The circus in Russia is not minor entertainment: it is a major art form, on the same level as ballet or opera. And Moscow is home to the three most important circuses in the country. If you travel with kids it is a must, but I promise you that as an adult you will also be blown away. In this article I tell you which are the three essential circuses in Moscow, exactly where they are, what kind of show you will see in each one and how to get the tickets.
I will give you the short answer about tickets up front: at the box office you can buy them without any problem paying in rubles, but online only Russian MIR cards work. Foreign Visa and Mastercard have been rejected since 2022.
This is step 6 of my guide to planning a trip to Russia in 10 steps, where you’ll find everything else in order.
Why the circus is a major art form in Russia
The circus has been in Russia since the late 18th century and, unlike what happened in much of Europe, it never got stuck in the category of travelling show. The story goes that it was an Englishman, Charles Hughes, who first performed before the court of Catherine the Great. The Empress was so impressed that she ordered two permanent stages built for his company. Some of Hughes’ artists stayed in Russia and the circus took root.
The decisive leap came after the 1917 Revolution: in 1919 every circus in the country was nationalised and, in 1927, the first circus school in Moscow was founded. From the 1950s onwards, Russian companies began to tour Europe and America, and the circus became one of the most exported cultural products of the USSR. Today Russia has more than 60 permanent circuses, staffed by artists who have spent years in specialised schools. I mean it: the technical level has nothing to do with the circus you probably have in your head.
In Moscow there are three venues that stand out above the rest: the classic Nikulin Circus, the monumental Great State Circus on Vernadsky Avenue, and the new theatrical show “Pushkin’s Dreams” at Luzhniki.
Map of the 3 must-see circuses in Moscow
Here you have the exact location of the three, with the nearest metro station and a link to the official website. Click on each marker:
1. Nikulin Circus: the classic on Tsvetnoy Boulevard
The Nikulin Circus is the oldest circus in Moscow and the one I would recommend if you only have one evening to see one. It is right in the centre, on the lively Tsvetnoy Boulevard, just steps from the Tsvetnoy Bulvar metro station (line 9, grey). It was opened in 1880 by the entrepreneur Albert Salamonsky in a building purpose-built for circus, and it has been running ever since.
This is where the three most legendary clowns of the Russian circus worked: Karandash, Oleg Popov and Yuri Nikulin. The latter, besides being a clown, was a film actor hugely popular in the Soviet Union and directed the circus for 15 years, until his death in 1997. In his honour the circus bears his name and there is a statue of him at the entrance, next to a classic Cabriolet car, where everyone takes a photo.
The hall is relatively small (around 2,000 seats), so any seat has good visibility. The show is the traditional, full-on classic circus: clowns, acrobats, trapeze artists, illusionists and animal acts (trained dogs, miniature horses, seals). This is the place to experience the textbook Russian circus, the one that has been exporting tradition for a century and a half. There are shows almost every day and they usually start between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m.
2. Great Moscow State Circus: the largest in the world
The Great Moscow State Circus on Vernadsky Avenue is in another league. It sits further from the centre, next to the Universitet metro station (line 1, red), but it is well worth the trip. It was inaugurated on 30 April 1971 and, with 3,400 seats and 36 metres of height, it is the largest permanent circus in the world. The dome can be seen from afar: it looks like a Soviet spaceship landed in the middle of Sparrow Hills.
Its big quirk: it has five interchangeable arenas that rise from below the floor in a matter of minutes. One is the classic ring, another is a pool (yes, water shows with divers and miniature dolphins), another is equestrian, another is an ice rink and another is designed for special effects and light shows. This lets it stage programs that no other circus in the world can match.
Every season they premiere a new program, so it is worth checking the billboard before you go. The company is run by Leonid Kostyuk, a former acrobat and a historical figure of the Soviet circus, and employs several hundred performers. If you travel with kids this is probably the circus that will impress them the most, for sheer scale.
3. Pushkin’s Dreams: the new theatrical circus at Luzhniki
The third stop is the most recent and the most different of all: “Pushkin’s Dreams” (Сны Пушкина), a theatrical-circus show that premiered in May 2025 at the Druzhba Arena in the Luzhniki sports complex. It is produced by the so-called New Russian Circus and reinterprets the life and tales of Alexander Pushkin (Ruslan and Lyudmila, The Tale of the Golden Fish, The Tale of Tsar Saltan, The Tale of the Golden Cockerel, and so on) through acrobatics, choreography and stage magic.
Here there are no animals: the show is built with more than 60 artists, gymnasts, acrobats, breakdancers and acrobatic rock dancers, and huge sets with cutting-edge special effects. It is a hybrid between circus, theatre and immersive musical. It works very well for audiences who feel a bit cold about the classic circus and for families with older kids and teenagers. The spoken text is in Russian, but the spoken part is minimal: the story is told with the body and the image, so you follow it perfectly.
The venue, the Druzhba Arena, sits on the bank of the Moskva River, inside the Luzhniki sports complex (where the 2018 World Cup final was played). You get there easily from the Vorobyovy Gory or Sportivnaya metro stations. The schedule and dates are published on the official Luzhniki website.
How to buy circus tickets in Moscow
At the box office (no problem)
This is the simplest option and the one I recommend to most travellers. All three circuses have physical ticket offices that open several hours before each performance (in some cases also in the morning). You pay in rubles in cash or with a Russian MIR card, they hand you the ticket and that is it. If you arrive in Moscow one or two days before the show you can drop by and buy the tickets without stress. Popular weekend shows can sell out, so for special dates (New Year holidays, long weekends) it is better to swing by first thing in the morning.
Online (only if you have a MIR card)
The three circuses sell tickets through their official websites and via platforms like Ticketland or Kassir.ru. The catch is that since March 2022 Visa, Mastercard, American Express and JCB cards issued outside Russia have been blocked. Payments are accepted only with Russian MIR cards. If you insist on trying with your European Visa, the gateway will reject the transaction instantly.
If you are going to spend several days in Russia and want to pay online not only for the circus but also for museums, trains, taxis or restaurants, the solution is to open a T‑Bank MIR card on arrival. It is a procedure you can do at a branch in Moscow or St. Petersburg in about two hours.
Frequently asked questions about the circus in Moscow
Which is the most famous circus in Moscow?
The Nikulin Circus on Tsvetnoy Boulevard is the oldest and the most internationally recognised. It sits in the centre of Moscow and offers the classic Russian show with clowns, acrobats, trapeze artists and trained animal acts. It is the option I recommend if you can only see one circus during your trip.
What language are the circus shows in Moscow performed in?
At the Nikulin Circus and the Great State Circus the show is practically dialogue-free: what acrobats, clowns and animals do is perfectly understandable without any Russian. Pushkin’s Dreams has narration in Russian, but the bulk of the story rests on acrobatics and choreography, so you follow it without trouble.
Is it suitable to travel with kids?
Yes, all three circuses are a highly recommended experience for travelling with kids. The Great State Circus on Vernadsky Avenue is probably the most spectacular for younger children because of the scale and the changing arenas. Pushkin’s Dreams works better for older kids and teenagers because it has a stronger theatrical component.
How much do circus tickets in Moscow cost?
Prices vary a lot depending on the show, the day of the week and the seat category. In general, circus tickets in Russia are quite a bit cheaper than in Western Europe: there are affordable seats for tight budgets as well as premium boxes for those who want to splurge. It is worth checking the official website of each circus for the prices of the specific performance you are interested in.
How do I get to each circus by metro?
For the Nikulin Circus, get off at Tsvetnoy Bulvar station (line 9, grey). For the Great State Circus, Universitet station (line 1, red). For Pushkin’s Dreams, at the Druzhba Arena in Luzhniki, use Vorobyovy Gory (line 1) or Sportivnaya (line 1).
