A photo exhibition-a guide to the streets of Moscow will open on Arbat

On September 10, 2025, the photo exhibition "Funny walks in Moscow" will open on Arbat Street — a bright, kind journey through the capital. The exhibition will jokingly tell the audience that behind every unusual name of the streets and squares of the city lies a story, sometimes true, and sometimes similar to a fairy tale. The exhibition was prepared by the Moscow Department of Culture, the Moscow Directorate of Mass Events and the editorial office of Wili Vinki (AST publishing house).

The photo exhibition "Funny Walks in Moscow" is based on the book of the same name by Lev Alekseevich Tokmakov, People's Artist of the Russian Federation, author of children's books.

"Lev Alekseevich was born in the Urals, he came to study in Moscow very young. And Moscow accepted him, trained him, raised him, helped him discover and realize his talent, and became his native home. The author's work "Funny Walks around Moscow" is his gratitude to the city, a declaration of love for Moscow, from the bottom of his heart," says Lidiya Vasilyevna Tokmakova, Lev Tokmakov's granddaughter.

The idea of the book appeared back in 1997, when the country celebrated the 850th anniversary of the city of Moscow. Then a new subject "Moscow Studies" appeared in the school curricula, which aroused great interest among the children. Letters from young readers containing the most unexpected questions related to the history of Moscow flooded into the editorial office of the children's newspaper Pionerskaya Pravda. However, the dry and strictly scientific answers turned out to be too boring for the guys. Then Lev Alekseevich was connected to the work and things went well. In his illustrations, the artist combined the funny and sometimes erroneous judgments of schoolchildren related to the history of Moscow, and he did not forget about the scientific explanation.

Today, as 28 years ago, Muscovites and guests of the capital of all ages will be able to get to know the city better through the vivid book illustrations by Lev Tokmakov at the Funny Walks in Moscow photo exhibition.

The funny illustrations on the stands not only amuse, but also educate. Why is Zubovskaya Square so called and did dentists live there? Which Slavs traded at the Slavic Bazaar, and is it true that in the old days they sold various pickles at Solyanka? These and many other questions can be answered at the outdoor exhibition.