Moscow: Events and Culture

MOSCOW: EVENTS AND CULTURE

Moscow: events and culture

We would like to share with you the most important things to know about today’s Moscow. We will be happy if during the three days with us you fall in love with its streets and squares, museums and parks, shops and restaurants, just like us. Forever and ever. To make you feel comfortable in our city, we have collected some useful information for you. We hope you will enjoy it! Discover Moscow RUSSPASS Discover Moscow (discover. RUSSPASS (russpass.com) is moscow) is the official tourist a digital platform for tourists information portal about mod- powered by AI. It offers a wide ern Moscow. Here you can find choice of attractions which you out about seasonal events, at- can visit comfortably with the tractions, museums and sight- RUSSPASS app. seeing routes of the Russian Using RUSSPASS capital, find information on transport infrastructure and • plan your trip on the website hotels in Moscow. The tourist • download the app which will portal is available in Russian, be your city guide and travel as- English and Chinese. sistant Add more attractions and services in the Itinerary Planner tool on the RUSSPASS website. discovermoscow • Get an envelope with the RUSS- PASS bank card or use the virtual discovermoscow_ru card. The RUSSPASS card is both a Tourist bank card and your ticket to museums, parks and other plac- information es, various services and public centers transport. Media center in Zaryadye park 6 Varvarka St., bldg. 1 Visiting center at the Kolomen- skoye open air museum 39 Andropova Ave Tourist contact CEPC Tourist Information Center center at Yaroslavskiy railway station 5 Komsomolskaya Sq. Information on city transport, the most interesting places, assistance and consultations in emergency cases. Useful phone +7 (495) 122‑01‑11 — for calls numbers from anywhere in the world. 112 – any emergency 122 — for calls in Moscow and Moscow region. +7 (495) 694-86-20 – if you lost documents Calls are paid at the rate of the subscriber’s mobile operator. +7 (915) 293-06-25 – if you forgot your belongings in land transport +7 (495) 622-20-85 – if you forgot your belongings in the subway 1 information

Getting from the airport navigation on the Moscow River lasts 365 days a year. Excursion The best way to get to Moscow rides on ice-class yachts with a from Sheremetyevo, Domode- restaurant on board or on river dovo and Vnukovo airports is cabriolets of the Radisson Royal high-speed aeroexpress train: Flotilla (radisson-cruise.ru) will aeroexpress.ru. Alternative ways allow you to see the capital from are suburban trains, buses, pub- a different angle. Boat rides lic taxi buses or taxi. It’s easier start every 30 minutes from to call a taxi in Moscow using 8 wharfs. There are perfor- the applications of the largest mance and gastronomic cruis- companies: Yandex.Taxi, City- es, animation for children on Mobile, Gett or Uber Russia. If weekends. you are arriving at the airport at night, you can take a night bus: Sheremetyevo – H1, Domode- dovo – No. 308, Vnukovo – H11.

Carsharing

Carsharing in Moscow is con- venient and not expensive at all. All it takes is to download The Radisson Royal Flotilla an operator app to your smart- phone from AppStore or Play- Sightseeing Bus Market, enter registration de- tails and wait for confirmation. To see the sights of the city, you The biggest carsharing compa- can buy a ticket to the famous nies are Yandex.Drive, YouDrive, CitySightseeing double-decker BelkaCar, MatryoshCar, Delimo- (city-sightseeing.ru). Through bil, Rentmee, Lifcar and Carusel. the window or from the roof of the double-decker you will Bikesharing see the main and the most interesting things in the city You do not have to walk in Mos- and will certainly listen to the cow, you can enjoy sights and story about Moscow sights keep in trim renting a bicycle. in your native language with Register in the bicycle rental a multi-language audio guide. system with Velobike applica- The hop on – hop off system tion, at the station terminal or allows to get off and on the bus at velobike.ru, pay for the rental where you wish, and as often by card and you are ready to go! as you need. After paying for access, you can ride as many times as you like Cable way up to 30 minutes at no extra charge. You can take a bicycle If you happen to be on Voro- at one parking place and leave it byovy Gory, do not miss mem- at any other, and it is easy to find orable experience of the cable such parking places in the city. way (srkvg.ru) connecting the observation site with Luzhniki River cruises stadium. The cabin is swing- ing smoothly in the wind, like a You can take a boat ride through bird moving its centre of gravity the centre of Moscow at any from one wing to another. With time of the year even in winter – the help of media screens and

2 Moscow: events and culture

Cable way on Vorobyovy Gory an audio guide in 4 languages, information and ratings of over you can find out a lot of interest- 1,160 Moscow restaurants, mar- ing things, including the history kets and bars. You can find it of the construction of the metro on sale in most Moscow book- bridge, which is best seen from stores. here. Exit to the take-off runway restnavigator.com passes through different ends of Vorobyovy Gory Metro station. The GreatList is a premi- um-class restaurant guide from Metro Tours Alexander Sysoev — founder of the Russian Restaurant Festival. The Moscow metro is not only It includes restaurant descrip- one of the main objects of trans- tions, meal recommendations port infrastructure, but also an and insider info. If you see a res- underground museum, and of taurant displaying a sticker with course a destination for various the Great List logo, rest assured excursions. Here you will walk that the food, atmosphere and through beautiful stations, 44 service there are top-class. of which are recognized as cul- greatlist.ru tural heritage sites, and will get to know rare and hidden chap- ters of history. It is quite easy to get such an excursion: visit the site tour.mosmetro.ru and choose the topic, time and date that suit you. All the most interesting excursions in the Metro can be found at one place.

Gastronomic guides

The Restaurant Restaurant Navigator is a Navigator 2020 unique guide to Moscow’s food and drink scene. It is published with support from the Moscow Tourism Committee. It features 3 city holidays CITY HOLIDAYS AND FESTIVALS

Spasskaya Tower

oscow Seasons centre, other districts and parks, (moscowseasons.com) — performances and concerts, ice Moscow festivals at slides and skates, Christmas every time of the year. treats and souvenirs. Christmas lasts 1 day, Christmas holidays M last a week, and the Moscow Journey to Christmas Festival lasts 31 days! Dur- ing this time, you can forget about everything, celebrating Christmas and New Year in the most fairytale winter capital of Europe. Journey to Christ- mas Festival presents about a Journey to Christmas hundred of locations in the city Festival 4 Moscow: events and culture

Historical reconstruction is fashionable and popular. Reen- actors from all countries come together at the Boulevard Ring for the Times and Epochs Mos- cow Festival. Moving along the Moscow boulevards, you can fight with the knights, make an alchemical experience, become the right hand of a prince or dance a minuet – who knows what fantasies you might have! Brateyevsky Park hosts the Times and Epochs International fireworks festival Festival Rostec (pyrofest.ru). It is not just a pyrotechnic show, but a full-fledged family holiday. The Spasskaya Tower Inter- national Military Music Festival (spasstower.ru) is a musical military tattoo fest with the participation of military bands, folk music groups and governmen- tal honour guard divisions. Tra- ditionally, it is culminated with a colourful parade on Red Square. The festival is arranged to co- incide with the Moscow City Spasskaya Day. But you have an excellent opportunity to listen to popular Tower Festival tunes performed by military revived one of musicians for free all summer the most beautiful long, and military music schools are distinguished by the highest traditions ― quality of performance. performances of military orchestras in parks and squares

International fireworks festival

5 city holidays

At the request of the city residents, the Directorate of the Spasskaya Tower Festival revived one of the most beautiful traditions - performances of military orchestras in parks and squares. The Circle of Light Mos- cow International Festival (lightfest.ru) is a fairy tale that Spasskaya has been observed by Moscow Tower Festival

Russia is a winter country, and the transition from winter to spring is a special event for all. Well, not everybody goes outside to jump over the fire and burn a straw puppet symboli zing Winter, but everybody eats pancakes. Pancake – the symbol of the sun – is one of the key Circle of Light elements of the Russian cuisine. residents and guests for se Fest of pancakes and unbridled veral years. Lighting designers, joy starts 56 days (8 weeks) be- making masters and 2D- and fore Easter and lasts exactly one 3D-graphics professionals cre- week – from Monday to Sunday. ate real miracles, and Moscow, which is so beautiful itself, turns into a city of heaven in the eve- nings. Russia is a winter country, and the transition from winter to spring is a special event for all Moscow Easter Festival

Moscow Easter Festival (easterfestival.ru) of symphonic, choir, chamber and bell Maslenitsa celebration music has been held already for 18 years. It is a major international forum with concerts of symphonic orchestras and musical bands from Russia (Mos- cow, Saint-Petersburg, Nizhny Novgorod), Republic of Bela- rus, Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Greece, Sweden, Lithuania and other countries.

6 Moscow: events and culture

Maslenitsa celebration

Pancake – the symbol of the sun – is one of the key elements of the Russian cuisine

Earlier it coincided with the vernal equinox and was celebrated on March 20 or 21. There are similar fests in other countries and regions. It is Celtic Beltane, Fastelovend in Cologne, Fassenacht in Mainz. Directly connected with the folk carnival culture, in recent years Maslenitsa the Maslenitsa fest has been celebration included to Moscow seasons program, and the guests of the festival watch festive performances, participate in contests and competitions and certainly have a lot of pancakes. 7 city holidays

n the spring, Muscovites and guests of the capital focus on listening, because in the most unexpected pla ces – in parks, on balconies of houses, in food malls, on I motor ships cruising along the Moscow River — contest- ants from all over the world give live concerts. This is Mos- cow Spring A Capella Festival (acappella.moscow). Since this format assumes that the per- former’s instrument is always with him, almost any city space can “suddenly” turn into a concert venue.

Moscow Spring A Capella Festival

Listen to music, breathe in the aroma and enjoy the taste of Moscow Seasons! Moscow Spring A Capella Festival

8 Moscow: events and culture

In the summer, when the sur- roundings are so fresh, sight and smell triumph. The international festival Flower jam (moscowflowerfest.ru) quickly gained popularity among Mus- covites and tourists, and now projects created by landscape designers from around the world adorn the city throughout the summer. Each year the Flower jam contest has its own theme. In 2018, these were Bright Colours, and in 2019 – Moscow Summer Gardens. But, in addition to the competition, hundreds of venues offer free workshops for adults and children, intro- ducing the basics of landscape design, botany, chemistry and floristry. There you can learn to create designer bouquets and flower arrangements, prepare

Autumn is ruled by taste. In September-October, the main autumn gastronomic festival, Golden Autumn, is held throughout the city. Dozens of sites in the centre and urban districts sell seasonal farm ve getables, meat, fish and cheese. In addition, as part of the fes- Flower jam tival, special gastronomic programs are held in the city cen- for work in the garden, get ac- tre. The history and traditions of quainted with modern trends in world gastronomy are revealed landscape design or learn how at informative lectures and ex- to create volumetric projects cursions. In addition, culinary of country houses and how to and sports classes, perfor- plant greenery. Plus, of course, mances and concerts are held. free tours in parks, gardens and Tens of tons of products are kitchen gardens! purchased and eaten during the festival.

Golden Autumn

9 city holidays CITY DAY

Tverskaya Street

oscow City Day is the main event of the year for the city residents. It is ce lebrated on the first or the second Sa M turday of September. Each year the fest expands its reach more and more. Today it comes practically to each yard. Just leave your house and get to the closest festive ground around the corner. Big playing zones are waiting for you — family contests, master classes of home decoration and garden botanics; open air restaurants and fast food places, where you can taste shashlik and 160 kinds of ice cream; trade fair, where you can buy the tastiest The Red Square sweets from 40 regions of Rus- sia; contests of amateur flower gardeners, in which anyone can take part and win one of nu- merous prizes. By tradition, the City Day is crowned by festive fireworks.

10 Moscow: events and culture VICTORY DAY

oscow is the city of Victory. The first parade was held in the Red Square in June 1945. The most ad- vanced military ma- M chinery can be seen in Moscow as early as April, when intensive rehearsals be- gin. The ideal place to watch aviation show is Leningradsky avenue, Tverskaya street and Raushskaya embankment. Victory Day (may9.ru) is celebrated in parks, at Belorusskiy Railway Terminal, on Poklon- naya Gora. The Immortal Regi- Immortal ment action was started just 5 Regiment years ago, but it is already the most popular and mass action in Russia. Anyone who wants to pay tribute to the memo- ry of the victorious relatives or honour the fallen soldiers can take part in it. Finally, the evening festive firework fol- lows, which also consistently resounds in Moscow since May 9, 1945.

Parade on the Red Square 11 culture FESTIVALS OF ARTS

International Ballet Festival The 7th Moscow International Biennale for Young Art 13 July - 13 September youngart.ru

The Moscow International Bi- expression and, as a result, de- ennale for Young Art is one of veloping contemporary art. The the most ambitious projects Biennale will be hosted by the of contemporary art in Russia. Museum of Moscow. The majori- The Biennale aims at discover- ty of pieces will be displayed in- ing new artists, supporting and side the rooms, although some inspiring the creative initiatives of them will appear on the mu- of new generation artists and seum’s facades. curators, creating the proper environment for their public 12 Moscow: events and culture

Moscow Inter- national Film Festival April moscowfilmfestival.ru

In the USSR cinema was consi Museum dered to be the most important Night art. In 1935, Moscow hosted the Museum Night first international film festival May (only the Venice festival had museumnight.culture.ru started earlier). The chairman of the jury then was the famous Museum Night is an action Soviet film director Sergey timed to the International Mu- Eisenstein. Renewed in 1959, seum Day, during which you can Moscow International Film Fes- see the museum expositions tival (moscowfilmfestival.ru) at night. First held in Berlin in received Class A accreditation 1997, it became very popular certificate from the International among Moscow youth. Indeed, Federation of Film Producers As- there is absolutely nothing to do sociations in 1972, and up to the at night, and here you can im- present day being a member of mediately learn something that the MIFF jury is a matter of ho may take years to learn. And it nour for any cinematographer. is free of charge.

The Golden Mask January - May goldenmask.ru

The Golden Mask is a Russian national theatre award and festival. The festival of theatrical performances nominated for the

Moscow International Golden Mask Award is a vivid Film Festival show presenting a broad picture of the Russian theatrical life to International the professional community and the wide audience. And this life Ballet Festival is really in full swing. September kremlinpalace.org/festival In order to visit La Scala and the Vienna Opera, you can take a tour across Europe. Another option is to come to the Inter- national Ballet Festival and see in Moscow State Kremlin Palace the best performances with the The Golden participation of world stars: Mask Royal Ballet “Covent Garden”, Bavarian State Ballet, Paris Opera, English National Ballet and so on and so forth... 13 culture MUSIC FESTIVALS

Park Live

Beethoven and would have never been fea- tured in a traditional concert Tchaikovsky programme; symphonies next Festival to chamber, vocal and instru- 22 February – 31 May mental pieces. zaryadyepark.ru

The year 2020 is marked by Park Live birthday anniversaries of two July of the greatest composers of park.live all times: 70 years apart, the world gave us Beethoven and Park Live has hosted Muse, Limp Tchaikovsky. Zaryadye Concert Bizkit, System Of A Down, Red Hall in Moscow is set to pres- Hot Chili Peppers, Paramore, ent the magnificent works of the Lana Del Rey, The Killers, and grand composers from different many others at different times. angles and in different lighting: And it is not going to lower its the real Tchaikovsky or Beethov- sights. en and their early works next to a collage of compositions that

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Jazz in the Her- mitage Garden August usadba-jazz.ru In August, jazz lovers are going MUSIC to have another fest – the Her- mitage Garden Jazz Festival. For 20 years it has evolved from a small city fest into the largest Usadba Jazz open-air jazz forum. Now it is also a pleasant entertainment FESTIVALS Usadba Jazz for the whole family: jazz lecture June hall, dance workshops, creative usadba-jazz.ru labs, children’s fan zone and food court. Moreover, all that is Usadba Jazz is an annual for free! international open-air festival that brings together jazz, funk, worldmusic, acidjazz, lounge, Afisha Picnic jazz-rock, blues and other music August genres. In 2019, the festival was picnic.afisha.ru held in Kolomenskoye. Young people love open air festivals – green grass, loud sound, rock and electronic music idols. A lot of such events are held in the summer Moscow: Afisha Picnic, one of the largest open- airs, annually hosts rock stars of the first magnitude. Over 60,000 spectators become wit- nesses of the program, which includes not only the musical Bosco Fresh Fest part, but also food courts, a market, performances, modern Bosco Fresh art exhibitions, and open-air Fest interactive events. June boscofreshfest.com Bosco Fresh Fest has been held in Moscow since 2012. Previ- ously, the home venues of the festival were the Hermitage Garden and the VDNH, and now the Fresh Fest has occupied the Moscow Pioneer Palace at Afisha Picnic Vorobyovy Gory. Next year it will turn up somewhere else. It is the most fashionable and unpredictable youth festival. 15 culture BOOK FESTIVALS

Red Square Book Festival June The Moscow International Book Fair September 2 - 6 mibf.info Non/fiction November - December moscowbookfair.ru

Red Square Book Russian bookmen since Soviet Festival times (the first exhibition was held in 1977), is held in early September. MIBF exactly re- flects the state of the modern publishing industry and attracts professionals from dozens of countries around the world. It is a place where the writer Printed books, which were spo- meets the publisher, and the ken about in the 90s as becom- reader meets the book. Here ing obsolete, has been regaining you can find the latest releases its lost positions in recent years. from the largest Russian pub- Red Square has become a place lishing houses, unique editions for a fashionable and large- and meet with your favourite scale book event. The festival writers, where you can get an of the same name, timed to co- autograph ... incide with Pushkin’s birthday, Non/fiction is bright and fun. This is not only Book Fair a reason to buy a rare or long- sought-after book, but also the opportunity to listen to live performances by contemporary po- ets and writers in the very heart of the capital. The Moscow Internation- al Book Fair (MIBF), a major International Non/fiction international forum that has Book Fair has been held at the been the event number one for Central House of Artists for 20 years. Non/Fiction quickly won fame among the Russian intel- lectuals. Every year at the end of November they came here from all over the country. Do you want to meet a Russian brain- box? Come to Non-Fiction! At the same time over 40 foreign publishers have also been rep- MIBF resented here. 16 Moscow: events and culture BOOK FESTIVALS BICYCLE PARADES AND RUNNING RACES

Moscow bicycle parade

he newest history of Moscow bicycle parades is only 8 years old: the first bicycle parade Let’s bike it! took place in 2012. However, during this time T it managed, by common consent, to become the best mass sporting event. The mis- sion of modern bike movement Moscow bicycle in Moscow is the development parade of cycling infrastructure and road safety. Moscow Bike Pa- rade (i-bike-msk.ru) takes place several times a year – in winter, spring and summer. 17 sports

The desire of the inhabitants of the metropolis to run – no matter where and how long – is quite understandable. Moscow runs regularly as soon as snow melts away, and till it snows again. The first cross-country running Lisya Gora (foxhillxc. runc.run) takes place at the end of April in the Bitsevsky Forest. Moscow The cross-country trail is cir- half-marathon cular, and the length of one lap is 3 kilometres. Participants count of the Children Aid Fund, run on dirt ground, deep mud and all artists appear on stage and puddles. A separate Quick for free. Dog Cross Country (fastdogxc. In June, Color Run (color- runc.run) run is held for partici- run5km.runc.run) is organized pants with dogs. at Luzhniki: participants are of- In May, the Moscow half- fered to run a marathon in car- marathon (moscowhalf.runc.run) nival costumes, and the route is held in the centre of Moscow. itself will be marked with bright You can choose one of three coloured paint. routes (5, 10 and 21.1 km) along In July, Night Run (nightrun the picturesque embankments 10km.runc.run) takes place. of the Moscow River: Luzh- netskaya, Frunzenskaya, Pre- chistenskaya, Kremlevskaya, Moscow runs Raushskaya and, finally, Kos- modamianskaya. Those, who regularly as choose a shorter route, run soon as snow along Luzhnetskaya, Novodevi- melts away, chya and Savvinskaya embankments. The half-marathon also and till it snows takes place in August: this is a again family party with running, food court and music. The route is standard – it is a circle along Finally, in September, the the embankments of the Mos- main Moscow sports event cow River. takes place – it is the Ab- solute Moscow marathon (moscowmarathon.runc.run), in which you can also run only 10 kilometres. Both routes pass through the central streets of the city, embankments of the Moscow River and other histo ric districts. Motivated? Let’s run!

Absolute Moscow marathon

Running Hearts (running hearts.ru) Summer Green Marathon starts on Vasilyevsky Spusk. This is a charity running race: contributions of the participants are transferred to the ac-

18 Moscow: eventsevents and culture CALENDAR OF EVENTS Journey to Christmas

Moscow Seasons September City Day. The main holiday in Moscow Seasons is a series Moscow of city events in the style of thematic fairs and festivals for August each season, which have al- Time and Epochs Festival. ready become the hallmark of Festival of historical the capital. reconstruction

December — January Journey to Christmas Festival City Events

February — March February-April Maslenitsa (Pancake week). The Golden Mask. National A merry Russian holiday theatre award and performing art festival April — May Easter Gift Festival March Theatre Night. An annual May cultural event dedicated Moscow Spring A Capella to World Theatre Day, Festival. Open international when rehearsals, premiere music competition of performances and excursions performers can be visited for free 19 events

April Moscow International Film Festival. The oldest film festival in the world after the Venetian festival Tram parade. Moscow trams of different eras are on the rails again

Spasskaya May Tower Beat Film Festival. New Culture Documentary Film August-September Festival International Military Music Victory parade. Celebrating Festival Spasskaya Tower. the anniversary of the victory Military bands, folk festivals, over fascism colourful parade Museum Night. An annual September cultural event dedicated to The Moscow International World Museum Day, when Book Fair. The oldest book museum’s expositions can be forum in Russia and Eastern visited at night and for free Europe International ballet festival. June For ballet fans from around Red Square Book Festival. the world The main book holiday in Moscow Absolute Moscow Marathon. The most massive and popular Usadba Jazz. The annual race in Russia international open air festival of contemporary music September-October BoscoFreshFest. Festival of Moscow International Circle contemporary youth music of Light Festival. Light shows, and art multimedia installations, Faces&Laces. Exhibition of educational programs modern street culture September-November July Moscow Biennale of Park Live. Annual Contemporary Art international music festival of contemporary and popular October music Moscow Fashion Week International Festival of Arts Mercedes-Benz Fashion Inspiration. Marathon of Week Russia. Russian version theatrical performances from of the main world fashion all over the world weeks, collections of famous designers August Afisha Picnic. Moscow’s lar November - December gest outdoor music festival Non / fiction. International Fair O da! Eda! Big festival of food of Intellectual Literature and music Jazz in the Hermitage Garden. The oldest Moscow jazz festival International Fireworks Festival Rostec. The annual holiday of pyrotechnic art