National Sports Museum

The Sports Museum was founded in 1957 on the eve of the World Festival of Youth and Students. For several decades, it operated as part of Luzhniki Stadium, displaying all the awards, prizes and cups won by USSR sports teams at international tournaments. At the beginning of the new millennium, the museum moved to the center of Moscow, occupying a spacious building, formerly the Razumovsky family's manor. Today, the museum's exhibition space extends over 450 square meters on two floors.  

The exhibition tour begins in a hall dedicated to the origins of Russian sports, displaying cups and objects from the beginning of twentieth century. These include commemorative medals from the first Olympics, as well as a life-size statue of the famous athlete Ivan Poddubny. Further displays are arranged by types of sport: in the hockey hall, visitors can see the Russian team's equipment and trophies from major world tournaments, the fencing hall contains rare swords, sabers and rapiers, and the hall of Olympic glory displays medals from a range of Games over the years. There are also halls for soccer and martial arts. The museum's second floor hosts the "Country of Heroes" — an interactive exhibition telling the stories of athletes who served during the Great Patriotic War, performed feats on the battlefield, or became heroes in sports arenas after the war's end.  

The Museum often organizes meeting excursions, during which winners and medalists from the Olympic Games and World and European Championships tell the exhibits' stories. Athletes also often donate personal items to the Museum's collection, so the collection is continually expanding.

Photo: press materials