"Nowhere near Moscow were there places with landscapes so typically and touchingly Russian," admitted writer Konstantin Paustovsky, who lived in Tarusa for many years. Roman Denisov / Global Look PressThis idyllic spot became a favorite among artists in the late 19th century. Viktor Borisov-Musatov, Vasily Vatagin and Vasily Polenov all visited there. Animal painter Vasily Vatagin first visited the town in 1902: he liked it and its surroundings so much that he decided to settle there. *You can learn more about Tarusa's resident artists during the ‘Tarusa Expeditions’, a guided tour project organized by the ‘Maslovka: Town of Artists’ museum center.