There are a lot more museums in Moscow than even in St. Petersburg. It’s always good to see Monomakh’s Cap at the Kremlin Armory, watch famous paintings at the Tretyakov Gallery, or admire French impressionists’ works in the Pushkin Museum. But it’s much more interesting to find unusual little museums which will show you things you’ll never see in classic places. Here are our Top 7 Moscow museums, which are not like the others.
01AppleTechnicsMuseum
This museum is absolute heaven for those who are fond of Apple gadgets. It was opened in 2012 and showed the collection of the engineer Andrey Antonov, who’s been collecting all the exhibits for fifteen years.
Most of the exhibits in this museum opened in 2012 thanks to the design engineer Anton Andreev and the businessman Evgeny Butman were created between 1977 and 1997 — those were the years when Steve Jobs had worked at Apple. One may find there not only personal computers, peripheral devices, and accessories but also exciting literature. Almost all gadgets are still working, and the collection includes about one hundred rare exhibits.
The Apple Technics Museum has an interactive exhibition, and every visitor may turn on computers to use them for playing vintage 1990s games. The oldest exhibit is Apple II, created in 1977 — the first series Apple computer.
02Soviet Playing Machines Museum
These playing machines appeared in the hallways of cinemas, hotels, transport terminals, and resorts around the USSR in the late 1970s. Those devices seemed a technical miracle and didn’t cause the addiction.
Those Soviet playing machines were not a kind of entertainment that is thought to be illegal and abusive. One counter costs 15 kopecks, and a child might buy ice cream or a ticket to a morning show in the cinema. The perks of winning were another free playing session.
The museum has a collection of more than forty playing machines, including quite rare exhibits, such as “Penalty-kick,” “Destroyer,” or “Submarine.” Most playing machines still work, and every visitor can play any game they like — fifteen counters are being given to them with an entrance ticket.
03The “Moscow Lights” Museum
This museum tells the story of Moscow illumination, and the journey begins from the small square neat the boyars’ chambers in Armyansky side-street, where the “Moscow Lights” museum is located.
The exhibition dedicated to such a unique theme as illumination in Moscow opened its doors in 1980. It was a base for a future museum taking up the white stone boyars’ chambers. The exhibition resembles a timeline that helps visitors see Moscow's evolution from ancient times.
For example, you may see oil, kerosene, gas lamps, and lanterns and feel yourself a lamplighter on the streets of Moscow. The exhibition is interactive, and it allows lighting up the lanterns and lamps with remote control. There are many photos of Moscow at night as well. When you visit this museum, be sure to learn about Moscow, physics, and history.
04The Burganov House
If you’re a true romantic, then you should go to this unusual museum. Famous Russian sculptor Alexander Nikolaevich Burganov founded it for those who love quiet places where one may stroll among beautiful statues.
The Buganov House was opened in 2001. Its founder, famous Russian sculptor Alexander NikolaevichBurganov, is known to have created many stunning and marvelous statues across Moscow. For example, the well-known monument for Russian poet Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin and his wife Natalya Goncharova in Old Arbat is one of his works.
In this unique museum, be prepared to see unusual sculptures and statues, sometimes extraordinary and bizarre. But it’s a nice little place where you can enjoy the silence almost in the very center of the busy city, reflect on different things, and appreciate the fact that thanks to such people like Alexander NikolaevichBurganov such places exist.
05The Vodka History Museum
This museum will be interesting to those who praise the most famous Russian spirit — vodka. During your visit, you’ll learn about the es of making vodka and see some exciting things connected with people who dedicated their lives to it.
The Vodka History Museum may be found in the Izmailovo Kremlin — it’s the title of the entertainment center on which contains a lot of exciting things, including other museums as well, for example, the Museum of Bread. The Vodka History Museum was opened in 2001. By the way, the lar museum works in St. Petersburg.
The museum collection is shown in the form of a meline and depicts different periods of Russian history. It also has an extensive collection of other bottles and labels for them and a private vodka bottle collection of NikolayLeontiyevichShustov, one of the most prominent manufacturers of the most celebrated spirit Tsar’s Russia at the end of the 19th century.
