Colección del Museo Ruso (Russian Museum)
In 2015, the Colección del Museo Ruso, a branch of the Russian State Museum of Saint Petersburg, chose Malaga as a destination to increase its already significant global footprint – and it’s not hard to see why.
The “Russian museum” has welcomed over 40 exhibitions with works from some of biggest names in Russian art, including Vassily Kandinsky, Kazimir Malevich, Marc Chagall, Alexander Deineka and Alexander Rodchenko.
The effects of the war in Ukraine
However, all changed with the start of the war in Ukraine. After the EU imposed sanctions on Vladimir Putin’s Russia for the invasion, the works of art were packed and loaded into large lorries before being taken back to St Petersburg by road.
Since then, Malaga city hall has kept the museum open with exhibits on loan from private collectors.
Malaga’s old tobacco factory
Housed in the outskirts of the city in the Huelin district, the Museo Ruso is located in the magnificent La Tabacalera, a complex of beautiful buildings which used to house the old tobacco factory.
For the last decade, it has hosted the city’s motor museum and, more recently, the city’s Digital Content Hub.
Even if art isn’t your thing, the Huelin neighbourhood is still worth checking out. Walk along Misericordia beach to take in the wide selection of ‘chiringuitos‘ (beach bars) which have a lot more of a local feel than La Malagueta, for example.
The Parque del Oeste is also a stone’s throw away.
Visiting the Russian Museum in Malaga
It’s well worth taking the bus ride from the centre to see the Colección del Museo Ruso. It’s one of the most-visited museums in Malaga.
You can plan your visit here, where you will find information about opening hours and ticket prices.
Daryl is the co-founder of Malaga Guru. He is a copywriter, editor and translator who moved to Malaga a decade ago having first fallen in love with the city on his Erasmus year. After working for many years at local expat newspaper SUR in English, Daryl gained expert knowledge in life from the perspective of foreign residents and decided to co-found this site in 2016.