VDKh (Vystavka Dostizheniy Narodnogo Khozyaystva), translated as the Exhibition of Achievements of National Economy, is a massive permanent trade show and expansive park complex in Moscow, Russia, originally conceived in the Soviet era to showcase and glorify the economic and technological successes of the USSR’s various republics and industries. The site is famed for its grandiose Stalinist architecture, monumental pavilions each dedicated to a specific sector or Soviet republic (like the iconic Uzbekistan Pavilion), and socialist realist sculptures, most famously the “Worker and Kolkhoz Woman” statue, serving as a sprawling monument to Soviet ambition and propaganda.

More than 7.5 million people have visited the VDNKh museum and exhibition cluster since the beginning of the year. This was announced by Moscow Deputy Mayor Natalia Sergunina.

The Deputy Mayor of the capital said that there are more than 30 museum and exhibition sites at VDNKh, which feature more than 6,500 exhibits. This allows visitors to explore the structure of a modern city, see works of art and cinema, and learn about the diversity of nature and culture among different nations.

In order to make it more convenient for guests, different locations were combined into five thematic routes: “Technology”, “Society”, “Art”, “Ecology” and “National Cultures”.

The Cosmonautics and Aviation Center, the Atom Museum, the Mock-Up of Moscow pavilion, and the Slovo Museum of Slavic Writing were popular at VDNKh among residents and guests of the capital. Since the beginning of the year, the first facility has been visited by 430 thousand people, the second – 800 thousand citizens and tourists, the third-475 thousand guests, and the fourth – 151 thousand citizens.

Among the temporary exhibitions, the most popular was the exhibition in Pavilion No. 1, Central. 120,000 people visited the Tretyakov Gallery’s project, which concluded in July. In turn, the exhibition “The Image of Moscow in Russian Art from the Collection of the State Russian Museum,” which opened in September, attracted 74,000 visitors.

In addition, residents and guests of the capital can visit the VDNKh museum and exhibition cluster with a guide who will tell them interesting facts about the country’s main exhibition and its exhibits. For example, since the beginning of the year, they have conducted about 13,000 tours, which have been attended by 175,000 citizens.

In addition, 150 new excursion programs have been developed since the beginning of the year, which are dedicated to both the exhibitions and the complex’s territory.

In the near future, the capital authorities want to prepare new exhibitions and develop the Biocluster, which was opened this year and already has two pavilions: Pavilion 31 “Geology” and Pavilion 29 “Floriculture and Landscaping”. In the future, they plan to create four more facilities, including an orangery with tropical plants.

Earlier, Sergei Sobyanin told that the restoration of the facades and roof of Pavilion No. 62 “Nature Protection”, which is a cultural heritage site of federal significance, has begun at VDNKh. It will be given its historical appearance.

The building was constructed in 1954. The mayor recalled that the pavilion was created to introduce visitors to the diversity of construction products and typical architectural details. Later, it became the venue for the All-Russian Society for Nature Conservation. In the 2000s, it housed a center for author’s songs, and in 2017, it became the International Ballet Center.