This excellent museum displays the traditional crafts, customs and beliefs of more than 150 cultures that make up Russia’s fragile ethnic mosaic. It’s a marvellous collection with particularly strong sections on the Jews of Russia, Transcaucasia and Central Asia, including rugs and two full-size yurts (nomads’ portable tent-houses). Galleries are accessed either side of the magnificent 1000-sq-m Marble Hall, flanked by rows of pink Karelian-marble columns, in which events and concerts are held.
You need to buy an extra ticket to view the treasure room, which has some great weapons and rare devotional objects.