Russia then and now
A Moscow tour guide's Russian-language channel on how cities changed: then-and-now photo pairs, pre-revolution photography and lost buildings of Moscow and Nizhny Novgorod.
What it is
"Rossiya togda i seichas" ("Russia then and now") is a Telegram channel by a Moscow tour guide, with historical notes about Russia and above all its capital. The signature format is the then-and-now pair: an old photograph next to the same view today. The author runs walking tours and sometimes announces them, but most of the feed is photos and the stories behind places. Captions are in Russian.
Why we picked it
Then-and-now is a simple trick that almost always works, and here it is done with care. In September 2026 the author put together two sets of 20 comparisons using the work of pre-revolution photographer Gubarev, and invited readers to guess the spots, promising hints if they got stuck. Then came Khitrovka's labour market in 1913, where people stood waiting for work, located by the fire tower of the Myasnitskaya station. There was the "Ship House" in Zaryadye with tiered open galleries, filmed by Eisenstein in Strike before it vanished. And Shekhtel's apartment building for the Moscow Fire Insurance Society, with its lost interiors.
The channel reaches beyond Moscow too, with the All-Russian Exhibition of 1896 in Nizhny Novgorod and the city's Annunciation Square, now Minin and Pozharsky Square, before and after it was rebuilt. There are occasional cross-promotion posts listing other history channels, easy to skip.
Where to start
- Find the two then-and-now sets built on Gubarev's photos and try to guess the locations.
- Read the post about the Ship House in Zaryadye, a building that no longer exists.
- Look at the Nizhny Novgorod posts about the 1896 exhibition.
- If you're in Moscow, check the walking tour announcements.
Who it's for
Moscow residents and visitors who want to see familiar streets differently. Lovers of old photography. Anyone planning a walk around Nizhny Novgorod who wants to know what stood where. The photos work for everyone; for the stories you'll need Russian or a translator.
Quick answers
Is it only about Moscow? Mostly, but there are posts about other cities such as Nizhny Novgorod.
Are there ads? The author promotes his own paid tours and occasionally posts lists of other channels.
Where do the photos come from? The old ones are archival, including work by pre-revolution photographer Gubarev, set next to present-day views of the same spots.
