MCD-1: great scientists, military history, and parks

Summer is the best season for short trips. For example, on weekend, you can go across the city or even outside the city and explore new places and sites. The Moscow Central Diameters (MCD) include many interesting spots with singular exhibits along the route. You don’t have to buy tickets and plan in advance when using the MCD. Trains run every six or seven minutes and the ride can be paid for by Troika Travel Card.

Part 1 of the guidebook will tell you about MCD-1 stations where you can walk along the grounds once owned by the Yusupovs, deepen your knowledge about airships, and see the hypercube.

Seagulls of Lake Kiovo at Lobnya station

Birdwatching enthusiasts will find the terminal station of MCD-1 very interesting. In the Eastern microdistrict of Lobnya, they can visit Lake Kiovo. It is famous for a large colony of black-headed gulls, which have become a symbol of Lobnya and are depicted in the town arms. Tourists can also feed ducks here.

This place attracts fishing lovers as well. The lake is inhabited by crucian carps and Chinese sleepers, so they can take a rod and go fishing.

Lake Kiovo is a natural monument of federal significance. Swimming here is prohibited, but the beauty around fully makes up for it. The ancient Church of Mandylion is located nearby.

The Yusupovs’ park at Vodniki station

The MCD-1 route is worth taking to visit historical places. For two centuries, the Yusupovs were inextricably linked to the urban district of Dolgoprudny. Yusupov Public Garden got its name after the last owners of the land. In the village of Kotovo, they also built an estate with a park and the Church of Mandylion, which is also a family burial vault. It is open for visitors.

There is an amphitheater in Yusupov Public Garden, offering various events on the Town Day. Visit Kotovsky Bay to enjoy spectacular jet ski performances. It is also a great spot to watch sunsets and plane landings.

You can learn more about the history of these territories in the Dolgoprudny History and Art Museum. It is located at the next MCD station.

Everything about airships at Dolgoprudnaya station

In the 1930s and 1940s, the town of Dologoprudny became the harbor of the Soviet airship industry. The Dirizhablestroy plant was located here (originally the town had the same name) where the famous SSSR-V6 airship was built, setting a non-stop flight record of 130 hours in 1937.  The Dolgoprudny History and Art Museum houses personal belongings of the crew members and fragments of the airship left after its crash.

Visitors can also learn about the construction of the Moscow-Volga Canal near Dolgoprudny. Photographs, maps of the future canal, drawings and paintings by an imprisoned artist, a witness and participant of the grand construction project, will help you feel the atmosphere of those hard years.

Another exposition tells the history of lacquer miniatures. It displays works by artisans from Fedoskino, Palekh, and Mstyora.

Novodachnaya station and personal belongings of great scientists

One of the main attractions at the next stop is the MIPT History Museum. Its exposition tells about the creation of the Institute and its life today.

Some of the exhibits are closely linked to the legendary physicists who worked at the Institute: Pyotr Kapitsa, Lev Landau, Sergei Korolyov, Mstislav Keldysh. Not only their belongings, but also unique documents are displayed including transcripts of lectures by Pyotr Kapitsa and Lev Landau. Other exhibits include materials about MIPT graduate cosmonauts and scientific instruments of the first half of the 20th century received after the war.

Walking and swinging at Lianozovo station

The MCD-1 now takes us to Moscow where you can relax in the open air after visiting museums. At the corner of Uglichskaya and Cherepovetskaya streets, you can find a nice romantic place for walks — the Lianozovsky Promenade. It was built in 2019 as part of My District program. The design was inspired by old dachas — Art Nouveau houses once located here.

The Lianozovsky Promenade is divided into four thematic zones. The entrance from Cherepovetskaya Street opens up illuminated arches with three passages. Right behind them there are unusual swings, similar to those on Triumfalnaya Square. You can also find an open-air museum here — a photo exhibition with old photographs of Lianozovo.

Hypercube and bicycle rides at Skolkovo station

We pass through the center of Moscow and find ourselves in the south-west of outer Moscow, continuing our outdoor recreation. Just a stone's throw from Skolkovo station, there is the Central Park of the Innovation Center — a green area within the city of innovations.

The park can be divided into the business and natural parts. The first one is located near the hypercube. This building looking like a 3D glass maze was the first one to be built on the grounds. The business part also includes an embankment near a big pond, dance floors, pavilions for events.

In the natural part, you can walk with children, do sports, or take a long walk along a 5-kilometer cycling and walking route.

Places of Pushkin and Chekhov at Odintsovo station

At the final stop of our short journey, Odintsovo station, the MCD-1 terminus, you can get acquainted with another town of outer Moscow. Odintsovo Museum of History and Local Lore can be a starting point. It deserves attention not only because of its architecture (the museum is located in an old building of the former brick factory office of Vasily Yakunchikov, a Moscow businessman and well-known philanthropist), but also because of its exposition.

Here you can trace the history of the district from ancient times to the 19th century and explore all the reserved areas associated with the names of literary classics, such as Alexander Pushkin, Anton Chekhov, and Mikhail Prishvin. Here you can also obtain information about the events of the 20th century, the Great Patriotic War, the stages of development of culture and sports in Odintsovo.

Outside the museum, you can see samples of equipment and weapons of the Soviet period and sit in the legendary front-line car Willis-MB.