State Museum of the History of Literature, Art, and Culture of Altai

The museum was founded on September 8, 1989. The founder and first director was Tamara Ivanovna Varaksina (1939–2012).

The museum is located in a noble urban estate from the first quarter of the 19th century, which is a cultural heritage site of regional significance.

The main areas of the museum's activities are the history of literature, music, theater, and cinema, as well as fine, decorative, and applied arts, and the folk art of Altai.

The museum's collection comprises about 94,000 items. Its core includes the personal collection of the writer, director, and actor V.M. Shukshin; the family collection of the artist, scientist, and public figure N.K. Roerich; the collection of the Siberian writer G.D. Grebenshchikov; and other personal collections of writers and figures from theater, music, and cinema. The museum also holds thematic collections dedicated to the activities of theaters, concert organizations, and other cultural institutions of the Altai Krai, as well as valuable collections of manuscripts and early printed books, icons, rare musical instruments, and more.

As a promoter of achievements in the culture and art of Altai, the museum is actively involved in publishing, exhibition, and educational activities. It holds major cultural events, literary readings, and creative meetings with cultural and artistic figures, offering visitors a variety of themed tours, lectures, concerts, and historical-cultural educational programs.

Permanent Expositions

The museum's exhibition complex consists of 13 permanent displays and 2 exhibition halls, reflecting the historical and cultural processes in the Altai territory from Scythian times to the present day.

Museum Expositions

1. Culture of the Ancient Peoples of Altai

The exposition presents materials from the excavations of the Pazyryk and Bashadar kurgans—Scythian burials from the 5th-3rd centuries BC, conducted by archaeologist S.I. Rudenko from 1929–1954, which brought worldwide fame to Altai. The uniqueness of S.I. Rudenko's excavations lay in the permafrost lens that formed in the kurgans, ensuring the preservation of items made from organic materials: leather, fur, felt, wool, and wood. The display includes part of S.I. Rudenko's scientific archive: archaeological artifacts, books, proofs of scientific articles, photographs, and drawings reproducing the main complex of finds from the Pazyryk and Bashadar kurgans, as well as graphic and painted works by excavation participants N.M. Rudenko-Suntsova and V.M. Suntsova. The archaeological section is complemented by ethnographic materials on the traditional culture and beliefs of the peoples of the Altai Mountains.

2. From the History of Orthodoxy in Altai in the 18th–20th Centuries

This exposition features items from the museum's collections of icons, manuscripts, and early printed books, representing the rich heritage of the region's Orthodox culture from the mid-17th to the early 20th century. It showcases unique painted icons, both imported and locally made, monuments of Old Believer copper-cast plastic art—folding icons and crosses—as well as handwritten songbooks with neumatic notation, theological and polemical collections, books of Holy Scripture, and hagiographic literature. The main display is supplemented by fragments of church vestments, temple utensils, and documents and photographs detailing the activities of the Altai Spiritual Mission.

3. The Entertaining Izba: Daily Life and Holidays of a Russian Home

This exposition introduces visitors to the origins of folk culture, customs and traditions, and the family life and household of peasants, which reflect the moral foundations of the Russian people. The display recreates a peasant's izba (log house), whose arrangement was simple, concise, and followed unchangeable rules. It features authentic peasant household items: tools, wooden, clay, and birch bark utensils, embroidered towels (rushniki), homespun runners, cast-iron pots, gingerbread molds, oven forks, spinning wheels, and a butter churn. A special feature is that visitors can use interactive exhibits to independently understand the structure and purpose of some peasant household items. The exposition is complemented by contemporary works from Altai Krai folk masters who continue to support and develop folk art traditions.

4. Altai – The Greatest Estate in the World. (From the History of Culture of the Altai Mining District, late 18th – early 20th c.)

The writer Alexander Cherkasov, who served as the mayor of Barnaul from 1884-1890, first called the Altai district "the greatest estate in the world." With this definition, he emphasized the special status of Altai, whose main natural resources and mining enterprises were under the jurisdiction of His Imperial Majesty's Cabinet and were the property of the Russian crown. The exposition focuses on the development of culture in the Altai district, which was promoted by mining officers—graduates of the Mining Cadet Corps. The distinctive features of enlightened Barnaul in the 18th century included an Opera House, an orchestra, its own music school, a museum, and a library. A special page in Altai's history was the opening of the Kolyvan Polishing Factory in 1802, whose artistic works became high examples of stone-cutting art. Over time, the cultural landscape of the Altai district underwent significant changes due to the revitalization of public life in the 1880s-1890s and the emergence of numerous charitable, cultural, educational, and scientific societies, clubs, assemblies, and People's Houses, which became the main centers of culture. The exposition presents materials illustrating the vibrant cultural life of Barnaul in the early 20th century, related to performances by local amateur stage artists and touring musicians and theater troupes.

5. From the History of Education in Altai, late 18th – early 20th c.

This exposition reveals the features of the origin and development of schooling in Altai, starting with the opening of the first school in Barnaul in 1753 and the emergence of primary mining schools. Special attention is given to the Mining School, which from 1785 provided professional staff for the mining enterprises of the Altai Mining District. A new stage in the development of education in Altai began in the 1880s and was directly linked to the enlightener V.K. Shtilke and the activities of the Society for the Care of Primary Education, which are given special attention in the exposition. The display includes documentary materials on the activities of educational institutions in Altai: state and private gymnasiums in Barnaul and Biysk in the early 20th century. Among the exhibits are textbooks, school supplies, graduation certificates, honor rolls, and photographs of gymnasium students.

6. World Cultural Figures in Altai: N.K. Roerich. G.D. Grebenshchikov

The exposition is dedicated to the life and work of the outstanding artist, thinker, and public figure Nicholas Roerich (1874–1947), as well as the fate and creative heritage of the writer, journalist, and advocate of Russian culture, Georgy Grebenshchikov (1883–1964), who was born in Altai and whose name is known both in Russia and abroad. N.K. Roerich and G.D. Grebenshchikov, who found themselves outside Russia after the October Revolution of 1917, never broke their spiritual ties with their homeland. In 1926, as part of the Central Asian Expedition, N.K. Roerich visited the USSR and Altai, routing his expedition to the foot of Mount Belukha. The main thing that connected these people was Altai, their reverence for its wealth and beauty, respect for its past, and belief in the great future destined for this land. The exposition is based on materials from two of the museum's largest collections—the funds of G.D. Grebenshchikov and the Roerich family: memorial items, priceless manuscripts, letters, documents, rare editions, and unique photographic materials.

7. The Literary Heritage of Altai

The exposition presents a panorama of Altai's literary life over more than two centuries. The completeness of the picture of the literary environment's formation in Altai is recreated considering the influence of writers known in Russia and worldwide (F.M. Dostoevsky, V.Ya. Shishkov, V.V. Bianchi, A.S. Novikov-Priboy, etc.), who by fate visited Altai, as well as writers born in Altai who never forgot their small homeland (R.I. Rozhdestvensky, A.P. Sobolev, etc.). The main section is dedicated to the literature of the Soviet period in Altai. A large exhibition complex is dedicated to V.M. Shukshin and includes unique manuscripts, lifetime and posthumous books from domestic and foreign publishers, rare photographs from the albums of Shukshin's mother, Maria Sergeyevna, and the writer's personal belongings.

8. The White Hall

The White Hall is the epicenter of the museum's cultural life, hosting all the most important and significant events. It serves as a venue for art exhibitions, diverse artistic programs, costume balls, creative meetings with cultural and artistic figures of Altai and Russia, scientific conferences, new book presentations, literary readings, and other events. The architectural appearance and acoustic properties of the hall make it attractive for chamber concerts of classical music. The hall features unique musical instruments from the museum's collection (a grand piano, spinet, harpsichord, harmonium, and a piano with a folding keyboard), which are not only exhibits but also participants in historical and cultural events.

9. A Message from Heart to Heart. From the GMIKA Postcard Collection

This exposition introduces visitors to the museum's collection of Russian and foreign art postcards, which numbers over 8,000 items dating from the 1890s to the 2000s. More than a third of the collection consists of open letters published in the late 19th – early 20th centuries. The display includes pre-revolutionary postcards printed by typographies in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kyiv, Riga, and other cities, including Siberian ones, as well as foreign-made postcards. For a century and a half, the postcard has been valued not only as a convenient form of mail but also as a special, unique type of graphic art, amazing in its variety of execution techniques, genres, and types.

10. Musical Culture of Barnaul

The exposition presents musical instruments, sheet music, posters, rare documents, and photographs reflecting the most significant events in the history of musical performance and education in Barnaul. The materials highlight the history of the first orchestra and music classes at the Kolyvan-Voskresensk battalion in the 1780s-1890s, the creation of the Second Siberian Choral Society, and the emergence of the first educational institution in 1917—the People's Conservatory (later the Workers' and Peasants' Conservatory, and from 1926, a music school). A separate section is dedicated to the appearance in 1939 of Barnaul's first concert organization—the Concert and Variety Bureau, which was transformed into the Altai Krai Philharmonic in 1944. The exposition features materials about many musicians and professional performance groups whose work left a deep mark on the musical culture of Barnaul and the Altai Krai.

11. Theatrical History of Barnaul in the 1920s–1980s

This exposition highlights the main events of Barnaul's theatrical history during the Soviet period and includes materials on the activities of professional theaters in the Altai Krai: the V.M. Shukshin Altai Krai Drama Theater, the V.S. Zolotukhin Altai Youth Theater (Altai Krai Young Spectator's Theater), the Altai State Musical Theater, and the "Skazka" Altai State Puppet Theater. The display presents an extensive collection of documentary and photographic materials, stage costumes, and theatrical props. A large section is dedicated to the art of puppetry and features puppets by artists B.A. Shcherbakov, S.V. Stolyarov, and A.L. Tolmachev, as well as artistic posters for performances and models of stage sets.

12. Altai in Domestic Cinema

The exposition reveals the most important and memorable pages of cinema history in Altai, starting with the first film screenings in Barnaul in 1897 and the first film distribution organizations, thanks to which cinema became the most popular art form in the 1910s–1920s. A large part of the exposition is dedicated to filmmakers who chose Altai as a location for their feature and documentary films. The display features a gallery of portraits of actors and directors whose work is a source of pride for their fellow countrymen and many connoisseurs of domestic cinema. Among the well-known filmmakers are director and screenwriter, People's Artist of the USSR Ivan Pyryev; Honored Artist of the RSFSR Ekaterina Savinova; Honored Artist of Russia, actor Alexey Vanin; People's Artists of Russia Valery Zolotukhin, Alexander Pankratov-Cherny, and Nina Usatova; and film director, People's Artist of Russia Vladimir Khotinenko, and many others.