# State Russian Museum, St Petersburg

> The State Russian Museum holds the world’s largest collection of Russian art, from 12th-century icons to Malevich. Its main building is the Mikhailovsky Palace on Arts Square, with the Benois Wing next door. Open from 10:00 every day except Tuesday; the palace until 20:00. A palace ticket is 700 ₽, 1,000 ₽ with the Benois Wing, under-7s free. Allow 2–3 hours.

Web page: https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/russian-museum

- City: [St Petersburg](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg), Russia
- YesGo score: 44/100 (Yes, if nearby)
- Time on site: 2 h 30 min
- Opening hours: Mikhailovsky Palace: Mon, Wed–Sun 10:00–20:00, last entry 18:30; Benois Wing: Mon, Wed, Thu, Sun 10:00–19:00, Fri–Sat 10:00–20:00; closed Tuesdays
- With kids: Fine with kids
- Mikhailovsky Palace: Mon, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun 10:00–20:00; last entry slot 18:30
- Benois Wing: Mon, Wed, Thu, Sun 10:00–19:00; Fri–Sat 10:00–20:00; last entry 1.5 h before closing
- Closed: Tuesdays, in every museum building
- Mikhailovsky Palace ticket: 700 ₽ — same price for foreign visitors; students 500 ₽; children 7–14 350 ₽
- Palace + Benois Wing ticket: 1,000 ₽; students 700 ₽; children 7–14 400 ₽; last slot 16:30
- Benois Wing only: 500–600 ₽ depending on the time slot; students 400 ₽
- Aivazovsky exhibition (The Ninth Wave): 800 ₽, students 600 ₽; Benois Wing, rooms 101–105
- Temporary exhibitions: Separate tickets, not included in the permanent collection
- Under 7: Free with an adult
- Entry: Timed slots every 30 minutes; you have 30 minutes from your slot time to get in
- Not allowed: Backpacks larger than 30×25×7 cm, long umbrellas, food; flash, tripods and selfie sticks
- Address: Palace: 4 Inzhenernaya St; Benois Wing: 2 Griboyedov Canal Embankment
- Metro: Nevsky Prospekt / Gostiny Dvor, 7–10 min walk
- Coordinates: 59.93859, 30.33222
- Facts checked: 29.10.2026

## Key facts

- **1895** — Nicholas II founded the museum as the Russian Museum of Emperor Alexander III (source: Great Russian Encyclopedia, “Russian Museum”; Russian Wikipedia)
- **400,000+** — objects — the world’s largest collection of Russian art (source: Official Russian Museum website; English and Russian Wikipedia)
- **1819–1825** — Carlo Rossi built the Mikhailovsky Palace for Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich (source: English Wikipedia, “Russian Museum”; Great Russian Encyclopedia)
- **1898** — the museum opened to the public (source: English and Russian Wikipedia; Great Russian Encyclopedia)
- **1914–1919** — the Benois Wing was built to a design by Leon Benois and Sergei Ovsyannikov (source: Official Russian Museum website, “Benois Wing”; English Wikipedia)
- **1850** — Ivan Aivazovsky painted The Ninth Wave (source: English and Russian Wikipedia)
- **1830–1833** — Karl Bryullov painted The Last Day of Pompeii (source: Russian Wikipedia; official museum ticket office, “Great Karl” route)
- **1880–1891** — Ilya Repin worked on the Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks (source: English and Russian Wikipedia)
- **1923** — Malevich’s own version of the Black Square — in the collection with his Red Square of 1915 (source: English Wikipedia, “Russian Museum”; Russian Wikipedia)
- **1917** — the museum took its current name, the State Russian Museum (source: Great Russian Encyclopedia; Russian Wikipedia)

> **Closed on Tuesdays** Every Russian Museum building shuts on Tuesday. The [Hermitage](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/hermitage) closes on Monday instead — so on a Monday, do the Russian Museum (open until 20:00), and save the Hermitage for Tuesday.

## Russian Museum tickets and prices

**The Mikhailovsky Palace ticket costs 700 ₽** and covers both floors of the permanent collection plus the Academic Rooms with Bryullov. Unlike some Russian museums, the Russian Museum currently charges **foreign visitors the same adult price** as locals. Students pay 500 ₽, children aged 7–14 350 ₽, under-7s go free.

**The combined ticket for the palace and the Benois Wing is 1,000 ₽** (students 700 ₽). Take it if you want both the 19th-century masters and the avant-garde. The last slot is 16:30, so you have time for both buildings. The Benois Wing alone is 500–600 ₽.

Entry is by timed slot every 30 minutes. Temporary exhibitions need their own tickets, and refunds are only possible more than 3 days ahead.

**Paying as a foreigner:** Visa and Mastercard cards issued abroad have not worked in Russia since March 2022, so you usually can’t buy online. Bring roubles in cash or a Russian Mir card and buy at the box office on the day. The museum says its official website and its own ticket desks are the only official sellers — look-alike sites charge a markup.

> **The Ninth Wave has moved to the Benois Wing for now** After restoration, Aivazovsky’s most famous painting hangs in the “Ivan Aivazovsky” exhibition in the Benois Wing, rooms 101–105. It needs its own 800 ₽ ticket — the palace and combined tickets don’t include it.

## Is the Russian Museum worth visiting?

Yes, if you have more than a day in St Petersburg. The Hermitage shows world art; the Russian Museum shows what you won’t see anywhere else — Bryullov, Repin, Aivazovsky, Kuindzhi and the Russian avant-garde at their best. It is also calmer and more manageable than the Hermitage.

It is not the place for a first-day, one-museum trip — that’s the Hermitage. And if Russian painting leaves you cold, the palace interiors alone won’t justify two hours. But for anyone curious about how Russia saw itself, it is one of the best museums in the country.

## What to see: the masterpieces

- **The Last Day of Pompeii** by Karl Bryullov — the huge canvas in Academic Rooms 14–15 of the palace, included in the standard ticket.
- **Icons from the 12th–17th centuries** upstairs, including the Angel with the Golden Hair and works from the circle of Andrei Rublev and Dionisius.
- **Ilya Repin**: Barge Haulers on the Volga, the Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks, Sadko and the vast Ceremonial Sitting of the State Council.
- **Moonlit Night on the Dnieper** by Arkhip Kuindzhi — the painting that seems to glow on its own.
- **18th-century portraits** by Levitsky and Borovikovsky and sculpture by Shubin.
- **The Ninth Wave** by Aivazovsky — currently in the Benois Wing exhibition, separate ticket.
- **Our Avant-Garde** in the Benois Wing — more than 400 works by Malevich, Kandinsky, Goncharova and Filonov; the collection includes Malevich’s Red Square and a version of the Black Square.
- **The White Hall** — the one Rossi interior of the palace that survives almost unchanged.

## Exhibitions on now

Three big shows run in autumn 2026, each with its own ticket. **Ivan Aivazovsky** in the Benois Wing has about 200 works, including The Ninth Wave and The Brig Mercury; it opened on 16 October 2026 and, according to city listings, runs until 10 May 2027.

**Ivan Shishkin. Russian Forest** brings together about 120 of his works in Benois rooms 106–109 for 700 ₽; the museum’s box office sells slots only until 9 November 2026. **Great: The Image of Women in Russian Art** fills rooms 18–28 of the palace until 11 January 2027 — 900 ₽ on weekdays and 1,000 ₽ at weekends including the palace collection, cheaper in early and late slots.

## How to get to the Russian Museum

1. Take the metro to **Nevsky Prospekt** (line 2, blue) or **Gostiny Dvor** (line 3, green) — they are one interchange station. Use the Griboyedov Canal exit.
2. Walk along Nevsky Prospekt to **Mikhailovskaya Street**, opposite the Gostiny Dvor arcade. It runs 300 m straight to Arts Square and the palace gates — 7–10 minutes in total.
3. Enter the Mikhailovsky Palace through the gates into the forecourt and the main door under the colonnade; the box office and cloakroom are on the lower ground floor.
4. For the Benois Wing exhibitions, use the entrance at 2 Griboyedov Canal Embankment.
5. From **Palace Square** or **Admiralteyskaya** metro (line 5, purple), walk down Nevsky Prospekt to Mikhailovskaya Street — about 20 minutes.
6. From the [Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/church-of-the-savior-on-spilled-blood) it’s a 5-minute walk along Inzhenernaya Street or through the Mikhailovsky Garden.

## The Benois Wing and the other buildings

**The Benois Wing**, built in 1914–1919 along the Griboyedov Canal, continues the palace. Its upper floor holds art from around 1900, Soviet painting and the avant-garde; the ground floor hosts the big exhibitions.

The other Russian Museum buildings are separate museums with their own tickets: [Mikhailovsky Castle](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/mikhailovsky-castle), Emperor Paul I’s fortress-palace with a national portrait gallery; the Marble Palace on the Neva embankment; and Rastrelli’s Stroganov Palace on Nevsky Prospekt. The [Summer Garden](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/summer-garden) and the Mikhailovsky Garden behind the palace belong to the museum too.

There is no one-day ticket for everything — only a two-day combined ticket. On a first visit, YesGo suggests the palace, plus the Benois Wing if you still have energy.

## Before you go: checklist

- [ ] It isn’t Tuesday
- [ ] Roubles in cash or a Russian card — foreign Visa and Mastercard don’t work in Russia
- [ ] A separate ticket for the Aivazovsky show, if The Ninth Wave is the reason you’re going
- [ ] Combined ticket: at the door by the 16:30 slot
- [ ] Student card for the reduced price
- [ ] Backpack no larger than 30×25×7 cm, or leave it in the cloakroom
- [ ] No flash, tripod or selfie stick

## Russian Museum vs Hermitage vs Fabergé Museum

|  | Russian Museum | Hermitage | Fabergé Museum |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| What it is | Russian art from icons to the avant-garde | World art inside an imperial palace | Fabergé eggs and Russian decorative art |
| Where | Arts Square, city centre | Palace Square, city centre | Fontanka Embankment, city centre |
| Closed | Tuesday | Monday | Check the museum’s website |
| Best for | Anyone curious about Russian painting | Every first-time visitor | A short, dazzling hour |
| Time needed | 2–3 h | 3 h for a first visit | 1–1.5 h |

With two or three days in the city, make the Russian Museum your second museum after the Hermitage. The [Fabergé Museum](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/faberge-museum) fits a spare hour.

## St Petersburg palaces and museums compared

Every palace and museum in St Petersburg rated by YesGo.

- [State Hermitage Museum](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/hermitage) — YesGo score 76/100 (Yes, go) · 3 h · 500–1,200 ₽
- [Mikhailovsky Castle](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/mikhailovsky-castle) — YesGo score 54/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h 30 min · ≈ 700 ₽
- [Peterhof](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/peterhof) — YesGo score 50/100 (Yes, go) · 4 h · Lower Park from 2,000 ₽ for foreign visitors
- [Yusupov Palace on the Moika](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/yusupov-palace) — YesGo score 47/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · from 950 ₽
- [State Russian Museum](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/russian-museum) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h 30 min · from 700 ₽
- [Catherine Palace](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/catherine-palace) — YesGo score 37/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · 2,200 ₽ for foreign visitors
- [Fabergé Museum](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/faberge-museum) — YesGo score 36/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · 700 ₽
- [Yelagin Island](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/yelagin-island) — YesGo score 36/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h 30 min · Free weekdays, 200 ₽ at weekends
- [Oranienbaum](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/oranienbaum) — YesGo score 28/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · Park 1,100 ₽, palace 1,800 ₽
- [Pavlovsk Palace and Park](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/pavlovsk-palace) — YesGo score 20/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 3 h · Palace 800 ₽, park 300 ₽

## The Russian Museum and its neighbours in half a day

Walk off Nevsky Prospekt down Mikhailovskaya Street to the museum, then through the Mikhailovsky Garden to the Savior on Spilled Blood, on to Mikhailovsky Castle and the Summer Garden.

1. [Nevsky Prospekt](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/nevsky-prospect) — YesGo score 65/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h 30 min · Free
2. [State Russian Museum](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/russian-museum) — YesGo score 44/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 2 h 30 min · from 700 ₽
3. [Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/church-of-the-savior-on-spilled-blood) — YesGo score 75/100 (Yes, go) · 45 min · 700 ₽, under 7 free
4. [Mikhailovsky Castle](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/mikhailovsky-castle) — YesGo score 54/100 (Yes, go) · 1 h 30 min · ≈ 700 ₽
5. [Summer Garden](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/summer-garden) — YesGo score 46/100 (Yes, if nearby) · 1 h · Free

> **Best view of the palace** Stand by the Pushkin statue in the middle of the Arts Square garden: you get Rossi’s whole facade, colonnade and railings in one frame. The garden front, with its loggia, faces the Mikhailovsky Garden — walk through it afterwards to reach the Savior on Spilled Blood.

## Good to know

In Russian it is Russky muzey — not to be confused with the Russian Museum of Ethnography next door, a different museum about the peoples of Russia. The former branch in Málaga, Spain, has shown no works from St Petersburg since 2022.

## Tips

- In 2 hours: Bryullov in the Academic Rooms → icons and the 18th century upstairs → Repin and Kuindzhi downstairs, passing through the White Hall.
- In 3–4 hours: the combined ticket, then the avant-garde in the Benois Wing — cross over before 17:00.
- Weekday mornings are quietest.
- For lunch, [Nevsky Prospekt](https://yesgo.io/russia/saint-petersburg/nevsky-prospect) is 5 minutes away down Mikhailovskaya Street.
- Leave through the Mikhailovsky Garden and you come out right by the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood.
- The Hermitage is a 20-minute walk away — but doing both in one day is a lot of art.

## Questions

### How much is a ticket to the Russian Museum?

The Mikhailovsky Palace is 700 ₽, the palace plus the Benois Wing 1,000 ₽, the Benois Wing alone 500–600 ₽. Students pay less, under-7s go free, and foreign visitors pay the same adult price as Russians. Temporary exhibitions cost extra.

### What are the Russian Museum opening hours?

The Mikhailovsky Palace is open 10:00–20:00 (last entry 18:30). The Benois Wing is open 10:00–19:00, until 20:00 on Friday and Saturday. Every building is closed on Tuesday.

### Is the Russian Museum open on Monday?

Yes — the palace is open until 20:00 on Mondays. It is the Hermitage that closes on Monday; the Russian Museum closes on Tuesday.

### Can foreigners buy Russian Museum tickets online?

Only with a card issued in Russia. Foreign Visa and Mastercard cards have not worked in Russia since March 2022, so most travellers buy at the box office on the day, with roubles in cash or a Russian card.

### How do I get to the Russian Museum by metro?

Go to Nevsky Prospekt (line 2) or Gostiny Dvor (line 3), then walk up Mikhailovskaya Street to Arts Square — 7–10 minutes. The address is 4 Inzhenernaya Street.

### How long do you need at the Russian Museum?

2–3 hours for the Mikhailovsky Palace, 3–4 hours with the Benois Wing, half a day if you add a major exhibition.

### Where is The Ninth Wave?

For now it is in the “Ivan Aivazovsky” exhibition in the Benois Wing, rooms 101–105, with a separate 800 ₽ ticket. Normally it hangs in the Mikhailovsky Palace.

### Is the Russian Museum better than the Hermitage?

They are different. The Hermitage is world art in an imperial palace and the must-see for a first visit. The Russian Museum is the best place to see Russian painting itself — go there second.

### Is Mikhailovsky Castle the same as the Russian Museum?

It is part of the Russian Museum, but a separate building with its own ticket, about 5 minutes’ walk away. The main collection is in the Mikhailovsky Palace on Arts Square.

## How we checked

Opening hours, closures, concessions, rules and addresses come from the official museum website. Prices come from the museum’s official online box office, which lists every category and time slot up to 28 November 2026; there is no price list on the website, and third-party guides still quote outdated figures (500 to 1,200 ₽, including a separate foreigners’ rate that the box office no longer shows). Older guides list Thursday hours of 13:00–21:00; the official site no longer does. The museum doesn’t give end dates for the “Great” and Aivazovsky exhibitions in its box office, so we take them from city listings; the Shishkin end date is the last slot on sale. Sources differ on the founding year — the encyclopedia and Russian Wikipedia say the decree was signed in 1895, the English Wikipedia text says 1896 — we give 1895. The exact opening day in 1898 also differs between sources, so we give only the year. Walking times are our estimate from the map.

## Sources

- Official Russian Museum website: addresses and opening hours, Mikhailovsky Palace, Benois Wing, tickets and concessions, free admission for children under 7, audio guides, visitor rules (order No. 41 of 6 February 2026), 29.10.2026
- Official Russian Museum online box office: ticket categories, prices and time slots for 30.10–28.11.2026, exhibition descriptions, 29.10.2026
- Great Russian Encyclopedia: “Russian Museum”
- English and Russian Wikipedia: “Russian Museum”, “State Russian Museum”; Wikidata Q211043
- Sobaka.ru, Fontanka: “Great: The Image of Women in Russian Art”, 2026; kuda-spb.ru listings: “Aivazovsky”, 2026
- Visa and Mastercard statements on suspending operations in Russia, March 2022

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