Although somewhat overshadowed by the long-term residents of Novodevichy Cemetery, Vagankovo can still proudly claim the youthful imagist poet Sergei Yesenin, painter Vasily Surikov, Soviet film director Grigori Chukhrai, and Vladimir Dal, lexicographer and folklorist, as well as many famous sportsmen and women. Although a little more cluttered than the other parks and understandably so it is still a beautifully peaceful area to spend a spring afternoon. In the opposite direction from the famous souvenir and flea market lies another silver-birch-stuffed park, Izmaylovsky – supposedly one of the largest in Moscow. With man-made lakes for boating, and the old Cathedral on Silver Island, it gets very busy as summer approaches, and is also home to seasonal festivities such as live music in summer and ice skating in winter.
