This tour takes you to the Museum of Political History. Once a love nest of the famous ballerina Kshesinskaya, this charming style moderne house was occupied by the Bolsheviks in 1917 and turned into their headquarters. In 1955 it was made into the Museum of the Great October Socialist Revolution, and, with the fall of Communism, its collections were redesigned to reflect the Russian political history without the bias of propaganda.

You will learn how the Soviet system was shaped, how it degenerated into a bureaucratic dictatorship and what were the reasons for its imminent collapse in late 1980s. The museum’s exhibition comprehensively covers all aspects of life in the Soviet Union, providing a unique insight into what happened behind the Iron Curtain.

The museum visit will be followed by the walking tour of revolutionary sites and memorials, including such stops as the House of Convicts and the Monument to the Victims of Soviet Repressions, Field of Mars memorial to the Revolutionaries, the Palace square, the first Soviet Secret Service headquarters and several more.