Museum Marks 85th Anniversary: Ekaterinburg History Museum Showcases Highlights from Remarkable Eras
The Historic Yekaterinburg Museum's 85th Anniversary Bash
This year, the Museum of History of Yekaterinburg (MIE) is turning 85, but Yakov Sverdlov, a key figure in the museum's inception, is celebrating his 140th birthday and the museum's original memorial museum commemorating him, marking 30 years since adopting its current name. And they're pulling out all the stops! The institution is hosting a grand Forum of City Museums welcoming big-shots from Moscow, Yaroslavl, Novosibirsk, Tomsk, and Dagestan. On June 3, the House of Kachka main building playfully opens its doors to the crowd for an "It's Not Harmful to Dream" exhibition, delving into the museum's very own history.
Igor Pushkarev, the museum's director, explains that this introspective event aims to have an "honest conversation" about how heroes' altars in history sometimes crumble when the heroes themselves change. He stresses that it's a story about believing in oneself—about the hard work, searching, and perseverance displayed by museum workers all these years.
From Underground to the Presidential
The exhibition begins symbolically with an opening time of 6 PM, just as Klavdiya Novgorodtseva, Sverdlov's widow, started the memorial museum in his name in 1940. Guests are greeted by a labyrinth of historical periods, each room representing a different era in the museum's existence, all with their distinct atmosphere and style. First up, a pair of rooms dedicated to Yakov Sverdlov himself, echoing the underground school for agitators-propagandists led by him in the building's attic space during the early 20th century.
The museum shifted gears drastically during the Great Patriotic War, changing with the times. A quote from Novgorodtseva on a stand sums it up: "I was here at its opening in 1940, saw the intended plan of work, but in 1941, it was completely abandoned, both inside and out. People had gone to the front, and the museum's good workers had gone to the front." After the war, museum veteran and holder of the Order of the Red Star, Mikhail Klepinin, stepped in, breathing new life into the institution with a fresh coat of paint, well-deserved repairs, and a renewed focus on exhibition work.
In subsequent years, leaders shifted the focus to enriching the collections through creative means. "The Sverdlov Museum initially had a very modest number of exhibits. Museum staff corresponded with various archival organizations and museums, trying to obtain copies of documents, as there were very few originals in the institution. To overcome this, they commissioned a grand artistic and sculptural cycle clarifying the brief for artists involved, featuring big names like Mosin, Melentyev, Chesnokov, and Zinov...", says the exhibition's curator, Svetlana Bulatova.
These paintings are now a part of the museum's collections. However, many need restoration, and visitors can only catch glimpses of them on media screens. Genuine artifacts belonging to Sverdlov himself, donated by his widow in 1960, are showcased nearby.
Later rooms reveal the museum's exhibition dedicated to the 250th anniversary of Sverdlovsk and the unrealized project for a presidential center.
"To mark Sverdlov's 50th anniversary, the museum's new director, Zoya Zimina, envisioned constructing a grand memorial presidential center. Architectural drawings reveal a quarter filled with galleries, including one for industrial Sverdlov art, a lecture hall, restoration workshops, and an internal landscaped courtyard filled with monumental artworks," says Bulatova.
Dreams from Hermitage to Las Vegas
A section devoted to the 1990s is not to be missed. During this tumultuous time, Yekaterinburg (and its museums) were hustling to survive. Recall the unusual 'Hermitage in Las Vegas' commercial project? Interesting, right? Well, if the Hermitage could flirt with the casino, what could smaller regional museums expect?
The Newspaper of the Region once wrote about a groundbreaking museum festival taking place.
The exhibition, rich with pictures, videos, installations, and interviews, not only showcases the MIE's journey over the years but also offers glimpses into forgotten dreams, like the unrealized "Noah's Ark" wax museum. The first wax figure was made by Airat Tukhtamyshev in 1992, followed by busts of Catherine II, members of the Romanov family, and Yemelyan Pugachev. These figures became part of the museum's collection and can now be enjoyed at the jubilee exhibition.
In the exhibition, a section dedicated to the 1990s showcases the MIE's journey, including the unusual 'Hermitage in Las Vegas' commercial project, which was a challenging time for Yekaterinburg's museums. The exhibition also reveals forgotten dreams, such as the unrealized "Noah's Ark" wax museum, where the first figures were made by Airat Tukhtamyshev in 1992, and are now part of the museum's home-and-garden collection on display at the jubilee exhibition.
Later rooms in the exhibition highlight the museum's exhibition dedicated to the 250th anniversary of Sverdlovsk and the unrealized project for a presidential center, which envisioned constructing a grand memorial presidential center with galleries, a lecture hall, restoration workshops, and an internal landscaped courtyard filled with monumental artworks, reflecting the museum's aspiration for a grand lifestyle.
