Moscow Circus

This past weekend we visited the Old Moscow Circus with our friends Stacy & Randol.

The Nikulin Circus is one of the oldest in Russia, and the traditional home of the world-famous Moscow State Circus. The original stone building was founded on Tsvetnoi Bulvar in 1880 and the cost of a ticket for the circus was 350 rubles.

Initially, the circus was most famous for its trick riding acts, but an increasingly wide variety of performers joined, and later the stars of the show became the clowns. In 1946, the Clown Studio was established, and its alumni included the great clown and comic actor Yuri Nikulin, who performed at the circus for over 20 years and became Chief Producer there, as well as starring in a number of extremely popular Soviet-era film comedies.

The circus has been renamed in honor of this much-loved performer, and a statue of him stands in front of the building. Although it's called the 'Old' Circus - to differentiate it from the Big Circus on Prospekt Vernadskogo near Moscow University - it was in fact completely rebuilt in the 1980's, and the building and the auditorium seem more like a theater than a big top, with a plush red interior and comfortable seating.

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I haven't been to a circus in quite some time but it was really fun - a lot of acrobatic shows and the poodle show was by far our favorite!