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State Historical Museum, Moscow

The red-brick State Historical Museum with its towers on Red Square at night
Photo: Diego Delso, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

The essentials in 10 seconds

Entry
2,000 ₽ for foreign visitors
Opening hours
Mon, Wed, Sun 10:00–19:00; Thu, Fri, Sat 10:00–21:00
officialConfirmed by an official source: the venue, a ministry or the operator.
Time on site
A typical visit without queueing. In high season add 15–30 minutes.
1 h 30 min
With kids
Fine with kids
Adult ticket, foreign visitors
2,000 ₽
officialConfirmed by an official source: the venue, a ministry or the operator.
Children 7–17, foreign visitors
1,000 ₽; under 7 free
officialConfirmed by an official source: the venue, a ministry or the operator.
Russian and EAEU citizens
700 ₽, children 7–17 350 ₽
officialConfirmed by an official source: the venue, a ministry or the operator.
Audio guide
800 ₽ in a foreign language, 500 ₽ in Russian
officialConfirmed by an official source: the venue, a ministry or the operator.
Closed
Tuesdays; holiday hours vary — closed on 4 November 2026
officialConfirmed by an official source: the venue, a ministry or the operator.
Last entry
Ticket desk and entrance close 1 hour before the museum
officialConfirmed by an official source: the venue, a ministry or the operator.
Address
Red Square 1 (Krasnaya Ploshchad 1), Moscow
officialConfirmed by an official source: the venue, a ministry or the operator.
Coordinates
55.75500, 37.61806YesGo MapGoogleAppleYandex
Metro
Ploshchad Revolyutsii, Teatralnaya, Okhotny Ryad — follow the signs to the Historical Museum
officialConfirmed by an official source: the venue, a ministry or the operator.
Security
Bag and metal-detector check for everyone; no scooters or bikes, strollers fine
officialConfirmed by an official source: the venue, a ministry or the operator.

Key facts

1872the museum was founded with Alexander II’s consent on 9 February
2 sourcesOfficial website of the State Historical MuseumEnglish and Russian Wikipedia
1883the first 11 halls opened, during Alexander III’s coronation
SourceEnglish and Russian Wikipedia, “State Historical Museum”
Vladimir Sherwooddesigned the building; the engineer was Anatoly Semyonov
2 sourcesEnglish and Russian WikipediaKultura.RF
1875–1883construction years, with a pause in 1879–1881
2 sourcesOfficial museum websiteRussian Wikipedia (English Wikipedia gives 1875–1881)
35 hallsin the permanent exhibition, from the Palaeolithic to the early 1900s
2 sourcesThe museum’s official online guideRussian Wikipedia
1755Moscow University opened on this spot, in the old Main Pharmacy building
2 sourcesRussian WikipediaEnglish Wikipedia (on the Main Pharmacy)
“The Stone Age”Viktor Vasnetsov’s frieze in Hall 2, painted 1881–1885
2 sourcesThe museum’s official online guideEnglish Wikipedia
1073the Izbornik of Sviatoslav, one of the oldest Russian manuscripts, is in the collection
2 sourcesRussian WikipediaAlekseev Nizhny Novgorod Technical University library
St Basil’sthe cathedral at the other end of Red Square is run by the same museum
2 sourcesOfficial website of the State Historical MuseumRussian Wikipedia

State Historical Museum tickets and prices

Foreign visitors pay 2,000 ₽, children aged 7–17 pay 1,000 ₽, and under-7s go free. Russian and EAEU citizens pay 700 ₽ — the two-tier price is official and printed on the museum’s ticket page, so it isn’t a scam at the desk. Student and pensioner discounts apply to Russian citizens only.

Tickets are sold on the museum’s official website and at the ticket desk. The museum recommends buying in advance and printing the ticket or saving a screenshot with the whole barcode visible.

Paying: Visa and Mastercard cards issued outside Russia have not worked in Russia since March 2022, and that includes the museum’s online shop. Bring roubles or a card that works in Russia, or book through someone with a Russian card.

The audio guide in English and other languages costs 800 ₽. Take it: the halls are dense, and the guide picks out the pieces that matter.

Opening hours

The official weekly schedule: Monday, Wednesday and Sunday 10:00–19:00; Thursday, Friday and Saturday 10:00–21:00; closed Tuesday. The New Exhibition Hall in the same building keeps the same hours.

Go on a Thursday or Friday evening if you can. Tour groups have gone by then and you still get three or four hours. Weekend mornings are the busiest.

Is the State Historical Museum worth visiting?

Yes, if you want one place that explains Russia before you walk around Red Square and the Kremlin. In 90 minutes you go from mammoth hunters to Kievan Rus and the Moscow tsars, through halls painted to look like the churches and palaces of each period. The building alone is worth the ticket.

It is less useful if you are after the Soviet era — the main building stops around 1917 — or if you only have an hour in Moscow, when the Kremlin and Red Square come first. For crown jewels and royal carriages, the Kremlin Armoury is the better pick.

What to see inside

  • The Parade Entrance Hall — a family tree of Russian rulers with their portraits, painted across the vaulted ceiling in the 1880s.
  • Hall 2 — Viktor Vasnetsov’s frieze “The Stone Age”, with its mammoth hunt: the first attempt in Russian art to picture prehistoric life.
  • Hall 3 — a huge dugout boat carved from a single tree trunk.
  • Halls 4–5 — the Bronze Age and the Scythians: weapons, jewellery and gold from steppe burial mounds.
  • Halls 8–11 — early Rus: Novgorod and Kyiv, warriors’ arms, crosses, icons and everyday objects, under murals copied from old Russian churches.
  • Halls 15–21 — 16th- and 17th-century Muscovy: the tsar’s court, the church, Siberia, crafts and trade.
  • Halls 22–35, upstairs — Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, life in noble houses, and the 19th century up to the early 1900s.

How to get to the State Historical Museum

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On foot

More tips

  1. Take the metro to Ploshchad Revolyutsii (Line 3, dark blue) and follow the signs “К Историческому музею” (to the Historical Museum) — then a 3–5-minute walk through the Resurrection Gate.
  2. Or use Okhotny Ryad (Line 1, red) or Teatralnaya (Line 2, green) — 5–7 minutes across Manezhnaya Square.
  3. On Red Square itself, it is the red building with spires at the north end, facing St Basil’s Cathedral.
  4. From the Kremlin, leave through the Kutafya Tower into the Alexander Garden and walk along the wall to the Resurrection Gate — about 10 minutes.
  5. Entrance No. 1 is for the permanent exhibition, No. 2 by the Resurrection Gate for the New Exhibition Hall. Everyone goes through a security check.

A short history

The idea came out of the 1872 Polytechnic Exhibition in Moscow, whose organisers wanted a permanent home for relics of the Crimean War and finds from ancient Chersonesus. Alexander II approved a national history museum on 9 February 1872, still counted as its founding day. Historians Ivan Zabelin and Count Aleksey Uvarov led the project.

The city gave a plot on Red Square, where the Main Pharmacy stood — the building in which Moscow University had opened in 1755. Vladimir Sherwood’s Russian Revival design won the competition, the first stone was laid in 1875, and the first 11 halls opened in 1883. Some murals were painted over in Soviet times; the Parade Entrance Hall reopened in 1997, and all permanent halls have been open since 2007.

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Historical Museum vs Kremlin Armoury vs St Basil’s

State Historical Museumyou are hereRussian history from the Stone Age to the early 1900sRed Square 1The whole country’s story1.5–4 hTuesday
Kremlin ArmouryThe Kremlin treasury: crowns, armour, carriagesInside the KremlinThe royal court1–1.5 hKremlin museums’ own schedule
St Basil’s Cathedral16th-century church, a branch of the Historical MuseumRed SquareOne building45 min–1 hIts own schedule

One day in Moscow? YesGo would pick the Historical Museum: it gives you the whole story in 90 minutes, with Red Square outside the door. Choose the Armoury if royal treasure is what you came for — it needs its own timed ticket.

Moscow’s historic sights compared

Every historic place in Moscow rated by YesGo. Tap a column heading to sort.

Red Square7930 minFree3 min walk
Lenin's Mausoleum7220 minFree3 min walk
Cathedral of Christ the Saviour7240 minFree24 min walk
Moscow Metro701 h 30 min75 ₽ on Troika9 min walk
St Basil's Cathedral6545 min2,000 ₽ for foreign visitors7 min walk
Moscow Kremlin642 h 30 minfrom 1,100 ₽6 min walk
Kitay-gorod581 hFree7 min walk
Bolshoi Theatre562 hTickets on bolshoi.ru, price varies by show10 min walk
Patriarch's Ponds5330 minFree33 min walk
Arbat Street501 hFree32 min walk
State Historical Museumyou are here491 h 30 min2,000 ₽ for foreign visitors—
Tretyakov Gallery492 h 30 min700 ₽26 min walk
Tverskaya Street4845 minFree21 min walk
Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts482 h700 ₽ per building20 min walk
Novodevichy Convent481 hFree5.0 km
Kremlin Armoury441 h 30 min1,400 ₽12 min walk
Chistye Prudy4330 minFree31 min walk
VDNKh423 hFree8.4 km
Kolomenskoye382 hPark free, palace ≈ 700 ₽10.2 km
Poklonnaya Hill361 hFree7.4 km
Kuskovo Estate291 h 30 minPark 100 ₽, palace 500 ₽12.1 km
Tsaritsyno262 hPark free, palace 900 ₽16.0 km

The Kremlin, the museum and Red Square in a day

Kremlin in the morning, the Historical Museum after lunch, then a walk across Red Square to St Basil’s and sunset in Zaryadye Park. Add them to your route in one tap — YesGo fits in the timing and transfers.

  1. Moscow Kremlin2 h 30 min · from 1,100 ₽
  2. 6 min walk from the previous stopState Historical Museumyou are here1 h 30 min · 2,000 ₽ for foreign visitors
  3. 3 min walk from the previous stopRed Square30 min · Free
  4. 5 min walk from the previous stopSt Basil's Cathedral45 min · 2,000 ₽ for foreign visitors
  5. 7 min walk from the previous stopZaryadye Park1 h · Free

5 places · about 6 h 36 min with walks · 21 min on foot in total

Go · my route

Nearby — add to your day

Red Square

Moscow, Russia

30 min · Free · 3 min walk

Lenin's Mausoleum

Moscow, Russia

20 min · Free · 3 min walk

Moscow Kremlin

Moscow, Russia

2 h 30 min · from 1,100 ₽ · 6 min walk

Kitay-gorod

Moscow, Russia

1 h · Free · 7 min walk

How to do it right

  • Thursday or Friday evening is the calmest time — open until 21:00, fewer groups.
  • Buy your ticket in advance on the official website to skip the weekend queue at the desk.
  • Walk out onto Red Square afterwards — St Basil’s is five minutes away.
  • With kids, start in Halls 1–4: mammoths and Stone Age tools work for any age, and under-7s get in free.
  • For food, head into Kitay-Gorod — Nikolskaya Street starts right by the museum.

Questions

How much is a ticket to the State Historical Museum?

2,000 ₽ for foreign adults and 1,000 ₽ for foreign children aged 7–17; under-7s are free. Russian and EAEU citizens pay 700 ₽.

What are the opening hours?

Monday, Wednesday and Sunday 10:00–19:00; Thursday, Friday and Saturday 10:00–21:00. Closed on Tuesdays. Last entry is one hour before closing.

Is the State Historical Museum open on Tuesday?

No. Tuesday is the weekly closing day for the main building. Holiday schedules vary too — it is closed on 4 November 2026.

Can I pay with a foreign credit card?

Not with Visa or Mastercard issued abroad — they haven’t worked in Russia since March 2022. Bring roubles or a card that works in Russia.

How long do you need at the State Historical Museum?

About 90 minutes for the highlights, 3–4 hours for the whole permanent exhibition. Add time if you use the audio guide.

Is there an English audio guide?

Yes. The overview audio guide in a foreign language costs 800 ₽ and is rented at the museum.

What is the nearest metro station?

Ploshchad Revolyutsii (Line 3) is the closest, 3–5 minutes on foot. Okhotny Ryad (Line 1) and Teatralnaya (Line 2) are 5–7 minutes away.

What are the must-see exhibits?

The painted family-tree ceiling in the entrance hall, Vasnetsov’s Stone Age frieze, the giant dugout boat, Scythian gold and the early-Rus halls with their copied church murals.

Is the State Historical Museum worth it?

Yes, as the one museum that explains Russian history from prehistory to 1917 next to Red Square. Skip it only if you are short on time or mainly interested in the Soviet period.

Have you been? Was it worth your time?

1 — no, 5 — absolutely

Your vote counts towards the YesGo score.

Sources and fact-check

  • Official website of the State Historical Museum: tickets and concessions, contacts and opening hours, visitor rules, main building page, 29.10.2026
  • The museum’s official online guide to the permanent exhibition: Halls 1–35, Vasnetsov’s “The Stone Age”
  • English and Russian Wikipedia: State Historical Museum; Wikidata Q1140429
  • Kultura.RF: “The building as an exhibit: the State Historical Museum”
  • Archaeology, Ethnology and Anthropology of Eurasia: article on the dugout boat in the museum’s exhibition
  • Visa and Mastercard statements on suspending operations in Russia, March 2022
YesGo editorial team · facts checked 29.10.2026 ·
How we checkedPrices, concessions, hours, the Tuesday closure, security rules, metro and entrances come from the official museum website; the weekly hours and special days (closed on 4 November 2026) are taken from the calendar on the main building page. Construction dates differ: the museum and Russian Wikipedia give 1875–1883 (with a funding pause in 1879–1881), English Wikipedia gives 1875–1881; we show 1875–1883 because the museum opened in 1883. The museum’s online guide lists 35 permanent halls while English Wikipedia mentions 40 open halls, probably counting ceremonial and exhibition rooms differently. Sources disagree on whether the dugout boat came from the Don or the Volga, so we don’t name the river. Walking times from the metro are our estimate from the map.

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