Circuses

The Russian circus originates in the art of old vagabond artists — the skomorokhs. Circus arts were known to the citizens of ancient Moscow. The performances were given both by travelling actors and by the residents of the Skomoroshki (the intersection of the BolshayaDmitrovka street and the Stoleshnikovlane). The best of them performed in the “PoteshnayaPalata” hall built specifically for the purpose in 1613 at the court of Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich. Circus entertainment was provided during fairs and festivals on the Devichye pole, NovinskyBulvar, in Sokolniki, MaryinaRoshcha, and later in booths and menageries.

In the spring of 1764 Muscovites got acquainted with the mastery of the English jockey — equestrian stuckmeister, as it was then called — Jacob Bates. In the second half of the XVII century foreign jockeys Samson and Mory performed in Moscow, and the most renowned PetreMaillet. He came to Moscow in 1794 with a group of 24 jockeys and 30 horses. In the XIX century Moscow was visited by the famed groups of Tournier, Guerra and others.

In 1884 the “stallmeister of the Turkish sultan” Frenchman Soulier erected an amphitheater on the Lubyanka square and gave performances. The writer M. Zagoskin who was the director of the Moscow Imperial Theaters aided in building a summer chapiteau in Moscow that opened its doors in 1830 in the Neskuchny Sad. Twenty years later one more summer circus was opened in the Hermitage garden which was located in those days in StarayaBozhedomka (now the Durovstreet).

The first stationary circus was constructed by V. Novosiltsev in 1853 in Petrovka (nowadays the site of the TSUM mall). One more fixed facility was built in 1869 by K. Ginne in Vozdvizhenks (this circus existed for 30 years).

The history of Moscow circuses of the XIX–XX centuries is linked to the Nikitiny brothers. In 1883 during the festivities on the occasion of the coronation of Alexander III they built in the Khodynka field an amphitheater with two riding halls and a hippodrome that featured “Bedouin races”, “Roman chariot races” and other events.

Currently the circus remains one of the preferred amusements for Muscovites. Nowadays the Russian capital boasts the Nikulin circus in Tsvetnoy Bulvar, the Big Moscow Circus in the Vernadsky Prospekt and the new circus of the dancing fountains Aquamarine in Izmaylovo. In summer artists perform in summer chapiteausin various districts and parks of the city.

Usefullinks

Circuses of Moscow
Culturenews (The Moscow City Department of Culture)
Events calendar and tickets