Michurinskiy Garden
The Michurinsky Garden of the Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy is more than a green space in Moscow; it is a unique scientific center where fruit crop varieties for central Russia have been developed and tested for over half a century. The garden was established in the autumn of 1939 on nine hectares at the initiative of Professor Pyotr Shitt and Candidate of Sciences Boris Anzin. In 1976, under Professor Mikhail Tarasenko, the area was expanded to 20 hectares. The garden is named for Ivan Vladimirovich Michurin, the founder of domestic scientific breeding. It lies between Timiryazevskaya Street and Dmitrovskoye Shosse on a gentle south‑facing slope. The soils are sod‑podzolic (weakly podzolic), and the microclimate resembles that of the southern districts of the Moscow region, allowing the cultivation and study of crops typical of warmer areas. The garden contains one of Russia’s most important fruit‑plant collections: apples – 191 varieties and hybrids; pears – 167 varieties; hundreds of berry varieties (gooseberries, strawberries, currants); and dozens of varieties of plums, cherry plums, cherries, sweet cherries, apricots, and nut crops. The garden is an integral part of the academy’s educational program. Horticulture and agronomy students complete practical training here, while postgraduates and faculty conduct research. It is an experimental site where new agricultural technologies are implemented. Key research directions include breeding pears, cherry plums, sweet cherries, and apricots for winter hardiness and yield; variety testing and adaptability assessment; studies of rootstocks (dwarf and vigorous); methods to increase winter hardiness; and collaboration with Russian and international research centers. For gardening enthusiasts, the garden offers seedlings and cuttings adapted to the Moscow‑region climate, specialist consultations, and a visual demonstration of successfully cultivating southern crops (apricots, sweet cherries) in the central belt. The Michurinsky Garden is a cultural heritage site of federal significance. Its collection was assembled over decades, and its loss would be an irreplaceable blow to Russian science. Today the garden combines historical heritage with the latest breeding achievements. It is a living monument to domestic agronomic science, where past traditions serve the future and new varieties help gardeners achieve harvests even under challenging climatic conditions.
Address: Moscow, Verkhnyaya Alleya, 4A, building 1
