Russian Folklore Shows in Moscow and St. Petersburg

If you’re planning a trip to Russia and want to see a Russian folklore show (folk dancing, singing, traditional costumes, Cossacks, balalaikas), as of today (August 2026) there is only one with confirmed performances: the Kostroma Russian National Dance Show in Moscow, and only during the summer season. The Cossack dance show “Bagatitsa” in St. Petersburg, which used to be the other main option, has no confirmed dates at all. Most of the shows that were advertised before 2022 have shut down.

One important warning before we go further: the famous “Feel Yourself Russian” at the Nikolaevsky Palace, which for years was the go-to folklore show for tourists in St. Petersburg, still appears on ticketing platforms — but it’s not reliably operating at the moment. Western tourist numbers have collapsed since 2022 and the real activity of these kinds of shows has dropped sharply. Further down I’ll tell you what I’ve been able to verify about Bagatitsa and what real alternatives are left if you’re heading to St. Petersburg.

The Kostroma Show: Moscow’s top Russian folk dance experience

The Kostroma Russian National Dance Show is the most professional and spectacular folklore show you’ll find in Russia. It’s been staged by the Kostroma Russian National Ballet company for over seventeen seasons, and it takes the audience on a journey through the country’s history through dance: from the Christianisation of Rus, through Imperial Russia, all the way to the Soviet era. You’ll see dances and songs from the different regions of the country — the North, the southern steppes, the Caucasus, central Russia — with 50 dancers on stage, 600 unique costumes, 15 set changes and visual effects (fire, smoke, projections) you’d never expect from a so-called “folklore” show.

This isn’t a village-fair performance: it’s high-quality folk ballet, designed to impress both Russians and foreign visitors. If you can only see one folklore show on your entire trip, this is the one to pick.

Where it takes place

The show is staged at the Russkaya Pesnya Theatre (“Russian Song”), a modern venue right in the heart of Moscow run by the singer Nadezhda Babkina. The address is Olimpiyski Prospekt 14, and the nearest metro stations are Prospekt Mira, Tsvetnoy Bulvar and Dostoyevskaya. You’ll spot the building easily — it’s a modern glass cube that stands out among the Stalinist-era blocks in the area.

When it runs

This is a summer season show: performances are daily during the peak tourist months (in the last confirmed season, shows ran from 1 August to 14 September, though historically the season used to kick off in mid-June). If you’re visiting Moscow outside of July, August or early September, the Kostroma won’t be on — check the Bolshoi schedule or other cultural alternatives instead.

The usual start time is 7:30 pm, and the show lasts approximately 2 hours including an interval. I’d recommend checking the exact schedule on the official website: nationalrussianshow.ru.

Ticket prices

Tickets range from 1,000 to 5,000 rubles (roughly €10–50 at current rates), depending on your seat location. Children under 5 get in free, and children aged 5 to 14 pay half price. For what it delivers, this show is genuinely good value.

How to buy Kostroma tickets

You have three options:

1. Official website: nationalrussianshow.ru. There’s an online booking form and English-language support.
2. Box office by phone: +7 495 769 3235.
3. At the theatre box office in person, paying in rubles in cash. This is the safest option if you don’t want to deal with online payments.

Important: your European Visa or Mastercard won’t work to pay online on a Russian website. I’ll explain how to get around that further down.

The Bagatitsa Show: Cossack dances in St. Petersburg (no confirmed dates)

Important warning: as of August 2026, Bagatitsa has no confirmed performances. Its website is still online, but the season calendar returns no dates; the operator that handles its ticketing (Avemedia) only schedules occasional holiday concerts at that same venue (Maslenitsa, Easter, Russia Day); there are no tickets on sale on Yandex Afisha, and its old listing on discount platforms is archived. On top of that, readers who were in St. Petersburg in June 2026 have told me their hotel tried several times to get tickets and were told it was no longer possible. I’m leaving the show’s details here in case it starts up again, but don’t plan your trip around it without emailing info@bagatitsa.ru first to have them confirm dates.

“Bagatitsa” (which means bonfire in the Cossack language) is a Cossack singing and dancing show created in 2005 by choreographer Alexei Subin, performed by a company of professional dancers and singers. It’s a more energetic and explosive show than the Kostroma: Cossack spirit, colourful costumes, dizzying sabre dances, songs from the Don, Kuban, Volgograd and Stavropol regions, and audience interaction.

Where it used to take place

The show was held at the House of Countess Panina (Дом графини Паниной, formerly known as the Palace of Culture of Railway Workers), a 19th-century historic building at Tambovskaya Street 63. It’s a federal architectural monument linked to Countess Sofia Vladimirovna Panina, one of the wealthiest and most enlightened women in Russia in the early 20th century, who used her fortune to fight illiteracy by creating a “People’s House” for workers and their families.

The venue holds 800 seats and all tickets were unreserved — first come, first served. The nearest metro station is Obvodny Kanal, about a 10-minute walk away. The venue is still active and hosts other events, so it’s worth checking its listings even without Bagatitsa.

Schedule, duration and prices from the last published season

Here are the details from the last regular schedule that was published, so you get an idea of what the show was like. It always started at 8:00 pm, with a total running time of 1 hour 50 minutes split into two 45-minute acts with an interval. Unlike the Kostroma, it ran all year round, not just in summer.

• Foreign adults: 3,000 rubles (around €30).
• Russian adults: 1,500 rubles.
• Children: full adult price at any age. There were no child discounts or free entry for minors.

Yes, foreigners paid double: that’s standard practice at many museums and tourist events across Russia, not something specific to this show. The ticket price didn’t include any catering either — if you wanted something during the interval (champagne, water, red caviar blinis), you had to buy a separate “fourchette” package costing between 300 and 550 rubles, and the cheaper options were only served to groups of at least 10 people.

Where to check whether performances resume

• Official English-language website: bagatitsashow.com.
• Russian-language website: bagatitsa.ru. If the calendar comes up empty, there are no performances on.
• By email: info@bagatitsa.ru. This is the most reliable way to get dates confirmed before you plan anything.

Real alternatives in St. Petersburg

If you’re going to St. Petersburg and want a show with tickets you can actually count on, these are the options that are genuinely running:

• The Ciniselli Circus (Circus on the Fontanka). It’s the oldest permanent circus in Russia, opened in 1877, at 3 Fontanka Embankment next to the Mikhailovsky Castle. It runs all year round and its 2026 programme is confirmed: the “Royal Circus” show from June to August, the “Without Borders” circus festival from September to October, and the New Year programme from December to January. Tickets range from 1,000 to 10,000 rubles depending on section and row, and the box office is open daily from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm. Official website: circus.spb.ru.
• Ballet or opera at the Mariinsky or the Mikhailovsky. This is the city’s safe bet, with daily performances for most of the year. I explain how to get tickets as a foreigner in my guide to opera and ballet in St. Petersburg.
• Concerts at Kochneva House (41 Fontanka Embankment), one of the Petersburg-Concert venues. They programme Russian romances, chamber music and small-scale performances in an early 19th-century mansion. It isn’t Cossack folklore, but it’s the closest thing to an old-style Russian evening you’ll find today.
• One-off concerts by the Bagatitsa ensemble itself. The group still performs on holidays (Maslenitsa, Easter, Russia Day) at the House of Countess Panina. If your trip coincides with one of those dates, it’s worth checking the venue’s listings.

How to pay for tickets as a foreigner (the real problem)

This is the question that causes the most confusion. Here’s the real situation in 2026:

Since 2022, Visa and Mastercard cards issued outside Russia don’t work inside Russia. They don’t work in shops, at ATMs, or to buy tickets on Russian websites. This applies to the Kostroma site, the circus site and any theatre in the country, because the payment gateway is a Russian bank.

Your real alternatives are:

1. Bring euros in cash and exchange them for rubles when you arrive in Russia, at banks (not at airport exchange offices, which charge extortionate rates). With rubles in hand you can buy tickets at the theatre box office. I explain this in detail in my guide on how many euros to bring to Russia and how to exchange them.
2. Open an account at a Russian bank (T-Bank is usually the most accessible option for foreigners) and get a MIR card. A MIR card works on these websites and in any Russian shop or venue. If this route interests you, check out my article on how to get a MIR card as a foreigner.
3. Ask someone who’s already in Russia (a guide, driver or local contact) to buy the tickets online and forward them to you by email. This is the quickest solution if you’re short on time.

If you’re only spending a few days in Russia and don’t want the hassle, bring enough rubles in cash and buy your tickets at the box office. That’s the simplest option. Both the Kostroma and the circus on the Fontanka have a physical box office at the venue address.

What about the other Russian folklore shows?

The post-2022 reality is that most of them are on indefinite hiatus or only operating when pre-booked tour groups come in. Here’s a quick rundown:

• Feel Yourself Russian (Nikolaevsky Palace, St. Petersburg): this used to be the most popular folklore show for tourists. The website is still live and it appears on ticketing platforms, but the palace has no dates or repertoire published. Treat it as not operating unless they confirm otherwise directly.
• Russia in Fairy Tales (Youth House) and Russian Musical Seasons (Kochneva House): these are run by the same operator as Bagatitsa, with variable programming.
• Lights of St. Petersburg (Astoria Club) and other hotel-based shows: sporadic programming tied to organised tour groups.

In short: the only Russian folklore show you can count on today is Kostroma in Moscow, and only in summer. If your St. Petersburg trip doesn’t fall on a holiday, go for the circus or the ballet — they run all year and won’t leave you stranded. And if someone sells you an excursion with a “folklore show included” in St. Petersburg, ask them to name the venue and the date before you pay.

Frequently asked questions