The final spring month brings a double dose of long weekends, first trips to the dacha, and the anticipation of warmth and summer. And for those who have already bought tickets to Moscow or St. Petersburg, there's also a host of different events – from plays with long queues to the first open-air festivals. We've compiled a selection of events worth checking out, let's go!

Moscow

Letnik Festival

The first of the summer outdoor music festivals will formally take place not even in summer, but on the last three days of spring. They promise as many as six multi-genre stages, a rich interactive program, and much more at a new venue. The lineup includes Toxi$, Slava Marlow, Cream Soda, LAUD, and over 40 (!) more musicians.

Dates: 29-31 May 2026

Ticket prices: from 2,800 RUB

Venue: Yamskoye Pole

Meditation Day Festival

For the third time in Moscow, some of the best representatives of various schools and traditions of meditation methods will gather to tell guests how to use these techniques in everyday life, how to combat stress with their help, and improve mental health. The Om Chanting practice will be led by Sati Kazanova – singer and actress, founder of the Sati Ethnica project. In total, the festival will feature over 40 venues with different directions – yoga, lectures, music, a market, a food court, and more. This event will allow you to get acquainted with mindfulness practices and delve deeper into them, discover something new and useful, and simply have a good time outdoors.

Dates: 24 May

Ticket prices: from 1,500 RUB, free tickets available.

Venue: Tsaritsyno Museum-Reserve

Victory Day at Kinopark

Moskino Kinopark is the largest complex of film sets, so going there for Victory Day is a cool idea in itself. Especially since they've come up with a rich program for the holiday: sports relays, themed master classes, exhibitions, and reconstructions. When you get tired of walking around and looking at everything, head to the food court or field kitchen for lunch.

Dates: 9 May 2026

Ticket prices: from 1,000 RUB

Venue: Moskino Kinopark, Krasnopakhorsky district, block No. 107, Lioznova street

Spring Bike Festival

The main two-wheeled celebration of the year, combining sports, urban atmosphere, and light family recreation. Participants will gather on Academician Sakharov Avenue, where a festival town with children's zones, music, and food courts will operate, and then everyone will head to the Garden Ring in a leisurely general column. This is not a race, but a mass bike ride where you can not only feel the wind in your hair but also see Moscow from a new perspective.

Dates: 24 May

Ticket prices: free

Venue: Sakharov Avenue

Equiros Horse Exhibition

Horse lovers here? There's an event for you this spring in Moscow too: an extensive exhibition, sports competitions, demonstration performances, and spectacular shows. The venue will host a market for riders and horses, a business program with industry experts, and zootechnical events, so it will be interesting for both professionals and amateurs. At the very least, Equiros is an opportunity to see the beauty of various horse breeds.

Dates: 22-24 May

Ticket prices: from 500 RUB

Venue: Bitsa Equestrian Sports Complex, Balaklavsky Prospekt, 33

Source: vk.com/equiros

Exhibition «Symbiosis Vol. 2: Between Matter and Data»

An exhibition-reflection on who we become in the digital world, where biology, space, and data are closely intertwined. It brings together the works of media art pioneer Aristarkh Chernyshev and artist Yulia Nizamutdinova (Julia Cyberflora), exploring the transition from 'cosmic matter' to digital consciousness. The exhibition questions: what defines a person today – origin and biology or the information trail and algorithms around us.

Dates: until 12 May

Ticket prices: 500 RUB

Venue: VS Gallery, Malaya Ordynka St., 19

Source: vs.gallery

Exhibition «Feminine. Fragile»

Not a classical exhibition, but a living journey through the human life cycle, where 'fragility' becomes the key to a conversation about the value of life. Viewers pass through seven hall-chapters, from the first breath to the last and back, experiencing the body, time, and vulnerability as an integral part of existence. Nine authors from five cities have created a space where living decapitated flowers, a birth installation, mirrors of fate, and a 'shining void' beyond the body make one re-experience how precious and fragile every moment of life is.

Dates: until 17 May

Ticket prices: from 500 RUB

Venue: Linda de La, Bersenevsky Lane, 5, bldg. 2

Play «Hamlet»

There's no point in retelling the plot of Shakespeare's tragedy; it's already known to everyone. The peculiarity of this particular production by Andrey Goncharov lies in the lead actor: Hamlet is played by 'our everything' Yura Borisov, an Oscar nominee. So it's worth trying to snatch a ticket if one suddenly becomes available again. Yes, alas, they sold out quickly, but what if luck smiles upon you?

Dates: 14, 15, 20, 21 May

Ticket prices: from 3,000 RUB

Venue: Chekhov Moscow Art Theatre, Kamergersky Lane, building 3, bldg. 1

Source: Getty Images

Onyx Concert

A powerful live hit to the ears and body from one of the most influential hardcore rap groups in hip-hop history. Legendary Fredro Starr and Sticky Fingaz bring their 'The Best of' program to the capital, where the hall explodes with old anthems – Slam, Shut ’Em Down, Last Dayz, Shifftee, and other hits that are still considered the standard of street sound from Queens.

Dates: 3 May

Ticket prices: from 3,000 RUB

Venue: Base, Ordzhonikidze St., 11, bldg. 1

Source: kp.ru

Saint Petersburg

Icebreaker Festival

A grand maritime celebration that opens the summer tourist season and gathers thousands of guests on Lieutenant Schmidt Embankment and English Embankment. Here you can not only admire real Arctic icebreakers up close but also board them, see their structure, listen to the history of the development of the Northern Sea Route, and feel like part of a polar adventure.

Dates: 1-4 May

Ticket prices: free

Venue: Lieutenant Schmidt Embankment

St. Petersburg Craft Event 2026

A large craft culture festival where lovers of good music, artisanal food, local brands, and, of course, craft beverages gather. It's worth going here to try new products from breweries, get acquainted with interesting projects at the market, discover unusual tastes, and simply have a good time in the company of like-minded people. The stage will feature the previously mentioned 'Lyudmil Ogurchenko,' as well as Vasya Vasin with a special program 'Songs of Mike and the Beatles'.

Dates: 16 May

Ticket prices: 1,800 RUB

Venue: Brusnitsyn Cultural Quarter, V.O., Kozhevennaya Line, 30

Source: spbcraftevent.ru

Tulip Festival

One of the most beautiful spring holidays in St. Petersburg, during which Yelagin Island transforms into a blooming garden for several days. This year, guests can expect vibrant floral arrangements, music, master classes, and a warm spring atmosphere, as always. It's especially pleasant that the festival can be combined with a leisurely outdoor recreation and a photo walk: tulips are planted here in entire flower carpets, so each space looks like a separate postcard.

Dates: 16-24 May

Ticket prices: weekdays – free, daytime – 300 RUB, after 18:00 – 150 RUB.

Venue: Kirov Central Park of Culture and Recreation

Yuri Grymov's Art Lecture «Challenge: The Renaissance Era»

A conversation about art and a fascinating dive into one of the brightest and most controversial eras in history. In the format of a live discussion with elements of performance and show, Yuri Grymov will talk about Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Raphael, the secrets that Renaissance masterpieces still hide, and how the Renaissance changed the perception of man, power, and creativity.

Dates: 16 May

Ticket prices: from 700 RUB

Venue: Komissarzhevskaya Theatre, Italianskaya St., 19

Sand Sculpture Festival

Do you want to visit a city carved from sea sand? Where gates and castles, monsters and mythical creatures, fairy tale heroes and vivid plots literally grow before your eyes? Then this festival will definitely appeal to you. At the site in the Alexeyevsky Ravelin of the Peter and Paul Fortress, masters from Russia and other countries will transform piles of sand into huge picturesque figures, and guests will be able to walk through this 'sand park,' examine details, touch the sculptures, and take photos against the backdrop of St. Petersburg's most picturesque bastion.

Dates: from 1 May

Ticket prices: from 500 RUB

Venue: Peter and Paul Fortress

Source: vk.com/pitereshaet

Stanislav Drobyshevsky's Lecture «Diseases of Ancient People»

The famous anthropologist and science popularizer examines what ailments our ancestors suffered from, what can be read in their bones, and why paleopathology helps us understand our modern life. His presentations are always full of interesting facts and amusing remarks, so even if the topic isn't close to you, it's best to get acquainted with the science-pop format in Drobyshevsky's company.

Dates: 24 May

Ticket prices: from 1,800 RUB

Venue: Petrocongress Congress Center, Lodeynopolskaya St., 5

Source: mediomodo.ru

DreamFest

A romantic festival combining contemporary art, references to popular culture, pyrotechnics, and 'wow' effects. They promise a flyboard show, a symphony orchestra performance, and even a historical ball. But perhaps the most beautiful moment is the piano music emanating from the very center of the pond, with the piano illuminated by wish lanterns and a laser show.

Dates: 1-3 May

Ticket prices: from 1,500 RUB

Venue: Yusupov Garden

Source: vk.com/waterlanterns