Vysotsky House-Museum on Taganka
Vysotsky House-Museum on Taganka is the only place entirely dedicated to the memory of the great Soviet poet. It is here that admirers of Vladimir Semyonovich Vysotsky’s work come from all over Moscow and other cities. The museum is really interesting and informative: on 500 m² dedicated to the poet and actor, there are 16 interactive installations, 879 exhibits and 324 unique art objects.
Video: Vysotsky House Museum
ContentsHistory of the Vysotsky Museum
After Vysotsky’s death in 1980, there was an idea to create a museum in his honor. In the theater on Taganka, where he worked, began to come letters and proposals from fans, there also sent exhibits for the fund of the future museum. On January 16, 1989, the Council of Ministers of the USSR issued an instruction to create a museum, and in the summer of the same year, the Executive Committee of the Moscow City Council organized the Directorate for the creation of the SCSM V. S. Taganka. С. Vysotsky.
.The residential house No. 3 of the Lower Tagansky dead end was chosen. The poet never lived here, but the building is the embodiment of the image of the house, about which he wrote: “all the windows face the ravine, and the gates on the roadway.”
Since 1996, the director of the museum is the poet’s son Nikita Vladimirovich Vysotsky. In the same year, the reconstruction of the building and filling the premises began..
In 2018, a gorgeous renovation was made here. Many rooms were remodeled completely, new exhibits were added. The museum itself became more modern, thanks to the equipment of advanced technology. There are rumors that famous actors and pop stars invested money in the repair. For example, after the repair Leonid Yarmolnik gave a small interview as an advertisement. It is not known for certain whether singers and actors really sponsored the modernization of the museum.
.What to see
Those who were in the House Museum before the renovation should definitely come here again. This is no longer the State Museum of Vladimir Vysotsky that it used to be. And those who have not been here yet, but appreciate the creativity of the poet and actor, will be able to get acquainted with his life in interesting details. It is here that one can find out “where are my 16 years” and “where is my black pistol.”
.Room #1 – first meeting
It is impossible to pass by the two-story building, a huge portrait of Vladimir Semyonovich hangs on the wall. Inside the building, tourists are greeted by a foyer, which has a checkroom, a ticket office and a kiosk with tickets. Then there is a passageway to the initial interactive hall.
.The first thing one notices upon entering the room is a huge long screen that looks like a radio tuning line. Each notch represents the years of the artist’s life. Visitors can twiddle the tuning knobs. When the pointer hits a certain year, songs, stories about the events of that time in the country and the life of the actor are played. Stylization under the radio perfectly harmonizes with the entourage of the whole hall.
.There are also several exhibits from Vladimir Semyonovich’s childhood. Many of them are placed behind glass, but they can be perfectly examined. In the corner there is a stylized Soviet dryhuar. If you turn the knob, you can hear Vysotsky’s early songs. The sound comes from the hemisphere itself, which means you have to sit down and stick your head through the sushuar to hear everything.
.The light in the hall is dimmed, mostly the exhibits are illuminated. This helps you not to miss anything important. There are many interactive screens, projectors hanging from the ceiling. Everywhere you look, everywhere there is something interesting, you want to go around, listen and see everything!
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Hall #2 – Vysotsky’s theatrical activities and cinematography
Even before entering the second hall, on the way one comes across a curious room furnished exactly like the one in which Vladimir Semyonovich lived on Malaya Gruzinskaya Street. In the living room there is a sofa, an armchair, a carpet, a working television set. On the sideboard there are icons, a service and backgammon. And by the imitated window there is a reel-to-reel record player. For those who have not seen the life of that time and those who are interested in the environment in which the poet lived, the room is worth a visit.
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In the second hall, tourists are greeted by handwritten documents and interactive screens. From them you can find out in what plays and performances the actor participated. Screens allow you to watch videos and fragments of movies. Playbills are well preserved, not faded, by them you can understand how highly Vladimir Semyonovich was appreciated and what scale of popularity he was.
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If you return to the hall dedicated to cinematography, you will notice a staircase leading upstairs. After climbing it, the guests of the museum get to the cinema hall, which often shows movies with Vysotsky and clips where he ever participated. Behind the chairs of the cinema hall there is an installation with the singer’s posthumous mask.
Hall #3 – only music and songs
The fastest way to get there is by subway to the metro station “Taganskaya” (ring), and from there it takes only 5 minutes to walk to the House-Museum itself. After leaving the subway, you should turn left, then go around the “Taganka Theater” on the right, and then turn left onto Vysotsky Street.
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