Russia is a large country that stretches from Europe in the west across Asia until it reaches the Pacific Ocean in the far East. With its rich history and abundant natural beauty, Russia is one of the top places to visit in Europe for people with varied interests as it is home to several tourist places ranging from the mysterious expanse of majestic snow-capped mountains to ocean-sized lakes, and from remote rugged wilderness to picturesque countryside. Besides, there are also several prominent museums spread across the country, especially the cities of Moscow, and St. Petersburg. Let’s take a look at some of the best museums in Russia as part of Europe tour packages.
The State Hermitage Museum
Hermitage Museum is an art museum located in the beautiful Winter Palace in Saint Petersburg, Russia. With over three million objects, it is the second-largest museum in the world and among the best museums in Europe. The museum was founded by the Russian Empress Catherine the Great, a true art patron, and visiting this art paradise is definitely a treat for any art enthusiast as part of Russia tour packages. Composed of six buildings, the museum offers a variety of exhibits ranging from ancient history to contemporary art. The museum is home to some famous Renaissance paintings and one of the best collections of Dutch Golden Ages’ pieces. Apart from the museum, one can visit a mansion known as Menshikov Palace, a museum of porcelain, a storage facility at Staraya Derevnya, and an eastern wing of the General Staff Building in the collection while in Saint Petersburg, among the best cultural destinations in Europe.
Russian Museum, St. Petersburg
The State Russian Museum is one of the most important and iconic museums located in St. Petersburg. Originally named Alexandrovskiy museum, the museum was established in 1895 by Nicholas II in remembrance of his father, Tsar Alexander III, and was opened to the public in 1898. The museum was built to give competition with the great Tretyakov Gallery of Art in Moscow. Occupying the magnificent Mikhailovsky Palace, it displays one of the world’s largest collections of Russian art dating back to the 11th century with highlights including medieval icons, atmospheric late-19th-century genre paintings, and several modernist masterpieces. The museum doesn’t have different rooms dedicated to different periods, and all the artwork from over the centuries is displayed collectively. It is one of the best places to visit in St Petersburg.
The Tretyakov Gallery, Moscow
The State Tretyakov gallery is one of the most important and greatest art museums in Russia as well in the world. Named after Pavel Tretyakov, a Moscow industrialist and patron of art, the museum boasts the largest collection of Russian art in the world. A trip to this art gallery helps you to get a peek into the history of Russia and its evolution. The museum hosts an incredible collection that includes more than 190,000 paintings, icons, and sculptures of various eras and art traditions. The Tretyakov museum has two main buildings – one is on Lavrushinsky lane, where you can see the collections of Russian art from the 11th to 20th centuries, including famous masterpieces of Rublev, Repin, Serov, Vasnetsov, Surikov, Aivazovsky while the other building is on Krymsky Val which exhibits the collection of avant-garde, social realism, and other art trends of the 20th and 21st centuries.
The Pushkin Museum, Moscow
Located in the center of Moscow, the Pushkin Museum is one of the most famous museums in Russia. The museum was opened in 1912 amid Emperor Alexander III’s rule and was renamed the Pushkin Museum in 1937, in honor of the celebrated Russian writer, Alexander Pushkin. The museum houses the largest collections of foreign art in Russia, showcasing global artistic developments from ancient times to the present day. Currently, the museum houses around 700,000 paintings, sculptures, drawings, applied works, photographs, and archaeological and animalistic objects. Some of the exhibits date back to Ancient Egypt and antiquity while others are modern demonstrating the more recent artistic and cultural trends. The museum houses the second-largest collection of world art in Russia after the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. One of the greatest masterpieces of the museum is the actual main building itself which reflects the architectural traditions of the antique Greek temples.
The Museum of Cosmonautics, Moscow
Located in the northeast of Moscow city, the museum of Cosmonautics is one of the best museums in Russia dedicated to space exploration. This museum is a must-visit place for those who want to know everything about space adventure as the Museum of Cosmonautics traces the history of astronautics from the 1920s to the present day. The museum consists of more than 98,000 artifacts including historical documents, spacesuits, an authentic spacecraft, personal belongings of astronauts, and even the replica of the space station “Mir”. Furthermore, it is also known for its rich collection and brilliant architecture.
Moscow Museum of Modern Art
The Moscow Museum of Modern Art is a popular museum of modern and contemporary art located in Moscow. Initiated and executed by Zurab Tsereteli, the president of the Russian Academy of Arts, the museum was opened to the public in December 1999. Initially, it was started with a private accumulation of 2,000 works by twentieth-century Russian craftsmen. Later in 2018, the Vadim Sidur Museum and Museum-Studio of Dmitry Nalbandyan merged into the Moscow Museum of Modern Arts. Today, it has been developed into one of the biggest accumulations of current and contemporary Russian workmanship in the country. The greater part of the pieces by Russian specialists in the museum includes Marc Chagall, Kazimir Malevich, Natalia Goncharova, and Pavel Filonov, and additionally include works by acclaimed European craftsmen, for example, Salvador Dali and Pablo Picasso.