The Museum of History of Moscow, Moscow

The Museum of Moscow is devoted to the history and development of the city from its earliest settlements to the present day.

Founded in 1896, it is one of the oldest city museums in Russia and has changed both its name and location several times during its history. Since 2009, its main venue has occupied the historic Provision Warehouses, an Empire-style complex constructed in 1829-1835 to designs by architect Vasily Stasov, with construction in Moscow supervised by Fyodor Shestakov. The museum holds more than 900,000 objects covering archaeology, maps and plans, photographs, paintings and graphics, documents, rare books, coins, clothing, furniture, decorative arts, architectural fragments, and everyday objects. Its collections span periods from the Stone Age to contemporary urban life and document how the city changed socially, economically, architecturally, and culturally over time. A major permanent exhibition, “The History of Moscow,” presents archaeological finds, photographs, books, household objects, artworks, and architectural elements in a broadly chronological account of urban development. Temporary exhibitions are also an important part of the museum’s program, covering subjects such as architecture, archaeology, photography, design, neighborhoods, everyday life, and urban history.

The Provision Warehouses themselves add another historical layer: originally built for the storage of food supplies for the military, they later served Soviet military purposes before becoming a museum complex. Their large utilitarian interiors now provide adaptable spaces for exhibitions, lectures, educational programs, and cultural events devoted to the changing life of the city.