Sokolniki
The tsars’ hunting park
A large park, the Rusakov Club by the architect Konstantin Melnikov and a station on the first metro line. The district is named after the settlement of the tsar’s falconers.
Photo: Qweasdqwe · CC BY-SA 4.0
About the district
The name comes from the Sokolnichya Sloboda, home to the tsar’s falconers. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich liked to hunt in these woods.
In the 19th century the Sokolniki grove became a favourite place for Muscovites’ outings, and the fan of straight cuttings radiating from the central circle still defines the park’s layout.
In 1935 the first Moscow metro line started here, running from Sokolniki to Park Kultury. In 1959 the park hosted the American National Exhibition, scene of the famous “Kitchen Debate” between Khrushchev and Nixon.
- Okrug
- Eastern Administrative Okrug
- Status
- District
- Population
- 60,852 (as of 2025)
- Area
- 10.2 km²
- Stations within the district
- 2
Population is from Wikidata as of the date shown; the area is calculated from the OpenStreetMap boundary; stations are listed by their position inside the boundary.
What to see
Sokolniki Park
A historic park with radial cuttings, Fountain Square and a rose garden.
Rusakov Workers’ Club
Konstantin Melnikov’s masterpiece (1927–1929), with auditorium cantilevers projecting over the street.
Church of the Resurrection
An early 20th-century neo-Russian church by Sokolnicheskaya Square.
Sokolniki station
One of the stations of the first metro line of 1935.
Where to walk
- 01
The radial cuttings
Walk from Fountain Square along the Mayskiy or Meshchersky cutting into the woods.
- 02
Rose garden and Small Circle
Flower beds and summer cafés near the main entrance.
- 03
Putyayevsky Ponds
A chain of ponds in the northern part of the park.
Architecture
Sokolniki is above all a park: long alleys, ponds, a rose garden and woodland that merges smoothly into Losiny Ostrov National Park.
Rusakov Club
An avant-garde icon: architecture expressing the function of the auditorium.
Church of the Resurrection
A many-domed church built with funds from local residents.
Park pavilions
Exhibition halls recalling the international fairs held here.
Transport
The Sokolnicheskaya line links the district with the centre in a few minutes. Sokolniki station has an interchange with the Big Circle Line.
On the transport mapDid you know
- 01
The district’s name is linked to the tsars’ falconry.
- 02
The first metro line of 1935 began at Sokolniki station.
- 03
In 1959 the park hosted the American National Exhibition.
Photo gallery
Sokolniki, Moscow: photograph from Wikimedia Commons
On the map
Boundaries: © OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL. Boundary from OpenStreetMap, November 2026.