Exhibition of Moscow’s Achievements Opens at Gostiny Dvor
The annual festival “Territory of the Future. Moscow 2030” has begun in Moscow, dedicated to the capital’s development, modernization plans, and contemporary urban life. During the first weekend after the opening, one of the flagship venues at Gostiny Dvor was visited to explore how the city’s future is envisioned by the Moscow government and whether this vision aligns with residents’ perceptions.
The exhibition organizers aimed to showcase the scale of changes taking place in the city
The theme of the exhibition at Gostiny Dvor is “Endless Development with Eternal Values.” The first “eternal value” visitors encountered was a half-hour queue at the entrance. On Saturday evening, the line stretched from the corner of the building on Ilyinka to the central entrance.
Upon entering, visitors realized they had come in from the wrong side—the main entrance, where the exhibition chronologically begins, is on the opposite side of Varvarka Street, through beautiful arches with slogans like “Moscow—City of the Future.” This entrance was so unfamiliar to Muscovites that there were no queues there on Saturday. Yet, even from the “wrong” side, another Moscow “value” was immediately noticeable. “Oh, the scale!” exclaimed one woman upon seeing the enormous human figures several stories tall installed at the center of the exhibition. Equally gigantic hands seemed to part the curtains of the exhibit, making passersby uneasy as their heads barely matched the size of a pinky nail on these hands.
Those who entered from the “correct” side (from Varvarka) were greeted by staff with guidebooks explaining each zone of the exhibition. Unsure if anyone would actually read them, they invited everyone to join guided tours.
The tour guide introduced visitors to the exhibition’s concept, paraphrasing the words of a Moscow vice mayor about creating a space where people could briefly escape daily chaos.
All this unfolded against the backdrop of a massive installation called “Windows of Opportunity.” The composition featured a wall with illuminated windows, each symbolizing opportunities available to Muscovites. Mannequins—gray figures—climbed ropes toward these windows, representing people striving for these opportunities. Windows labeled “Moscow longevity,” “new skills,” and “successful career start” were easier to reach than those near the ceiling, such as “new healthcare standards,” “education,” and “digital services.”
In the technology zone, among flashing statistics about hospitals and schools renovated in recent years, models of unfinished buildings were displayed. Visitors could see, for example, the future appearance of the renovated Sklifosovsky Research Institute and new colleges under construction. Representatives even promoted enrollment on the spot, highlighting high employment rates and industry partnerships. But younger visitors were more intrigued by other things—a first-grader bombarded a college student with questions about operating subway cars and “building cars,” though the student later admitted he actually studied tourism.
The “health” zone was the most crowded.
One display discussed proper nutrition. A cross-section of an overweight man showed soda cans where his heart should be, while a fit athlete’s heart was hidden behind steak-shaped ribs. Nearby, “Moscow’s Health Rules” advised positive thinking, social connections, adequate sleep, and stress avoidance. One visitor laughed while photographing the rules: “Good thing they don’t fine you for breaking these—they’ve been replacing asphalt outside my window all summer, so sleep’s been impossible.”
The main attraction was the “Human Body” museum, with a queue stretching across the second floor. The exhibit, now modernized to show common diseases on half the organs, took visitors on a journey from mouth to rectum—much to teenagers’ delight. “Look, smoker’s lungs, smoker’s tonsils!” they giggled.
Few made it to the “knowledge” zone afterward.
Here, visitors answered 21 test questions—like “Would you go on a business trip to Africa?” or “Which juice has less sugar?”—or guessed which image was AI-generated. Results showed strong adaptability and digital literacy but weak critical thinking.
The exhibition ended with beanbag chairs full of children clearly more interested in jumping than urban planning. Adults reflected in the adjacent library-café. One elderly woman lamented the lack of historical Moscow in the futuristic displays, while her husband optimistically suggested she could pass on the
