Moscow Guide
Taganka and Zayauze
Taganka and Zayauze are the beachheads of Moscow's eastward expansion far beyond the Moskva and Yauza rivers, originally led by tsars and nobles who hunted in the forests and built country palaces that now stand marooned amid a tide of concrete. Eastern Moscow may be drab overall, but this area has enough sights and historical associations to justify a dozen forays into the hinterland.
A perennial draw is the Izmaylovo Art Market, whose glut of icons, handicrafts and Soviet kitsch offers the widest choice of souvenirs in Moscow. Nearby are the remains of the royal estate where Peter the Great spent his childhood, after which the district is named. Admirers of the tsar can track down other localities where he trained his "toy regiments" or roistered with the Drunken Synod – at Preobrazhenskoe and on the upper reaches of the River Yauza – but the finest historic monuments are situated in an arc around the Taganka district. There are picturesque backstreets to explore in the shadow of the Stalin skyscraper called the Kotelnicheskaya Apartments – a major landmark on the waterfront. Further out, the Andronikov Monastery is a must for icon-lovers due to its Museum of Early Russian Art, but others may prefer the more atmospheric Novospasskiy Monastery, the half-ruined Simonov Monastery or the Old Believers' Commune.