Updated for September 2026
The Best Zoos in Russia
How this list is ordered: by how complete our listing is — how much we hold on opening hours, ticket prices, accreditation, photographs, animals and facilities. It is a measure of our own coverage, not a judgement of the venue. We hold no visitor scores or conservation assessments, so “best” here means every zoo in Russia that qualifies for the list, fullest entry first.
Listed alphabetically
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Keeper talk or showChild friendlyGuided tour
Kaliningrad Zoo
Zoo in Калининград
The Königsberg zoological garden was founded in 1896 at the urging of a university professor, its backers including the dentistry-trade businessman Hermann Claass alongside other entrepreneurs, scientists, artists and municipal staff. It passed to the Soviet city in 1945 after the German surrender. It is grouped with the Moscow zoo of 1864 and the St Petersburg zoo of 1865 as among the oldest.
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Московский зоопарк (Moscow Zoo)
Zoo in Moscow
Dating from 1864, it is among the oldest zoos in Europe and the sixth largest in Russia by area, behind those of Yaroslavl, Rostov-on-Don, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk and Perm. Its collection numbers 1267 species and 10531 individuals, and with up to 3.8 million people a year it ranks among the ten most visited zoos worldwide. It holds the status of Russia's lead zoo, hosts the headquarters of the Euro-Asian zoo and aquarium association, and takes part in international work on the rehabilitation, reintroduction and captive breeding of rare species.
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Mobility equipment loan
Perm Zoo
Zoo in Пермь
Dating from 1933, it held over 3,000 individual animals as of 2023, with 182 of its species appearing on international, Russian or Middle Urals red lists. At least 300,000 people come each year. Threatened animals are bred on site and the young passed to other zoos, and guided tours carry an environmental education programme.
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Rostov Zoo
Zoo in Ростов-на-Дону
The zoo takes part in 38 conservation programmes for rare species and belongs to the ISIS animal records network. Its extensive parkland is widely used locally for recreation, and the plantings carry protected status as a natural monument.
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Guided tourEducation program
Tula Exotarium
Zoo in Тула
Founded on 27 September 1987, it now holds one of the largest snake collections anywhere, at 497 species and subspecies, and ranks eighth for total species among the zoos of Russia and neighbouring states. About 80,000 people visit each year. A second display, on tropical forest life, opened on 8 December 2018.
Our ranking methodology
This is not a ranking. The 6 venues above are listed alphabetically by name, the same order used throughout this site. We do not collect visitor reviews, star ratings, ticket-sales figures or a conservation-impact score, so none of those exist here to rank by — “best” in this page’s title means every venue that qualifies for this list, not first-to-last by quality. If we ever add a data source robust enough to support an honest ranking, this note and the order above will change together.