A Walk Around Kolomna

9 points3 km0 hours

Kolomna is one of the oldest towns in the Moscow region, with a well-preserved kremlin. Here you can soak up the atmosphere of historic Russia, with cobblestones, churches and wooden houses. The town draws visitors with museums on unusual themes and its unhurried pace of life. Kolomna stands at the confluence of three rivers, an hour's drive from Moscow.

Route author

Susanin Team

Things to do

📜 Learn the city's history
🍲🎶 Local culture
💡🎨 Look for inspiration

Route points (9)

Artkommunalka in Kolomna

Point on route “A Walk Around Kolomna”

Point 9

Artkommunalka

🎨 Art installations • 🏛️ Museum

History and Place

This museum and residency opened in 2011 in a house at the junction of Oktyabrskoy Revolyutsii Street and Two Revolutions Square. In the 1960s it housed the Ogonyok shop with a liquor department, where the young Venedikt Yerofeyev worked as a loader after being expelled from the Kolomna Pedagogical Institute. It was from here that his path began toward his famous prose poem “Moscow–Petushki.” Today the writer is regarded as the “genius loci,” and his story is closely bound up with the museum.

The Atmosphere of the 1960s

The museum re-creates life in a Soviet communal apartment. In the kitchen, which smells of “elephant” tea, candies and bagel-like barankas, you can imagine the atmosphere of the '60s. The rooms are filled with authentic objects: a bicycle in the hallway, bookcases, old records and bottles of Natasha and Shipr perfume. Theatrical tours here take guests back to the era of the Khrushchev Thaw.

Art Residency

Besides being a museum of Soviet daily life, Artkommunalka is a space for contemporary artists and writers. Every few months different authors work here, creating new texts and artworks. Their stays culminate in exhibitions and literary evenings held right here.

Its Significance Today

Artkommunalka is an interactive museum where you can touch, try on and photograph the exhibits. For the older generation it's a place of memory and nostalgia; for younger visitors, a first chance to experience the atmosphere of communal living. It has become one of the leading venues in Kolomna's cultural landscape and is among the town's main attractions.