Published on: 2026-09-16
Source: Moscow Government – Правительства Москвы –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
Over almost nine centuries, thousands of legends have been born in Moscow. They emerged on the streets, in houses and apartments, spread through neighborhoods, passed on to friends, neighbors, children, and grandchildren. Some of them can be heard in the capital’s museums subordinate to the Moscow City Department of Culture. We tell you in which of the capital’s exhibition spaces mystical events might have occurred and where to learn the most unusual stories from the past.
Cats that have more than nine lives
An unusual incident, suggesting the existence of ghosts, also occurred in K.G. Paustovsky Museum. In the old mansion on Kuzminskaya Street, where it is located, the alarm went off one day. However, there was no one near the exhibits. It turned out that the cat Musya – the faithful guardian of the museum – had snuck into the hall. She settled here on her own about 10 years ago. Other tailed residents of the museum before her had done the same.
Cats have always lived in the mansion. The staff even began giving them the same names. So one Musya would replace another, as if the fluffy resident had more than nine lives, all of which she intended to spend in the exhibition halls.
The presence of a cat in the K.G. Paustovsky Museum is symbolic. The writer loved fluffy homebodies; in his country houses, they were always part of domestic life. The museum’s collections hold photographs in which one can see Konstantin Paustovsky together with his pets.
Back door and reflection of the past
In the apartment on Bolshaya Pirogovskaya Street (now — M.A. Bulgakov Memorial Apartment on Bolshaya Pirogovskaya Street) together with Mikhail Bulgakov lived furry homebodies — the cats Muka and Flyushka, as well as the kitten Anshlag, named after the theatrical success of the play “Zoyka’s Apartment.” The cats brought cheerful commotion into the writer’s life. For example, Mikhail Bulgakov wrote playful notes to his wife under the name of the kitten Flyushka and left them alongside a broken plate or a torn armchair. The writer’s wife, Lyubov Belozerskaya, believed that it was Flyushka who became the prototype for Behemoth in the novel “The Master and Margarita.”
Mikhail Bulgakov also had a dog named Buton (the name of Molière’s servant, the writer’s favorite playwright). As a joke, he hung a sign next to the front door that read “Buton Bulgakov. Ring twice.” This attracted the attention of the financial inspector, and the sign had to be taken down. In another memorial apartment of the writer, known as the “unpleasant” one, the neighbors kept a rooster for some time. It is no coincidence that in the novel The Master and Margarita, the financial director Rimsky is saved from the hands of Gella and Varenukha by the crow of a rooster. Perhaps the very same one from apartment 50, located just a few steps from the Variete.
The M.A. Bulgakov Museum — “A Bad Apartment” is located on Bolshaya Sadovaya Street (house 10). The walls in the entrance are decorated with messages, drawings, and a portrait of Woland, made back in the 1980s. The apartment itself is also remarkable. The most attentive can find a magical back door in it, through which Woland’s retinue entered the real world. In the apartment, this is a narrow wooden door leading to a steep stone staircase adjacent to the kitchen.
True treasures are also kept by I.D. Sytin Museum-Apartment. In the room where the famous 19th and 20th-century book publisher spent the last six years of his life, the atmosphere of the past has been preserved. Most often, he was in the smallest room of the apartment. The Holy of Holies — as museum staff call it today. Here you can see the Voltaire armchair with a high back, which Ivan Sytin loved to sit in. The memory of past years is also kept by the mirror standing in the hallway. It reflected Maxim Gorky, Ivan Bunin, and Alexander Kuprin.
“Connected with Sytin is a legend. At the beginning of the 20th century, he was the largest book publisher in the Russian Empire. His printing houses produced huge editions. The work of typesetters was paid by the number of characters, and before the notable events of 1905, Sytin supposedly canceled payment for commas: the printers’ wages dropped by a third, and they rebelled, the revolution began. But this is all a legend, which even has a name—the legend of the ‘Sytin comma.’ In reality, he did not cancel payment, but, on the contrary, paid his employees even more than was customary in the industry,” says Pavel Ivanov, tour guide at the I.D. Sytin Museum-Apartment.
He invented the tear-off calendar and helped vegetarians. What else Muscovites loved Ivan Sytin for
Living clocks and stones that grant wishes
A mystical story, according to one legend, could have happened also in Vladimir Vysotsky State Museum at Taganka. The exhibition immerses visitors in the atmosphere of a bygone era. It features the poet’s personal belongings, his letters, posters of plays and concerts. The museum also houses a legendary memorial item — the poet’s watch, which was stopped by someone on the day of his death. However, the museum staff and caretakers do not confirm this fact. They believe it is more of a poetic legend than an event that actually happened.
Urban legends bring to life not only mechanisms but also other objects, and stones are even given magical powers. Thus, in the Golosov Ravine on the territory of the Moscow State United Museum-Reserve “Kolomenskoye” There is a boulder called the Maiden’s Stone. It weighs more than four tons and is shaped like a turtle shell. Once, the residents of nearby villages believed that the stone helped cure infertility — you just had to make a cherished wish beside it. Also, as a symbol of the most secret dream, visitors tie bright ribbons to the branches of the trees growing nearby.
There is also another unusual boulder here — Goose Stone. It resembles both a goose and a horse’s head at the same time. According to legend, in the battle with the serpent, George was victorious, but his horse died — the animal’s head rolled down the slope and turned into a boulder. There is also a belief that the ancient inhabitants of this area used the stone for pagan rituals. In any case, some visitors believe that the boulder holds some magical power and helps to gain courage, health, and luck.
“The Golosov Ravine itself is also interesting. It used to separate the villages of Kolomenskoye and D’yakovo, but now it divides the nature reserve in half. The origin of the ravine’s name is not precisely known. According to one version, in ancient times voices of travelers, who were caught by robbers, could be heard from it. Some visitors to the museum-reserve believe that voices can still be heard from the ravine today. However, this assumption is more of a mystical reinterpretation of its history rather than a real fact. Grass, shrubs, and trees grow on the ravine’s banks, and the Kolomenskoye stream flows along its bottom,” say the staff of the Kolomenskoye museum-reserve.
In spring and after rain, the stream becomes full-flowing and nourishes rare plants: forest geranium, wild garlic, and corydalis.
Exhibits at the entrance: “Mosbilet” tells about unusual city museumsPaustovsky’s glasses, Skryabin’s mirror: stories of personal belongings in Moscow museums
“Mosbilet” — the official service on the mos.ru portal, through which you can purchase tickets to theaters, museums, concert halls, and other establishments without commissions or markups. The service page features announcements of the most anticipated events: season premieres, exhibitions, performances, and concerts, including those as part of city festivals scheduled for the upcoming weekend. Tickets can be purchased directly through the service. For events requiring personal data to buy a ticket, entering last name, first name, patronymic, and visitor information is not necessary: if the user has a standard or full account, it is enough to leave the document selection field set to the default value — Mos ID. Mandatory fields must be filled in manually if the account is simplified.
When booking tickets for young guests through the service, all data must be entered only by the accompanying adult. For children under 14, only the last name, first name, patronymic, and date of birth can be specified; it is not necessary to show the child’s document when attending cultural events. In addition, authorized users will be able to open QR codes of tickets in the mobile applications “My Moscow”, “My ID” and “Moscow State Services.”
Learn about performances, concerts, exhibitions, and other interesting events on the official channels of “Mosbilet” onmessengers “Max” and “Telegram”.
Please note; This information is raw content obtained directly from the information source. It is an accurate account of what the source claims and does not necessarily reflect the position of MIL-OSI or its clients.