Moscow Guide
Krasnaya Presnya, Fili and the southwest
The Borodino Panorama
Address: Beyond Kutuzovskaya metro station, near Triumphal Arch
Telephone: 148 19 27
Opening time: Individual visitors are only admitted on Saturdays and Sundays, either in groups formed on the spot (noon–2pm), or as individuals (2.30–6pm); pre-booked groups have the run of the museum from Monday to Thursday (10am–6pm; closed last Thurs of each month)
Price: Individual visitors R160; group rate R2100; photo permit R50, video permit R100
The first of the Patriotic Wars that shaped Russia's destiny is commemorated midway along Kutuzovskiy prospect, beyond Kutuzovskaya metro station; take the exit near the front of the train, turn right outside and head towards the Triumphal Arch 500m away. Shortly before this is the circular blue pavilion of the Borodino Panorama Museum (muzey Panorama Borodinskaya Bitva), inaugurated in 1962 on the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Borodino against Napoleon. Its 115-metre-long circular painting by Franz Roubaud depicts a critical moment in the battle, which occurred 129km west of Moscow on August 26, 1812. Casualties were unprecedented, with forty thousand Russians and thirty thousand French killed in fifteen hours – but neither side emerged the winner. The painting depicts the battle from the standpoint of Russian troops holding the village of Semyonovskaya; Napoleon can be identified in the distance by his white horse. Real cannons, carts and stuffed horses have been placed at strategic points, and there are sound effects.