VDNKh

ВДНХ

A Soviet-era Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy, where 325 hectares contain the Friendship of Peoples golden fountain, a space pavilion, a space monument and worker-and-farmer sculptures, an open-air museum of Soviet aesthetics.

VDNKh (the Exhibition of Achievements of the National Economy) was built in 1939 to showcase the achievements of the Soviet republics. It covers 325 hectares and is the most complete showcase of Stalinist architecture and decorative arts. After a major restoration beginning in 2014, it was turned into a park and museum complex. The main attractions line up along the central axis. At the entrance stands a triumphal-arch-style gate. At the center is a main pavilion, surrounded by pavilions for the republics such as Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan. The Friendship of Peoples fountain features 16 gilded female figures representing the Soviet republics, and the Stone Flower fountain has a light show on summer nights. The Cosmos Pavilion, a converted Pavilion No. 34, displays real Vostok and Soyuz spacecraft and a lunar rover, and admission is about 500 rubles. Outdoors, you can see a model of the Buran space shuttle and a Vostok rocket. In the north part of the park are the Moscow Pavilion and the Moskvarium, Russia's largest aquarium. Outside the main gate on the left stands the 107-meter titanium Space Monument and the Museum of Cosmonautics, and on the right is Mukhina's sculpture “Worker and Kolkhoz Woman,” the model for the opening of Soviet films. Inside the park you can rent bicycles or ride a small train. In winter, the central axis becomes a 20,000-square-meter outdoor ice rink. Entry to the park is free, but individual pavilions charge separately. The park is very large, so plan at least half a day. Take Metro Line 6 to VDNKh station (there are also Soviet murals inside the station), then walk 5 minutes. The nearby Ostankino TV Tower offers a high viewpoint.

VDNKh

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