Published on: 2026-08-29
Source: Moscow Government – Правительства Москвы –
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Series free tours “My District” brought together more than 300 family members of participants in the special military operation (SMO). It began on August 10 with a walk around the Novomoskovsky Administrative Okrug of the capital, titled “Nowhere but at Mosrentgen,” and ended on August 26 with a tour of the Sokolniki district.
The program included 11 excursions. The routes covered different districts of Moscow — from Kryukovo in Zelenograd to Tekstilshchiki in the southeast, from the Pokrovskoe-Streshnevo estate in the northwest to the Obruchevsky district in the southwest. Each walk allowed participants to get acquainted with the history, architecture, and cultural heritage of Moscow’s districts.
Thus, participants of the tour around the Alekseyevsky District were able to trace how several eras of Moscow’s history intersected in one territory. They saw the Tikhvin Church, the famous “house on chicken legs,” a hotel built for the 1980 Olympics, as well as striking examples of constructivism and Soviet modernism.
During a walk through the Obruchevsky district, which is often perceived as a residential area, participants talked about the writer and scientist Vladimir Obruchev and his famous novels, recalled the director Eldar Ryazanov, toured the Vorontsovo estate, the unusual Zapyataya pond, one of the longest residential buildings in the capital, as well as the complex of the Patrice Lumumba Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia.
The key route of the series was a two-hour tour of Victory Park. It ran between the “Park Pobedy” and “Minskaya” metro stations. The walk was dedicated to the history of defending the country and preserving the memory of the Great Patriotic War. The tour was part of a series of city cultural events for the families of special military operation participants. This format gives veterans of the special military operation and their loved ones not only the opportunity to learn more about Moscow’s history but also to spend time with their family.
“For the city, it is important not only to provide families of participants in the special military operation with the necessary support but also to create conditions where they will not be left alone with their worries and daily life, but will feel attention and care, maintaining a connection with their country’s history. At the same time, master classes are held for all Muscovites who want to support participants in the special military operation, where they can make a postcard, weave a camouflage net, sew a balaclava, or write a letter to servicemen. Such simple but important deeds provide an opportunity to help those who are now far from home,” said the press service of the prefecture of the Western Administrative District.
The choice of the route through Victory Park was symbolic. For families whose relatives are currently on the front lines or have recently returned home, the city’s history and the memory of the defenders of the Fatherland are not just textbook pages, but a connection with their own destiny. The excursion program is structured to reveal the significance of the memorial complex step by step.
The participants focused on key sites — the Victory Museum, the Victory Monument, the memorial alley, and other iconic landmarks. At the same time, the route included less popular places that usually remain outside the scope of standard tours. Among them are the memorial sign “Spirit of the Elbe,” Zurab Tsereteli’s sculptural composition “Tragedy of the Peoples,” and the monument “On the Roads of War,” which commemorates Mongolia’s contribution to victory in the Great Patriotic War. It is such places that help reveal the familiar history from a new angle through little-known facts and human destinies.
As guide Sergey Rakhmaninov, the author of the route “Victory Park: a symbol of heroism and memory,” noted, when working with families of participants in the special military operation it is especially important to talk not only about events and dates but also about the human dimension of history.
“I focus on the fates of people, on the cost of victory, on how the memory of the past helps to understand the present. For me, it is important that the tour remains a space for respectful and calm conversation, where everyone can find something personally close to them,” emphasized Sergey Rachmaninov.
According to the guide, the main goal of the tour guide on the route is to help participants see Victory Park not just as a city park with memorials, but as a place where history takes on a personal meaning and becomes tangible. The tour is considered successful if, after the walk, people feel the desire to come here again, study the monuments in more detail, and share their impressions with family and friends.
Tour guide Larisa Milovidova agrees that it is important for her that the tour becomes an opportunity for people to spend time together calmly, to distract themselves from everyday worries, and to feel that the city is capable not only of telling about the past but also of supporting in the present. She notes that she pays more attention to the fates of people and stories connected to specific places, trying to make her narrative more lively and humane and to build a trusting dialogue with the participants.
My District — a comprehensive program of the Mayor of Moscow for the development of the urban environment. Its goal is to create comfortable living conditions in all districts of the capital. Convenient courtyards, well-equipped parks, modern social infrastructure facilities within walking distance — all these are important components of the program.
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