Off the Beaten Track
Kristall
A former main distillery has moved to a new residence in the suburbs, while the historic building was converted into a multi-functional complex. If you are interested in metamorphoses of the Russian factories, this is a good place to start your tour. By the way, the retail center for Kristall distillery’s products is still in operation and offers great products for even better prices.
Artplay
Artplay is a product of a very typical Moscow trend – in just a few years the former industrial zone has become home for cream della cream establishments. Here, the British school of design neighbors Moscow Cinema Institute; sales people from a luxury furniture salon buy their lunches from the falafel cart around the corner; bearded men in checkered shirts and young girls on roller-blades are rushing to attend the lecture on conscious thinking.
Winery
Perhaps it is the lingering aroma of wine permeating the building walls that made the former Winery so alluring but no artist can resist the temptation of opening either a gallery, a show-room, or a tiny work shop here. Behind each wall, each door and each cubical divider you can feel the spirit of creativity.
Arma
This is the first industrial complex that has gone through the entire cycle of evolution in modern Russia from the abandoned gas plant, to photo-studios and show-rooms, bike paths, and mirrored glass of business centers.
Vagankovskoye
As many other Moscow burial places, Vagankovskoye cemetery was founded during the plague epidemics in the late 18th century. It houses the impressive family vaults of eminent Russian industrialists, mass graves of soldiers killed during Russia’s war with Napoleon, and the tombs of innocent victims of the Nord-Ost terrorist attack.
Novodevichy
If you want to see where your last resting place would be were you a famous Russian – go to the Novodevichy cemetery. The oldest cemetery in Moscow dating back to the 16th century, it is closed for burials officially; If you are lucky enough to be buried here, you will be in excellent company of Mikhail Bulgakov, Vladimir Mayakovsky or Boris Yeltsin.
Vvedenskoye Cemetery
The German cemetery in Lefortovo emerged at the German settlement, which was under control of Franz Lefort, one of the favorites of Peter the Great. Franz Lefort brought into Russia a lot of talents from his home country, who found their final resting place at the Vvedendkoye cemetery. Up until the 20th century only Catholics and Lutherans were allowed to be buried here.
