From a shaman's tent to a 19th-century pharmacy: 9 cool museums in Russia that you might not know about
Miscellaneous / / February 16, 2022
The Tretyakov Gallery and the Armory are undoubtedly beautiful, but there are interesting museums outside of Moscow as well. We've rounded up a few must-see places.
1. Museum of the archaeological tree "Tatar settlement" in Sviyazhsk
The history of Tatarskaya Slobidka began in 2010, when archaeological excavations were carried out on the island of Sviyazhsk, not far from Kazan. The researchers found the remains of buildings of different years, leather shoes, dishes and other ancient items. Due to the high humidity of the soil, the finds are perfectly preserved. There were so many of them that the authorities of Tatarstan decidedNew place. Museum of Wood Archeology in Sviyazhsk / Indus create an archaeological museum of wooden buildings on the site. There are only two of them in the world - the second one, Berestye, is located in Brest.
Household items, tools, children's toys, jewelry and other antiquities were placed in glass showcases around the perimeter of the museum. But the wooden exhibits were placed in the center on three tiers, dividing them into time intervals: on the lower one - objects of the 16th century, on the middle one - of the 17th century, on suspensions - of the 18th century. Moreover, houses, stumps and pavements are exactly in the places where they were found. It turned out to be a historical cut in the truest sense of the word.
2. Museum of the World Ocean in Kaliningrad
Learn the history of ethnography, look at representatives of the underwater fauna, take a walk on ships - all this can be done in the Museum of the World Ocean. It will not be possible to get around all the objects and buildings in a day, because some of them are located outside Kaliningrad: in Svetlogorsk, St. Petersburg and the village of Zalivino. But the main pavilions are gathered in one place - on the embankment of Peter the Great. Entrance to each is paid separately.
The main building will appeal to those who love underwater fauna: there is a collection of sea mollusk shells and aquariums with fish from cold and tropical seas. The Vityaz motor ship and the B-413 museum submarine will allow you to feel like a sailor for a while and visit the cabins, galley and wheelhouse. And in the storage building you can see the Depth exposition: in addition to specialized equipment, there is a skeleton of a sperm whale, a carcass of a giant squid and a mock-up of a whale's heart.
3. Museum "Angara Village" in Bratsk
This open-air museum is located on the banks of the Bratsk reservoir. The area of the territory is as much as 35 hectares, so it will take several hours to inspect all the exhibits.
The "Angara Village" consists of two sectors - each has its own type of settlement. First, Russian, appeared here back in 1979 and includes more than 30 authentic monuments of wooden architecture of the 19th–20th centuries. Huts and estates were brought here from the Angara settlements, which were supposed to go under water after the construction of the Bratsk hydroelectric power station. In order to convey the spirit of that time as accurately as possible, the old buildings were supplemented with a number of reconstructions: summer baths, a water mill and other important buildings for the village were erected. You can look at the houses not only from the outside: inside in the huts they have collected collections of old household items, furniture and clothes.
In the second sector there are plagues and shaman tents Evenks - one of the indigenous peoples of Siberia. In the museum, all the buildings are close, but in reality the Evenk dwellings were located much further from each other. Between the exhibit houses there are hunting traps, shamanic symbols and traditional burials. The creators of the "Angarskaya village" tried to minimally interfere with the landscape of the territory, so the Evenki sector is located in a dense pine forest.
4. Museum "One and a half rooms" in St. Petersburg
The private museum-apartment of Joseph Brodsky was opened in the house where the poet lived with parents for 17 years - until forced emigration. The name “One and a half rooms” was given to the museum due to the fact that the poet’s family got too large according to Soviet standards. living space - in the 1950s, a family of three was entitled to a room measuring 27 square meters, and they received as many as 40 squares.
The museum consists of two parts: the actual Brodsky room and the exposition space. The visit starts from the last. There you can drink a cup of coffee, read a book (the library contains works that Brodsky himself read) and watch fragments of the poet's favorite films on Soviet TV.
The next room is empty: there is no furniture, the layers of wallpaper and parquet that appeared after the Brodskys have been removed from the walls and floor. The museum team deliberately took this step and decided not to recreate the interiors from random items picked up at flea markets. The main thing here is the space itself, designed to convey the feelings that the poet experienced after the room was given to other tenants.
5. Exhibition complex "Ataman" in Taman
"Ataman" is a life-sized Cossack village of the late 18th - early 20th century. The exhibition complex was placed on the site where the first Kuban Cossacks settled in 1792. Unlike the Angarsk Village, there are no truly old buildings here, but the exteriors and interiors were created with an attentive attitude to history.
The museum consists of 48 courtyards, each of which tells about different moments in the life of the Cossacks. On the territory there is a central square, an apiary, a smokehouse, a mill, a market, huts of a fisherman, a weaver, a priest and a barber. Here you can look at the interior decoration of houses and real antiques shared by the inhabitants of the Kuban.
In addition, Atamani shows traditional rituals and folk dances, sings Kuban songs, demonstrates horse riding and conducts master classes. For example, you can learn how to weave a herbal doll, pickle vegetables according to Kuban recipes, and create a beeswax candle.
6. Tula Historical and Architectural Museum
TIAM is a museum complex in the historical center of Tula, consisting of three sites. In the first, the house of the pharmacist Kraft, exhibitions are held. The second site is the Belyavsky House. There is a permanent exhibition "Old Tula Pharmacy" here. The theme for the exhibition was not chosen by chance. At the end of the 19th century, Ferdinand Belyavsky's pharmacy was opened in this house: it was known throughout the country and worked until 2011. Now there are pharmacy equipment of different years, such as a scarifier, books and recipes, measuring cups and jars, in which ready-made medicines were placed in the 19th century. And there is also a microscope, looking through which, you will see a savvy flea. Connecting these two houses is the third platform - the museum courtyard. Concerts, master classes, fairs, performances and concerts are held there.
There are many cool museums in the regions, and these are not always private or local projects. Museums of federal significance are also enough. In addition, many institutions based in Moscow are looking to open branches in other cities to support the evolving museum culture.
So, in the next few years in Tula, their representative offices will open three federal museums: the State Central Theater Museum. Bakhrushin, the Polytechnical Museum and the Andrei Rublev Central Museum of Ancient Russian Culture and Art. All of them will be located in the historical center and will present there part of the works from their funds.
7. Museum-apartment "Altes-Haus" in Kaliningrad
Like Room and a Half, Altes-Haus is a museum-apartment, but in a more familiar way. It is located in the historic district of Amalienau, in the apartment of the merchant Gustav Grossman and completely repeats the interiors of his home. The purpose of the museum is to allow the visitor to travel back to the beginning of the 20th century and see how they lived in Königsberg before the Second World War.
Inside, the creators tried to accurately recreate all the details. To do this, they searched for authentic furniture and household items in old attics, flea markets and European auctions. What could not be found was restored from photographs of those years. Objects in Altes-Haus can not only be viewed from afar, but also touched.
8. Yeltsin Center in Yekaterinburg
The Boris Yeltsin Museum tells about the recent history of Russia and the political biography of the country's first president. At the same time, he will captivate even those who do not like the history of politics. The abundance of interactive elements is responsible for this. For example, the August putsch is told in a pavilion stylized as the room of a simple Soviet man. On TV, as in August 1991, there is Swan Lake, and when you answer the phone, you can hear an alarmed monologue. A grocery store window, a clothing store, a Soviet trolleybus and the president's office have also been recreated here. The Yeltsin Center also has an art gallery, a cinema hall and an educational center where public lectures and master classes are held.
9. Zarya Center for Contemporary Art in Vladivostok
Primorsky "Winzavod" (it was named after inspiredCulture virus in Vladivostok: what Zarya has changed / Strelka Mag when decorating the museum) was opened in 2013 on the site of the former Zarya garment factory. Just like Moscow, this exhibition center consists of several pavilions. Immersion in contemporary art begins on the street. There are several sculptures and graffiti from Russian and foreign authors, for example, "Primorsky cedar" by French street artist MioSHe. Then you can go to a large or small exhibition halls. Until 2025, in the small hall you can watch The Dream of Dawn, a retrospective of exhibitions, performances and other major events that took place in the museum.
In addition, lectures, master classes, film screenings are held on the territory of the center, there is a library where you can read non-fiction about the history of art or modern prose. The main thing is that everything listed in Zarya is available for free.