New places and revival of traditions: VDNKh in 2021

New exhibition and educational spaces were opened at VDNKh in 2021. Visitors had educational, cultural and sports programs in the course of the year. Excursions, lectures, film screenings and master classes were held for city residents and tourists. 

“VDNKh is one of the largest cultural and historical clusters in Moscow. Thanks to the revival program after the period of decline of the 1990s, the exhibition became a major point of attraction over again. People come here to have a walk, play sports, get acquainted with the architectural heritage, get new knowledge and impressions,” said Natalia Sergunina, Deputy Moscow Mayor.

She noted that among the exhibition’s main events of the last year were openings of the Soyuzmultpark and the Business.Technograd training center for entrepreneurs, as well as instituting Golden Sign of VDNKh award.

Novelties of the year

New VDNKh facilities accepted guests for the first time in 2021. Among them are the Soyuzmultpark multimedia center with interactive attractions based on Russian cartoons, the Floriculture ecological and educational center, where one can learn about flora and fauna.

The new Museum of Moscow Transport houses The Dream of a Muscovite exhibition. And the Museum of the Special Purpose Garage of the Federal Guard Service of Russia presents over 50 unique auto and motorcycle exhibits.

The educational cluster has a center for teaching entrepreneurial skills and competencies — Business.Technograd and The School of Bakers.  Forest Industry pavilion No. 17 was restored to its historical purpose after the renovation — the Forest interactive gallery was opened there. The restored Metallurgy pavilion No. 11 (former Kazakh SSR) houses the exhibition and trade center of the Republic of Kazakhstan, and the House of Museums became a platform for displaying private collections from all over Russia.

The Golden Sign of VDNKh award was instituted last year. It is awarded for achievements and significant contribution to developing the exhibition. Thus, the tradition of encouraging individual craftsmen and labor teams for successes and advanced developments, that existed at VDNKh from 1939 to the 1990s, was revived.

The novelty of the 2021 summer season is a historical flower garden close to the Vostok carrier rocket in Promyshlennosti Square, it was replicated from photographs of the 1960s. In addition, VDNKh presented for the first time guidebooks to the places where roses and lilacs bloom. Besides, over two million tulips, scylla, daffodils and other bulbous plants, about a million perennial and annual flowers were blooming here in the course of the year.

The number of trees and shrubs planted at VDNKh and in Ostankino Park has increased almost fourfold in 2021, compared to 2020. The ceremony of planting the newlyweds garden took place in autumn — 40 couples who registered their marriage in the Wedding Palace at VDNKh, planted family cherry trees. The garden was laid in 2019, for the 80th anniversary of the country's main exhibition.

Other events of 2021 to be remembered

Several familiar details of VDNKh have also changed in 2021. For example, the famous Yak-42 aircraft was turned into an interactive museum where one can make a training flight on the flight simulator.

During the restoration inside the National Education pavilion No. 2, three decorative inscriptions were found under a layer of plaster — elements of the pavilion interior decoration of the 20th century. The finds will be restored according to the original finishing of the 1950s, and presented to guests.

A new navigation was arranged in the VDNKh territory helping guests navigate faster, attend interesting events and keep abreast of the latest news. It includes over 250 elements: interactive columns, digital screens, navigation structures at the entrance checkpoints, large overview maps, columns with a five-minute map.

The number of electric scooter parking stations doubled in 2021. During the season, visitors traveled hundreds of thousands kilometers on rented conventional and electric scooters, bicycles, ecotaxis and velomobiles. Besides, the largest capital’s skating rink was reopened at VDNKh in November — this season’s theme was Magic Winter.

Throughout the year, VDNKh hosted events dedicated to the anniversaries of the country's main space achievements, such as the 60th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's flight and the 50th anniversary of launching into orbit the first ever manned Salyut station. The Cosmonautics and Aviation Centre organized a large thematic program: online excursions, lectures, performances, film and cartoon shows, Space Lessons with cosmonaut Hero of Russia Fyodor Yurchikhin and a special project dedicated to the World Space Week. 

Last spring, the Cosmonautics and Aviation Centre became the venue for the first All-Russian dictation concerning space. In addition, VDNKh and the Cosmonautics Museum launched a joint project in December — the Space Crew family quest. 

Event programs

The Inspiration international festival of arts was held for the first time twice a year — in winter and in summer. More than 120 theatrical premieres, theatrical performances, live art performances and master classes were shown. Rostec Drone Festival, an international drone racing festival, was held at VDNKh for the first time ever.

One could visit both permanent expositions of various projects and temporary exhibitions: dedicated to space, history of cinema and fashion, science and technology, photography. Over 50 concerts and performances took place on the open-air stage of the green theatre, more than 80 were held at the VDNKh House of Culture, and 450 theatrical performances were shown and three premieres were released at the Fairy Tale Theater. 

Traditionally, the Knowledge.VDNKH. cultural and educational project was organized.

Regular concerts on the open-air stage of the Computer Engineering and Informatics (former Azerbaijan SSR) pavilion No. 14 became a novelty — about 300 of them were performed.

In 2021, over eight thousand excursions were conducted within VDNKh’s own museum and exhibition projects — the Buran interactive museum complex, the Cosmonautics and Aviation, Slovo centers, and the VDNKh Museum. 

Sports events and master classes were held at the main exhibition of the country during the year. The VDNKh Cup in extreme sports was held for the first time: participants competed in skateboarding, wakeboarding, scooter and bicycle sports, and in the Sputnik Criterion group race. The BigWall center at VDNKh became the venue for the Moscow Climbing Festival for the second year in a row.

The premieres of the exhibition calendar were the Travel!, Technosreda forums, the Green City festival of flowers and eco-products, the Big Ocean international festival.

Muscovites and guests of the city visited special VDNKh programs on Defender of the Fatherland Day, March 8, Cosmonautics Day, Victory Day, Russia Day, Family Love and Fidelity Day, Father's Day, National Unity Day, Mother's Day, Constitution Day.

On August 1, the main country’s exhibition turned 82 years old. More than 300 events were prepared for this holiday at 50 venues. VDNKh organized a program in honor of the 874th anniversary of Moscow on September 11 and 12.