Moscow Circuses—Above and Beyond
.jpg "Great Moscow Circus")
Many people love the circus—it can be magical, joyful, and spectacular. You can see unthinkable things, such as gravity-defying tightrope walkers or tamers kissing a lion unscathed! Almost every big city has its own circus, and Moscow is no exception—its circuses have a long history and are well-known all around the world.
Founded in 1880, the Old Circus on Tsvetnoy Bulvar is the oldest circus in the city. Since its earliest days, big-name artists have put on first-class shows here to great success. To mention just a few of those illustrious names: the circus’s founder Albert Salamonsky and the Truzzi family won glory as circus riders, Leonid Kostuk and Alexey Sarach were famous tightrope walkers, Nadezhda Drozdova and the Panteleenko family did aerial gymnastics, and Sarvat and Olga Begbudi were known as wild-animal tamers.
The Old Circus's speciality has always been its unrivalled clowns, such as 'Sunny clown' Oleg Popov, 'the clown with autumn in his heart' Leonid Engibarov, 'Karandash' ('The Pencil') Mikhail Rumyantzev and Jury Nikulin ('Jurik'), for whom the circus was named after his 15-year directorship. Today, run by his son Maxim Nikulin, the Old Circus is as glorious as always. It remains innovative while holding true to its great traditions, showcasing tightrope walkers, wild-animal tamers, gymnasts, acrobats, clowns—everything to make you joyful and happy!
Tickets from 1500 rub
The Great Moscow Circus was built in 1971 and seats more than 3,000 spectators at once. It is also full of technical innovations, including a mechanism for changing its themed arenas—cavalry, icy, aquatic, illusionary and illuminated—within five minutes. Brothers Edgar and Ascold Zapashny have run the circus since 2011 and serve as its director and art director, respectively.
They belong to a famed circus dynasty and specialise in big cats: tigers and lions. Their shows are spectacular, highly orchestrated, eccentric, and even provocative. The Zapashny brothers have all the essentials—high-class acrobats, jugglers, gymnasts, tightrope walkers, circus riders, and animal tamers (including the Zapashnys themselves). The shows change every season and regularly tour various towns and abroad. Given how easily the Zapashnys deal with their big cats, you can imagine how easily they will grip your attention and keep you riveted until the end of the performance!
Tickets from 1500 rub
Text by Olga Nozdrina, first-year master’s student of ‘Contemporary History Studies in History Instruction at Secondary Schools’, intern at the HSE University English website team