The State Museum of the Political History of Russia is the successor to the Revolution Museum. It is housed in two historic buildings of the modern era: the mansions of the ballerina Matilda​ Kshesinskaya, and baron Brandt. The exposition ‘Man and Power in Russia in the XIX-XXI Centuries’ is devoted to the relationship between man and the state at the crucial moments in the history of the country. The period of the revolution is presented in the exposition ‘The Revolution in Russia. 1917-1922’. The exposition ‘The Soviet Epoch: Between Utopia and Reality’ reveals images of that time – Stalin, Khrushchev and Brezhnev – presented in documents, things, and reconstructed interiors.
The main expositions are so large that it is better to split the visit into two days. And get ready – you'll have to read a lot. At the same time the Museum is full of immersive technologies: touch screens, projections, objects, sounds, voices, and the only thing missing is smell. If you pick up the phone, you will hear Stalin's voice, and if you stand up in the middle of the display with windows, you will hear and see Tolstoy.
The exposition ‘Matilda Kshesinskaya: Fouettes of Fate’ tells the story of the mistress of the mansion. It is a romantic and, now, such a scandalous story of one famous woman and Russian history that was so cruel to her.
Our tip: Take an audio-pen and a museum map not to go astray. English, German and Spanish.