Ostankino and Kuskovo State Museum and Nature Reserve

The Kuskovo Memorial Estate is a fine example of the 18th century architecture and park landscaping. The estate originally owned by the Sheremetev family as a summer countryside residence. Kuskovo is first mentioned in documents dating from the beginning of the 16th century. First it was a small boyar estate only about seven kilometers from Moscow. The land was not good for cultivation, and was thus of little economic significance. The estate was however an ideal hunting ground, and it even attracted the attention of the Tsar. In 1715 the Kuskovo estate was bought by Count Borisn Sheremetev from his younger brother Vladimir. The elder Sheremetev was a well-known Field Marshal in the times of Peter the Great, a hero of the battle of Poltava, and a companion-in-arms to the Tsar. He was later given the title of count. His son and heir Piotr Sheremetev after the marriage to Princess Varvara Cherkasskaya in 1743 became one of Russia's richest noblemen.