Published on: 2026-08-31
Source: Moscow Government – Правительства Москвы –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
For City Day, the capital presented the chronicle-artistic series “Moscow and Muscovites” based on the eponymous book by Vladimir Gilyarovsky. It was released on major Russian online platforms. The uniqueness of the project, created with the support of the Moscow Government, lies in the fact that it literally brought the legendary work to life: thanks to virtual filmmaking technologies based on reporters’ testimonies, a picture of Moscow life at the end of the 19th — beginning of the 20th century was recreated.
“The documentary basis of the series consisted of more than two thousand archival photographs from those years from the funds of the Museum of Moscow. Using modern digital solutions, the creators recreated the characters of the book and the city life at the turn of the century,” she said
Natalya Sergunina, Deputy Mayor of Moscow.
Each of the 32 episodes is a separate segment in the genre of urban reportage, describing the adventures of Vladimir Gilyarovsky in different districts. The project’s chronology spans over 50 years: the entire period of his life in the capital. This gives the viewer the opportunity to trace how the lifestyle and customs of Muscovites changed at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.
From Khitrovka to the aristocratic club
There are almost no video chronicles from that time, and most of the recordings are of low quality. Therefore, the series creators decided to take an artistic experimental approach and turned to artificial intelligence technologies: using Russian developments, they brought archival black-and-white photographs to life. This allowed them to recreate the everyday life of the city, the architecture of Moscow, fashion, and the customs of its inhabitants in color.
The documentary basis of the film is supplemented by dramaturgy, as Vladimir Gilyarovsky’s book is a fascinating description of various aspects of Moscow life.
The viewer will see Moscow through the eyes of the most famous reporter of the era, about whom Konstantin Paustovsky said: “No writer knew Moscow as comprehensively as Gilyarovsky.” The luxury of the Russian Hunting Club in the house of Count Sheremetev on Vozdvizhenka and the dark labyrinths of Khitrovka, the mysteries of the Negrinka underground passages, the crowded Sukharevka and Tverskaya, artistic circles and famous taverns — all of this recreates on screen the unique Moscow color and historical atmosphere.
The series is now available to watch on platforms Okko, Wink and Premier.
Vladimir Gilyarovsky and his Moscow: what is known about the legendary reporter
Vladimir Gilyarovsky was a Russian and Soviet writer, reporter, and painter of Moscow life. He was born on November 26 (December 8 in the new style), 1853, at a forest farmstead in Syamskaya volost, Vologda district. At the age of 18, he ran away from home and became a barge hauler on the Volga. Then he served as a volunteer in the Nezhin Infantry Regiment, was a junker in Moscow, after which he went to Astrakhan without a passport and became a vagabond. He repaired boots, broke horses in the Kalmyk steppes, worked at a whitening factory, and in a circus. In 1875, he became an actor.
At the beginning of the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878, he volunteered for the army. He served in the Caucasus in the 161st Infantry Alexandropol Regiment. He participated in reconnaissance operations and was awarded the badge of distinction of the Military Order of Saint George, 4th class.
In 1881, Vladimir Gilyarovsky moved to Moscow and began his literary and journalistic career. For about a year, he wrote articles for various periodicals; starting in 1881, he collaborated as a journalist with the newspaper “Moskovsky Listok,” and from 1883 to 1889, with “Russkiye Vedomosti.” He was published in the newspapers “Russkaya Mysl,” “Peterburgsky Listok,” “Novoye Vremya,” as well as in “Muravey,” “Osa,” “Russkoye Slovo,” and other publications. From 1899 to 1901, he was a staff member of the newspaper “Rossiya.”
After the 1917 revolution, he continued to work for Soviet publications such as Izvestia, Vechernyaya Moskva, Prozhektor, Ogonyok, and published books. Among his later works are Moscow and Muscovites (completed in 1925), My Wanderings, Notes of a Muscovite, Friends and Encounters.
Died on October 1, 1935, in Moscow, buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery.
Vladimir Gilyarovsky was at the center of Moscow’s cultural life and was friends with many famous contemporaries. In his circle were writers and poets — Anton Chekhov, Alexander Blok, Valery Bryusov, Ivan Bunin, Sergey Yesenin; actors — Fyodor Chaliapin, Maria Yermolova, Vasily Kachalov; artists — Ilya Repin, Alexei Savrasov.
Ilya Repin painted one of the characters in his famous painting “Reply of the Zaporozhian Cossacks to the Turkish Sultan” from him, and the sculptor Nikolay Andreyev used his image in creating Taras Bulba for the bas-relief on the monument to Nikolai Gogol.
A large-scale project appeared on the mos.ru portal special project, dedicated to the development of key areas of Moscow. These include transport, industry, healthcare, education, sports, and construction. The special project helps to find out how the capital has changed in recent years, which initiatives aimed at making the lives of residents even more comfortable are currently being implemented, and what awaits Moscow and its residents in the near future.
On the project page “Culture, Heritage and Leisure Industry” you can learn about how architectural monuments are preserved in the capital. Moscow is the cultural center of the country and ranks among the leading metropolises in terms of the number of museums and exhibition halls. The city has created a film cluster that unites the Mosfilm cinema factory on Ryazansky Prospekt, the Gorky Film Studio, and the Mosfilm film park.
Get the main news promptly on the official Moscow city channels in messengers “Max” and “Telegram”.
Please note; This information is raw content obtained directly from the information source. It is an accurate report of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.