The State Historical Museum () of Russia is a museum of

Russian history The history of Russia begins with the histories of the East Slavs. The traditional start date of specifically Russian history is the establishment of the Rus' people, Rus' state in the north in the year 862, ruled by Varangians. In 882, Prin ...

located between

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', p=ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːɪtʲ) is one of the oldest and largest town square, squares in Moscow, Russia. It is located in Moscow's historic centre, along the eastern walls of ...

and Manege Square in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. The museum's exhibitions range from relics of prehistoric tribes that lived in the territory of present-day Russia, to priceless artworks acquired by members of the Romanov dynasty. The total number of objects in the museum's collection numbers in the millions.

Description

The place where the museum now stands was formerly occupied by the Principal Medicine Store, built by order of

Peter the Great Peter I (, ; – ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...

in the

Moscow Baroque Naryshkin Baroque, also referred to as Moscow Baroque or Muscovite Baroque, is a particular style of Baroque architecture and decoration that was fashionable in Moscow from the late 17th century into the early 18th century. In the late 17th centur ...

style. The museum was founded in 1872 by Ivan Zabelin, Aleksey Uvarov and several other

Slavophiles Slavophilia () was a movement originating from the 19th century that wanted the Russian Empire to be developed on the basis of values and institutions derived from Russia's early history. Slavophiles opposed the influences of Western Europe in Rus ...

interested in promoting Russian history and national self-awareness. The board of trustees, composed of Sergey Solovyov,

Vasily Klyuchevsky Vasily Osipovich Klyuchevsky (; – ) was a leading Russian Empire, Russian Imperial historian of the late imperial period. He also addressed the contemporary Russian economy in his writings. Biography A village priest's son, Klyuchevsky studi ...

, Uvarov, and other leading historians, presided over the construction of the museum building. After a prolonged competition, the project was handed over to Vladimir Osipovich Shervud (or Sherwood, 1833–97). The present structure was built based on Sherwood's neo-Russian design between 1875 and 1881. The first 11 exhibit halls officially opened in 1883 during a visit from the tsar and his wife. Then in 1894, Tsar Alexander III became the honorary president of the museum and the following year, 1895, the museum was renamed the Tsar Alexander III Imperial Russian History Museum. Its interiors were intricately decorated in the Russian Revival style by such artists as

Viktor Vasnetsov Viktor Mikhaylovich Vasnetsov (; 15 May (New Style, N.S.), 1848 – 23 July 1926) was a Russian artist who specialised in mythological and historical subjects. He is considered a co-founder of Russian folklorist and romantic nationalistic pain ...

, Henryk Siemiradzki, and Ivan Aivazovsky. During the Soviet period, the murals were proclaimed gaudy and were plastered over.

Current activities

Since spring 2007, for the first time in the history of The State Historical Museum, all 40 halls have been open to the public. The museum covers the period from ancient times to the early 20th century and over 1.2 million people visit its exhibitions. The museum is also a major centre for research, science and education. The department's host lectures and seminars, internships, and awards in research and restoration activities. Since the end of 2016, it has been possible to view the exhibition through a virtual tour, which is accessible on the museum's official website. About 30-40 exhibition projects are held annually based on exhibits from the museum's collection throughout Russia. For the 500th anniversary of the

Novodevichy Convent Novodevichy Convent, also known as Bogoroditse-Smolensky Monastery (), is probably the best-known cloister of Moscow. Its name, sometimes translated as the ''New Maidens' Monastery'', was devised to differ from the Ascension Convent, Old Maidens ...

, the museum plans to open an exhibition dedicated to the Russian Orthodox Church. For 2018–2023, a series of exhibitions of the project "National Museums of the World to the Historical Museum" is planned, in which European museums will take part. From March to July 2020, the museum was closed to the public due to quarantine amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gallery

File:Вид на Исторический музей в сторону Красной площади.jpg, Night View File:Moscow July 2011-13a.jpg, View from the northwest File:Государственный исторический музей 2018 01.jpg File:2014 Moscow State Historical Lenin Museum.JPG File:Moscow SHM asv2019-06 img11.jpg, One of the exposition halls File:Военный парад на Красной площади 9 мая 2016 г. (29).jpg, An

Order of the Patriotic War The Order of the Patriotic War () is a Soviet Union, Soviet military Order (decoration), decoration that was awarded to all soldiers in the Soviet armed forces, security troops, and to Partisan (military), partisans for heroic deeds in the Easte ...

being displayed on the museum at Victory Day Parade 2016. File:030529-Moscow-IMG 0819-2.jpg, State Historical Museum, Res Square,

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

File:030524-Moscow-IMG 9879-2.jpg, State Historical Museum, Res Square,

File:030522-Moscow-IMG 8738-2.jpg, State Historical Museum, Res Square,

File:030524-Moscow-IMG 9873-2.jpg, State Historical Museum, Res Square,

File:030522-Moscow-IMG 8780-2.jpg, State Historical Museum, Res Square,

File:030524-Moscow-IMG 9872-2.jpg, State Historical Museum, Res Square,

References

External links

* * WorldWalk.info:
Virtual tour of the State Historical Museum
provided by

Google Arts & Culture Google Arts & Culture (formerly Google Art Project) is an online platform of high-resolution images and videos of artworks and cultural artifacts from partner cultural organizations throughout the world, operated by Google. It utilizes high-re ...

* {{Authority control Museums established in 1872 Buildings and structures completed in 1881 Museums in Moscow National (federal) museums in Russia History museums in Russia Red Square Russian Revival architecture 1872 establishments in the Russian Empire Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Moscow