The estates of Zakharovo and Vyazemy in Odintsovo District are considered Alexander Pushkin’s poetic home. Pay a visit to the area, and you can stroll through these historic parks along the pathways that the great poet himself once walked.
Pushkin spent his childhood at Zakharovo, while at Vyazemy— the former estate of the Grand Dukes Golitsyn, also visited by Boris Godunov, Field Marshal Mikhail Kutuzov, and Napoleon — the poet first met his future wife Natalie. The nearby village of Dunino was home to the Russian and Soviet novelist and travel writer Mikhail Prishvin. His house has been turned into a museum full of his personal effects, and even his vintage Moskvich car has been preserved.
The fierce, forbidding romanticism of war is celebrated in Patriot Park near the town of Kubinka. This vast park, covering a territory of 54km2, comprises a display of military hardware, a “partisan village” with real dugout dwellings, and numerous other surprises. If you wish to, you can also join a basic military training course or fire small arms on a shooting range.
The unusual landscape on the outskirts of Odintsovo can be appreciated in the Lazutinka Park of Sport and Leisure, which also boasts recently laid roller ski paths. And that’s not the only way to stretch your muscles here—there are also tracks for running (including over rough terrain), Nordic walking, and mountain biking with elements of dirt jumping.
Getting there:
Take a commuter train from Moscow’s Belorussky Railway Terminal to Golitsyno. From there catch a bus or fixed-route taxi to the “Institut” stop for Vyazemy, or the “Zakharovo” stop for Zakharovo and Patriot Park.