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Peredelkino is a dacha colony, surrounded by forest, a little over 20km to the southwest of Moscow. At the height of its prestige in the 1960s and 70s, Peredelkino was the favourite weekend retreat for Moscow's cultural elite. It gained its fame and popularity as a writers' colony, with attention centered on the dacha of Boris Pasternak, the great Symbolist poet and author of Dr. Zhivago. Pasternak ended up living here almost permanently after being offered, and forced to refuse, the Nobel Prize in 1953. He died here in 1960, and is buried among his family in the graveyard next to the village church.
Pasternak's dacha is open to the public as a museum containing the poet's personal effects, including paintings by his father Leonid Pasternak, his collection of Georgian ceramics and his large and eclectic library. Although mostly of interest to fans of the poet, the Pasternak Museum also provides an accurate picture of cultured life in the late Soviet era.
Peredelkino is nowadays more popular with wealthy bankers than with writers, although Patriarch Aleksei's dacha adds something to the village's cultural prestige. As with all this area, Peredelkino is surrounded by attractive pine forest, pleasant for walks or for cross-country skiing in the winter.
Getting there: If you are not part of an organized tour, you can get to Peredelkino by elektrichka suburban train from Kiev Station (Kievskaya Metro Station). The trip takes about 20 minutes. Otherwise, you can book a taxi to take you there and back with an hour or two waiting time for about $50.
Opening hours: The dacha is open Thursday to Sunday from 10:00 to 16:00.
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