Izmaylovo Kremlin, Souvenir Market and Stalin’s Bunker in Moscow

The Izmaylovo Kremlin, in northeastern Moscow, isn’t the Kremlin you see on postcards: it’s a spectacular replica built between 1998 and 2017 that has become the most photogenic cultural and market complex in the city. Around it you’ll find the biggest souvenir market in Moscow and, just a short walk away, two hidden gems that most quick-trip tourists miss: Stalin’s secret WWII bunker and the Romanov tsars’ estate, sitting on an island in the middle of a pond. In this guide I’ll tell you what to see, how to get there, opening hours and prices.

Izmaylovo district: from the tsars to the Soviet era in a single afternoon

The Izmaylovo district (sometimes spelled Izmailovo) is in northeastern Moscow and packs into a one-kilometre radius three eras of Russian history that you won’t easily find together anywhere else in the city:

• The modern era, with the Izmaylovo Kremlin and its souvenir market.
• The Soviet era, with Stalin’s secret bunker and the unfinished stadium that camouflaged it.
• The Romanov era, with the Izmaylovo estate, where Peter the Great was born.

If you have time to spare, you can round off the day with a walk through the huge Izmaylovsky Park, one of the largest green spaces in Moscow.

All these attractions are very close to each other. On this map you can see the places I’m talking about in this article:

How to get to the Izmaylovo district

The fastest and cheapest way is to take line 3 (dark blue) on the Moscow Metro and get off at Partizanskaya (Партизанская). From the centre it takes about 20 minutes. Once you exit the metro, you’re 10 minutes on foot from either the Izmaylovo Kremlin or the tsars’ estate.

In this photo you can see the route from the metro stop to the kremlin:

You can also arrive on the MCK (Moscow Central Circle), getting off at Izmaylovo station, about 7 minutes on foot from the Kremlin.

Where to stay in Izmaylovo

As soon as you step out of Partizanskaya metro you’ll spot four giant hotel buildings: the Izmaylovo complex (Vega, Alfa, Beta, Gamma and Delta), built for the 1980 Olympic Games. It’s still a solid option if you’re looking for somewhere to stay in Moscow on a budget, with good metro access and plenty of services nearby. The catch: Western platforms like Booking.com no longer process Russian reservations, so the best way to book is through a Russian platform that accepts foreign cards.

Right outside the metro you also have the Ast Mall, with a decent selection of Russian and international fast-food chains if you need to refuel before or after the visit.

1. The Izmaylovo Kremlin

After walking about 10 minutes from Partizanskaya you’ll see the silhouette of the Izmaylovo Kremlin rising up. Remember that in Russian, “kremlin” just means “fortress” or “walled citadel”.

As I said, this is a “modern kremlin” that has nothing to do with the historic Moscow Kremlin on Red Square. What you’re looking at here is a cultural and entertainment complex with buildings put up between 1998 and 2017, replicas inspired by Russian architecture of the 14th to 17th centuries. The whole thing was the brainchild of businessman Aleksandr Ushakov, and honestly it’s always reminded me a little of the castles at Disneyland: pretty, photogenic and just a touch unreal.

Practical info for the Izmaylovo Kremlin

• Official website: kremlin-izmailovo.com
• Telegram channel (events and current opening hours): @kremlin_izmailovo
• VKontakte: vk.com/kremlin_izmailovo
• Address: Izmaylovskoye Shosse, 73Ж (м. Партизанская)
• Phone: +7 (495) 215-54-37
• Opening hours of the complex: every day from 9:00 to 21:00. Each museum has its own schedule.
• Entry to the complex: free. You only pay to enter individual museums.
• Restrooms: there are public toilets inside the complex, charged at 50 rubles.

So what’s inside? Streets, squares and, right in the centre, the Orthodox Church of Saint Nicholas, which looks like something out of a fairy tale but was actually built in the early 21st century. Despite being a replica, it’s the tallest wooden church in Moscow.

The Izmaylovo Kremlin is one of Muscovites’ favourite places to get married. Besides the Church of Saint Nicholas, there’s also a civil registry office inside the complex, and couples typically hold their reception in one of the kremlin’s banquet halls, decorated in traditional Russian style.

In the main square you’ll also find a shop selling artisanal fruit pastries made to 17th-century recipes, traditional Russian restaurants, and food stalls for a quick bite. And for the past couple of years there’s been a Ferris wheel (Колесо обозрения) with great views over the complex.

The museums inside the Izmaylovo Kremlin

Inside the complex there are over a dozen themed museums and workshops. Russians love setting up museums about absolutely anything, and here they’ve taken it to the extreme. These are the main ones according to the official website:

• Museum of the History of Russian Vodka (Музей истории водки): the most popular in the complex. It tells 500 years of Russian vodka history with over 1,000 items: 18th-century recipes, historic labels, bottles, Soviet posters and a model of the very first 15th-century still.
• Bread Museum (Музей хлеба): the history and craft of Russian bread, with a buffet and freshly baked bread.
• Russian Toy Theatre Museum: includes a workshop where you can make your own traditional doll.
• Baba Yaga’s Hut and the Belfry: aimed at kids, featuring the witch’s house from Russian folklore.
• Interactive Polytechnic Museum “Grandfather’s Attic” (Дедушкин чердак): inventions, mechanisms and hands-on experiments.
• Moscow Animation Museum: the story of Russian and Soviet animated film, with screenings.
• Museum of Unusual Bicycles: a collection of quirky bike designs from the last two centuries.
• “Herman Pudan’s Straw Fleet” exhibition: ship models made from braided straw.
• Cosmic Attic — Museum of Cosmonautics and Rocketry.
• Grandfather’s Attic Planetarium.
• “Doll Alley” Museum: dolls from every era.

There are also active workshops you can take part in: the “Kremlin Kitchen” cooking studio (Кремлёвская кухня) and a workshop for making decorative candles.

As a reference, the most visited by tourists, the Vodka Museum, opens Tuesday to Sunday from 11:00 to 19:00 (closed Mondays) and admission costs 400 rubles for adults. A 20-minute guided tour is 600 rubles more per person, and you can add a small tasting (10 ml for 100 rubles or 50 ml for 350 rubles). Prices and opening hours for the other museums vary quite a bit, so my advice is to check each museum’s page on the official site the day of your visit or call +7 (495) 215-54-37, since some close occasionally for maintenance.

Here’s the official map of the complex, handy for finding your way around:

2. The Izmaylovo souvenir market (Vernisazh)

The most touristy part of the Izmaylovo Kremlin isn’t inside, but outside: the markets that surround the complex, where you can buy all kinds of Russian souvenirs at much better prices than in central Moscow. In practice there are two areas:

• The Izmaylovsky Vernisazh (Измайловский Вернисаж), right next to the Kremlin’s main entrance. This is the “touristy” market proper: matryoshkas, ushanka fur hats, hand-painted lacquerware in traditional styles (Khokhloma, Gzhel, Palekh), Baltic amber, samovars, Pavlovo Posad shawls, icons…

• The flea market, behind the Kremlin. Here things change: real antique matryoshkas (and others not quite so real), furniture, books, Soviet memorabilia, fur hats with earflaps, Cossack sabres, military medals, Zenit cameras and even genuine cosmonaut suits. Lots of people bring their old belongings here to sell directly, which gives the place a proper village-bazaar feel.

My tip: go on a weekend (Saturday or Sunday morning is best). That’s when more stalls are set up, more private sellers turn out, and you can really see the good stuff. The markets do open every day from around 9:00, but on weekdays plenty of stalls stay shut and by midday many vendors start packing up.

Two important things so you don’t get caught out:

• A lot of “antique” stuff isn’t actually antique — it’s modern in old style. And quite a few souvenirs are made in China and sold as Russian crafts.
• Haggling is the norm: the first price you’re quoted isn’t the real one. There’s usually 20 or 30% wiggle room, especially if you buy several items. That said, many sellers don’t speak English (or just a few words), so bring a calculator on your phone and be ready to use gestures and patience.

3. Stalin’s bunker and the ghost stadium

Right next to the flea market hides one of the most curious places in the neighbourhood: Stalin’s secret bunker, officially the “Reserve Shelter of the Supreme Commander of the Red Army I. V. Stalin”. It’s a branch of the Central Museum of the Armed Forces of Russia.

The bunker was built in the late 1930s and during World War II as an alternative command post in case of a German attack on Moscow. It sits around 37 metres underground and, according to the museum’s official version, was connected to the Kremlin on Red Square by an underground tunnel (the figure of 17 kilometres gets repeated in lots of guidebooks but isn’t documented anywhere, so treat it as an urban legend). For half a century the complex was classified and most Muscovites didn’t even know it existed. It was restored in the 1990s and opened to the public.

On the visit you’ll see the General Staff meeting room, with the acoustic dome that amplified Stalin’s quiet voice; his personal office, decorated identically to the one in the Kremlin, with telephone, desk, lamp and military maps from the 1941 Battle of Moscow; the Georgian-style canteen, with natural stone on one of the walls and utensils brought in from Gori (his hometown); and several auxiliary corridors and rooms.

How to visit Stalin’s bunker (practical info)

• Official website: stalinbunker.ru (and cmaf.ru, the parent museum).
• Telegram channel (parent museum): @cmaf_ru
• Address: ул. Советская, д. 80, стр. 1 (entrance through the gate of the “Izmailovo” sports complex, Vernisazhnaya street 6).
• Hours: every day from 10:00 to 18:00.
• Important: entry is only by guided tour with prior booking. No on-the-day ticket sales.
• Prices for foreigners (in a group): up to 3 people, 6,000 rubles total; from 3 to 9 people, 2,000 rubles per person; 10 people or more, 1,600 rubles per person.
• Bookings: organised groups, +7 (916) 518-23-72; individual visits in a mixed group (sbornaya), +7 (916) 319-52-40; “Be ready!” interactive programme, +7 (925) 804-51-53.
• Duration: around 90 minutes.
• Language: tours are in Russian. If you don’t speak the language, the best option is to come with your own guide or with an agency that offers tours in other languages. Confirm the language when you book.

Right above the bunker stands the Izmaylovo Stadium, an unfinished structure that Stalin ordered built to camouflage the underground works. Had it been completed, it would have held 200,000 spectators and been the largest stadium in the world.

4. The Izmaylovo estate: the tsars’ lost residence

A few minutes from the Izmaylovo Kremlin, over a bridge, sits the Izmaylovo estate (Усадьба Измайлово), the former residence of the Romanovs. Unlike the Izmaylovo Kremlin, this one is the real deal: 17th-century buildings well worth a visit. It served as the tsars’ residence from the time of Alexei Mikhailovich (father of Peter the Great), and Peter himself actually spent part of his childhood within these walls.

The estate sits in a gorgeous park on an artificial island (Izmaylovo Island) surrounded by the Serebryano-Vinogradny pond. It’s run by the MGOMZ museum-reserve, the same organisation that looks after Kolomenskoye park in southern Moscow.

Practical info for the Izmaylovo estate

• Website: mgomz.ru
• Address: городок им. Баумана, д. 2, стр. 14 (Gorodok im. Baumana, 2, building 14).
• How to get there: from Partizanskaya metro, trolleybus no. 22 to the “Glavnaya alleya” stop (Главная аллея), or 15 minutes on foot across the park.
• Summer hours (April 1 – September 29): Tuesday to Friday and Sundays from 10:00 to 18:00; Saturdays from 11:00 to 19:00. Closed Mondays.
• Winter hours (September 30 – March 31): Tuesday to Sunday from 10:00 to 18:00. Closed Mondays.
• Entry to the grounds: free.
• Admission to the exhibitions (Large and Small Halls): 150 rubles adult, 50 rubles reduced rate.
• Phone: +7 (499) 165 09 72 / +7 (499) 614 88 80

What is there to see on the estate? From the era of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich Romanov, several 17th-century buildings have been preserved. These are the main ones:

The Bridge Tower (Мостовая башня, Mostovaya bashnya), right by the bridge leading onto the island. It has a passing resemblance to some of the towers of the Moscow Kremlin. It originally housed a guard post and today holds the permanent exhibition “The Moscow Tile” (Московский изразец), a stunning display of polychrome Russian ceramic.

The Intercession Cathedral (Покровский собор, Pokrovsky sobor), the central building on the island. It’s lavishly decorated with polychrome mosaics by the famous Russian ceramicist Stepan Polubes. Near the cathedral you’ll find a monument to Peter the Great.

At the heart of the estate there was once a wooden palace, which no longer survives. All that remains are the two monumental gateways: the front gate and the back gate. The Large Exhibition Hall houses the permanent display “Izmaylovo, a 17th-century tsar’s estate”, well worth a look if you’re into history.

And as a bonus, from the island you get this view of the Izmaylovo Kremlin peeking out from between the trees:

5. Izmaylovsky Park

To wrap up the day, you can take a walk through Izmaylovsky Park, one of the largest in Moscow. In summer people sunbathe, swim in the ponds, fish, rent boats or ride the park’s Ferris wheel. In winter it fills up with cross-country skiers and ice skaters. It’s a popular spot for Muscovites to unwind.

How to plan the visit: a practical itinerary

If you have half a day, I’d suggest this order, which works really well:

1. Arrive by metro at Partizanskaya around 10:00.
2. Izmaylovo Kremlin and souvenir market (2–3 hours, including one museum and some shopping).
3. Lunch at one of the food stalls or restaurants inside the Kremlin (traditional Russian cuisine).
4. Izmaylovo estate (1.5–2 hours).
5. If you still have energy and booked in advance, Stalin’s bunker (90 minutes).
6. Back to Partizanskaya or a final stroll through the park.

If you’ve only got two or three hours, prioritise the Izmaylovo Kremlin + market and save the estate and the bunker for another visit.

Frequently asked questions