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Cars of the World
I invite you to join me for a leisurely stroll through the “Automobiles of the World” museum—the largest collection of vintage cars in Moscow. It is located on the grounds of the former “Kristall” factory, a site famous for its widely known products: vodka, including brands such as “Stolichnaya.”
The distance from it to the Kremlin is 3.5 kilometers in a straight line, but on foot or by car it is twice as far.
The museum first opened in 2005 under the name “Motors of October” (*Motory Oktyabrya*). The name might seem like a provocative reference to the October Socialist Revolution, but in reality, it is derived from the owner’s surname: Oktyabrsky.
I have several reasons for choosing to showcase this particular museum. First, it is truly expansive: spanning 7,000 square meters, it houses around 3,000 exhibits, 150 of which are automobiles. Second, today happens to be the museum’s birthday! And thirdly, the exhibits have bilingual signs, so I won’t have to struggle with translation, which takes a lot of time and doesn’t bring much pleasure.
The fact that this is an old, former factory—built at the beginning of the last century—is evident both from the outside and from the inside.
I like this kind of architecture.
I visited it twice—in November 2022 and April 2025. It’s worth noting that, while the name and outward appearance have remained the same, these are actually quite different museums. Man, if they keep changing like this, I’ll have to go back and visit them all over again every two or three years.
But the essence and spirit of the museum have remained.
The entrance does not disappoint.
I don’t have a need for it myself, but I should mention that there is a designated smoking area. You can take your time there, enjoying the sight of “techno-khokhloma”—or, if you prefer, some modified park sculpture.
The foyer, however, also leaves a pleasant impression.
There’s even a snack bar there, it seems, but I didn’t have the time or the energy for it.
As for the restroom, I did end up going in. And it didn’t disappoint.
On my first visit, I was simply dazzled and overwhelmed by the gleam of chrome, glass, and polished hoods!
You aren’t immediately dazzled upon entering, as the older, more faded exhibits have been placed at the beginning.
And all the glitter was located a little further away.
However, it is still enough.
And if in 2022, as part of a separate sub-exhibition, sports cars were on display,
but now I somehow haven’t come across them. At the same time, the largest hall was completely fenced off. According to a local staff member, an exhibition/composition on a racing theme is being formed in this hall, with a probable bias toward Formula 1. Perhaps everything has migrated there.
Whereas previously the small cars were part of the general exhibition…
Now they have been allocated to a separate room with an additional fee.
There are no more stands with naive Soviet toys,
as, incidentally, with everything else Soviet.
The partially dismantled “kozlik” [GAZ-69] remained firmly in its place.
and Fordzon continues his garage repairs, just as before.
This time, however, I managed to get a better look at the “crazy stool” I’d spotted during my first visit.
A little later, according to a random schedule, I will begin to meticulously and tediously bring you photographs of individual exhibits of this wonderful museum.
To be continued…