Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: Moscow Government – Government of Moscow –
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Project "Summer in Moscow"— these are dozens of festivals. Among them, the following stand out for their originality, nostalgic mood and 19th century dacha atmosphere: "Moscow Estates". The festival immerses you in history and at the same time allows you to discover modern recreation formats. Its scale is 106 days and 50 unique estates.
The unexpected renaissance of estate culture
The urban environment is reaching its peak of development in Moscow. Digital technologies and electronics make life more comfortable, safer and easier. At the same time, the city is turning to the manor culture of the 19th century. And this fully meets the demands of guests and residents of the capital – Russian style, interest in family traditions, craft items, handicrafts have become new trends in city life. The festival "Moscow Estates" is not only a nostalgic gesture, but rather a conscious rethinking of the legacy of Russian manor culture, which has proven relevant and close to city dwellers in the 21st century.
The festival was founded in 2023 and began with 15 venues. Today, it is a large-scale project that unites more than 50 sites: city mansions in the center of Moscow and former country residences with parks. Among the sites are popular tourist spots, such as the Kolomenskoye, Tsaritsyno, and Ostafyevo museum-reserves, as well as less obvious ones, such as the Sviblovo, Valuevo, and other estates. The city is consistently restoring the estates and simultaneously “reviving” their space with the help of the festival.
Irina Kokoreva, the festival curator, explains: "The estates are the city's genuine cultural heritage, preserving the history of outstanding people, events, and features of everyday life from past eras. Much attention is paid to their preservation. Today we see the interest of Muscovites and tourists in the traditions and values of the past. It is this trend that formed the basis for the idea of creating the project."
Another key idea is to increase the number of points of tourist interest, to overcome the stereotype of the city as only a business and administrative center with attractions concentrated within the Garden Ring.
"Moscow is diverse!" continues Irina Kokoreva. "The city and its residents have been developing dynamically for almost 900 years. Moscow has preserved architectural monuments from the 15th to the 20th century – we have something to be proud of! To see the history and culture of the past, you don't have to go to another city, sometimes it's enough to just turn right or left on the way to work."
Open estates
The festival expands the boundaries of accessibility of cultural heritage. Some estates today are educational institutions, administrative centers, embassies.
"We learned a lot of interesting things while preparing the project. Moscow is one of the greenest cities in the world. For example, most of the modern parks are former estate parks that belonged to famous Moscow families. One of these sites is the Kuskovo estate, which has preserved the wooden palace of the Sheremetev counts," notes Irina Kokoreva.
Not all places are open to the public — for example, the Muravyov-Apostol estate on Staraya Basmannaya Street, which survived the fire of 1812. The curator says: “Today it is a private property that was restored with the participation of a descendant of the family who returned to the family nest. Films are often shot in the estate, private events are held, and a small family house museum is located on the top floor.” Each festival season, the estate becomes a venue for the project, where you can attend master classes, concerts and lectures for free.
The Razumovsky Estate on the Yauza is a magnificent 18th-century Baroque palace surrounded by a formal park with ponds. The building houses the headquarters of the Russian Ministry of Sports, and on the ground floor is the Sports Museum. “Many residents of the area came and were surprised that the building was open to the public,” says Irina Kokoreva. “Even they did not know that such a facility was located next to their home. Opening up unobvious places and helping to bring in a new tourist flow is another goal of our project.”
The Petrovsky Travel Palace, which is usually closed to the general public, has a special status. “The Moscow Government Reception House is located here, and a hotel is located in the side wings. Free access to the site is limited. Visiting the events of the Moscow Estates festival here is, of course, a great value. And we see a special interest in this place among guests,” the curator emphasizes. There are many such examples. The full list of estates and events is presented atfestival page.
Noble picnics and promenades
In the era of globalization, there is a demand for local identity, and the Russian estate perfectly meets it – it is a synthesis of intelligent recreation and national color. The calling card of the festival is the creation of an atmosphere of noble picnics and promenades. In the Bauman Garden, Lianozovsky Park of Culture and Recreation on weekends you can move back 150 years – there they recreate costumes, household items, jewelry. More than 30 professional actors work on the promenades and picnics. The schedule is onproject page.
"Dear friends, I am glad to welcome you to the festival "Moscow Estates"! I invite you to visit the retro studio – follow me. We have a wonderful costume shop where you can see the outfits of the late 19th – early 20th centuries. They transform us and the festival guests," – this is how actor Dmitry Chebykin greets visitors in the estate parks.
Traditional noble games are also played in the open air in the estate parks. “Croquet, lapta, gorelki, trinkets — we tell when these entertainments came to Russia, what the rules were. And if we talk about handicraft master classes, we note that it was important for noble and peasant families to create something with their own hands. All these formats carry both entertaining and historically valuable information,” the festival curator shares.
Serious cultural work is being carried out in preparation for the project. The festival is organized by the city Tourism Committee with the support of Department of Cultural Heritage AndDepartment of Culture of Moscow.
Tours: from state rooms to secret rooms
One of the festival formats is excursions. More than a hundred guides take visitors to rarely accessible corners of the estates. There are walking tours – for example, an evening tour of the estate clusters "Arbat", "Khamovniki", "Basmanny".
"This is a unique route, which is made along the old streets of Moscow. It tells about the estates that are located here, in a light, playful, exciting form with the participation of actors. The actors act as residents of the estates of the 19th century," explains tour guide Olga Sergeeva.
Concerts: from chamber evenings to grand shows
Concerts in manor parks are a reference to musical evenings that were held by aristocrats. They perform instrumental classics, and often they sound in modern original arrangements.
“We were surprised to discover that Russian classics combine with almost all known modern styles in the most organic way, and this is a great way to make classical music even more popular and recognizable,” says musician Anton Svistunov, head of the Thunder Strings group, which has been giving open concerts in Moscow estates for two years now.
The festival was conceived as a chamber event, with events gathering no more than 100 participants. But the positive response and popularity of the project gave the organizers an incentive to hold larger events. Last year, the “Estate Masterpieces” section appeared. This is a mega-event — that’s how the organizers describe the format. “Opera in Tsaritsyno gathered more than 30 thousand spectators in 2024,” notes Olga Kokoreva. “This is an opera performance with lighting effects. This year, we are also expecting many guests.” The festival’s finale in September will feature “Neoclassics in Kuskovo” — music will sound against the backdrop of a historic palace.
Multimedia Quests: History Through Technology
The most unexpected format of the festival combines augmented reality technologies with deep immersion into the historical context. All you need is a smartphone — multimedia city quests can be found onfestival page. “We have developed routes with puzzles,” explains Irina Kokoreva, “to solve a code, find extra objects in a painting, or find all the old locks on the facade or fence of a mansion.”
There is an online version of the quests – they can be completed from anywhere in the world. "And the most important thing is that, by completing each task, you open a colorful video about the history of the object, the inhabitants of the estate and its secrets," says the festival curator.
Meetings in any weather
The festival also takes place in the winter season as part of the Winter in Moscow project. The summer and winter programs differ: in winter there are more indoor events — chamber concerts and lectures, in summer — outdoors.
"Moscow Estates" attracts an ever-increasing audience, many guests come with their families. Some propose marriage in the old estates – this has already become a good tradition. Old acquaintances meet: the organizers know of a case when two classmates who had not seen each other for 20 years and lost contact met at the festival.
Reconnecting with the bright moments of the past, discovering different ways to relax, meeting loved ones and meeting new people – this is the meaning of the festival "Moscow Estates". It will last until September 14 – you can follow the program on poster page.
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