Collectors’ Club, Moscow Transport Museum Automatic translate

On October 1, 2025, a joint exhibition between the Moscow Transport Museum and Ilya Zibarev, a vintage car collector and founder of the Soviet Toy Museum, will open in Pavilion No. 26 at VDNKh. A Moskvich-433 car, a Skif-M1 trailer, and other items from his collection will be on display. The exhibition opening will be the first event in the Moscow Transport Museum’s new project, "Collectors’ Club," which will feature joint exhibitions with collectors, an exploration of the history of private collections, interviews and podcasts with the project’s participants, and open lectures and discussions. At the same time, the Moscow Transport Museum will open a "Collector’s School" for adults and children.

"At the request of Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin, we are continuing our large-scale program to preserve the city’s transport heritage. We collaborate not only with city organizations but also with private collectors who restore unique cars and motorcycles. At the new exhibition at the Moscow Transport Museum, city residents will be able to see rare cars and vintage toys and learn more about the capital’s transport history," said Maxim Liksutov, Deputy Mayor for Transport and Industry.

The exhibition will center on a 1969 Moskvich-433 cargo van — the first vehicle in Ilya Zibarev’s collection and one of the most elegant commercial vehicles of the USSR — and a 1989 Skif-M1, a tourist "dacha trailer" awarded a silver medal at VDNKh and a symbol of unaffordable luxury due to its high price and scarcity. The display will also feature a Tulitsa scooter, a children’s pedal-powered Moskvich, a racing "Putysh" (a "Dutysh"), a pedal tractor from the collector’s childhood, and a Volga ride-on. Also on display will be Soviet printed materials from the Moscow Transport Museum collection, archival photographs, and specially created video footage. The exhibition architecture was created by dpt.

Ilya Zibarev is known as a vintage car collector and the founder of the Soviet Toy Museum, which has preserved over a thousand toys, most of which are transportation-related. His automobile collection includes over forty vehicles, including a special place among his "time capsules" — authentic, low-mileage vehicles preserved in pristine condition.

The exhibition concept centers on the figure of the collector and his collection: his motivations, principles of selection, and preservation. The exhibition will connect Zibarev’s personal story with the history of objects — from cars to toys — that shaped ideas about transportation and design during the Soviet era. Archival materials, interviews, and photographs will reveal the collector’s journey, and objects from his private collection will be presented with an emphasis on their technical, cultural, and aesthetic value.

"Transport enthusiasts and collectors are the curators, restorers, researchers, and promoters of transportation culture. Their keen interest in this topic inspires others. With the emergence of transport museums, preserving transportation heritage, which previously fell to them, has become one of the museum’s most important tasks. With the help of the Moscow Transport Museum Collectors’ Club, we want to combine the experience and passion of car enthusiasts with the expertise of a cultural institution in representing collections to present the broadest possible view of our country’s transportation history. Our "Collectors’ Club" is also a meeting place for a wide variety of collectors: art and vintage car collectors, philatelists, and second-hand book dealers, with whom we plan to meet regularly and create new exhibitions," added Oksana Bondarenko, Director of the Moscow Transport Museum.

The Moscow Transport Museum’s "Collectors’ Club" project aims to foster interaction between the museum and private collectors, restorers, and transport enthusiasts. The project focuses on individuals who preserve unique knowledge, rare objects, and a personal connection to history. The club will feature exhibitions, interviews and podcasts with club members, lectures and discussions, and an exploration of the history of private collections. The club’s schedule of events is available on the website.

Along with the Club’s first exhibition, the "Collector’s School" for adults and children is launching. This six-week evening course is designed for aspiring private collectors, museum professionals, and art historians who want to develop a systematic approach to creating and publicly presenting a collection of any object. The course program will include six modules. Over the course of five sessions, participants aged 9 to 12 will learn how to collect, describe, preserve, and present their own collection, exploring the role of curator. At the end of the course, they will present their collections at a mini-exhibition. Learn more about enrolling in the "Collector’s School" on the website.

Admission to the exhibition is with a ticket to the "You Look Your Best!" pavilion. A full ticket costs 550 rubles. A concessionary ticket costs 350 rubles. Age limit: 0+.

The Moscow Transport Museum’s Collectors’ Club website: https://mtmuseum.ru/zibarev

Address: Moscow, Prospekt Mira, 119, building 26 (pavilion of the Moscow Transport Museum at VDNKh)