Museum of Modern Russian History

On January 3, the Shepards, Masons, Reeses, Curbishleys, and Irelands met at the metro and then walked to the Wooden Village in Kolomenskoe Park.

Wooden Village at Kolomenskoe Park

This park is one of my favorites to visit in Moscow, but the Wooden Village area was closed; so we will have to try this excursion another day. Since we were there, though, we thought we had better get a group photo.

Shepards, Narene, Curbishleys, Masons, Reeses
(Sam took the picture.)

As it was a cold day, going inside and visiting a museum was inviting. None of us had been to the Museum of Modern Russian History on Tverskaya, so off we went. When we got there, we were surprised to see that we had passed by the building on several occasions without realizing what it was.

Museum of Modern Russian History

Each area of the museum featured a period in the history of Russia. There were cards available in English and in Russian summarizing each section that helped us better understand the exhibition, such as the takeover of the Bolsheviks, the Civil War (the Reds vs. the Whites), the era of Stalin and the history of the Soviet Union from its beginning in 1922 to its dissolution in 1991. It was an interesting history lesson. Here are a couple of photos from the museum.

Displaying the power of a woman.


Remembering the Sputnik dog that went into space.

Sputnik was the name given to the Russian space program launched in 1957. The Russians were the first to send a living passenger into space, a dog named Laika. Unfortunately, there was no provision to bring the spacecraft or Laika safely back to earth. Consequently, the mission was called "Muttnik" by comedians. Three years later two dogs and other animals on board were recovered safely from the fifth Sputnik launch.

We saw this wall of graffiti near Arbat Street
as we walked to My My's (pronounced "Moo Moo's")
where we ate.

Which one is the Russian?
(On the metro returning home after a fun day.)

They really are handsome guys.