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The Atlas Obscura Guide To Moscow

47 Cool, Hidden, and Unusual Things to Do in Moscow, Russia

Updated March 9, 2022

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47
Soviet History 13
Architecture 12
Architectural Oddities 7
Museums 7
Soviet Architecture 6
Cosmonauts 6
Space Exploration 5
Statues 5

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Marguerite Harrison was raised at the turn of the century to be a Baltimore socialite. Instead, she traveled the world as a reporter, filmmaker, explorer, and spy.

The Society Editor Who Just Walked Into Soviet Russia and Started Spying

Marguerite Harrison was the United States’ first female foreign intelligence officer.
by April White
While many znachki (lapel pins) are miniature pieces of Soviet propaganda, the form is older than the 1917 revolution. This one celebrates toy production in Zagorsk, now called Sergiev Posad.

The U.S.S.R.'s Hottest Collectibles Are All Over eBay and Instagram

“Here was a piece of history that you could pin to your lapel."
by Susie Armitage

How Soviet Science Magazines Fantasized About Life in Outer Space

The Iron Curtain went to infinity and beyond.
by Winnie Lee
The Lenin Museum opened in 1987, just a few years before the Soviet Union collapsed.

Russia's Retro Lenin Museum Still Runs on Decades-Old Apple II Computers

The same machine that popularized "The Oregon Trail" was secretly imported just a few years before the USSR collapsed.
by Yuri Litvinenko
Stolovaya 57 serves classic comfort foods such as porridge and pancakes.

Why Russians Are Lining Up for Soviet-Style Canteens

They haven’t lost their taste for Cold War-era comfort food.
by Susie Armitage
Russian coins can be surprising versatile tools.

Found: A Pickpocket's Coin, Used for Ill-Gotten Gains

In 18th-century Russia, a two-kopeck coin could be worth much more than face value.
by Natasha Frost
Creator of the peer review cube concept, Igor Chirikov.

A Moscow University Has Erected a Monument to Peer Review

Rejection is just one possible outcome.
by Eric Grundhauser

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