected a Monument to Peer Review

Rejection is just one possible outcome.

by Eric Grundhauser

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