Primorye is a land of amazing nature, completely unlike in the expanse of the middle zone. It is easy to verify this, even without traveling through Siberia, it is enough to visit the Arseniev Museum in Vladivostok.
The oldest and largest museum in the eastern part of the country is located in the city center, in a building that is also of historical value and deserves close attention.
History of the museum
In 1883, naval mechanic A.M. Ustinov, through the city newspaper Vladivostok, turned to local residents with a proposal to join forces to create a museum. The city was not even 25 years old. People of different ages and estates, but united by love for the Far East, responded to his call. So the Society for the Study of the Amur Territory (OIAK) was formed. In 1884, the future Primorsky State Museum named after K. Arsenyev.
All the time until the opening of the first exposition, the Society carried out tremendous work in collecting collections. Expeditions were conducted, the found and acquired artifacts were studied and classified, museum funds were formed.
All Siberians raised funds for the construction of the first building for the museum: charity performances were staged, exhibitions of objects of private collections were held, and feasible donations were made. The founders of the museum donated their collections to the fund, which they collected during their service in these parts. September 30, 1890 the first museum in the Far East was inaugurated for visitors.
Vladimir Klavdievich Arseniev
The name of this person is closely connected with the museum and the Far East. Arsenyev is a Russian and Soviet traveler, researcher, ethnographer and geographer who conducted many expeditions to the regions of Ussuriysk, Kamchatka, and Primorye. Before him, these areas remained white spots on the map of Russia.
He studied life, ceremonies, life, religion of the indigenous inhabitants of the region: Udege, Orochi, Nanais. He wrote several books, one of which is well known and has been filmed. This is Dersu Uzala.
The name of this person appeared on the OIAK list in 1903. His contribution to the creation and expansion of collections is invaluable. Appointed director of the museum of local lore in Khabarovsk, he did not lose ties with colleagues from Vladivostok. This man devoted his whole life to the study of the inaccessible region, transferring his works to the benefit of Russia. He was considered the most respected specialist in the Far East. In 1945, the Museum of Vladivostok became known as the Seaside Museum named after Arsenyev.
How does the museum live today?
Almost 600 thousand exhibits have been collected in the museum's storage facilities. There is not enough space to create permanent, long-term expositions, although the museum has long moved to a spacious building. To demonstrate as many collections as possible, employees practice mixed displays: permanent exhibitions about the history and culture of the city and the region are combined with temporary exhibitions of various subjects.
In the last decade in the Seaside Museum. V.K. Arsenyev has undergone significant changes. The halls of the museum were reconstructed and rebuilt, new displays were developed and implemented using multimedia services. Now everywhere photography is allowed, in all rooms there is Wi-Fi. The visitors are surprised by the new rules: you can touch many exhibits with your hands, read books, open drawers and furniture doors, which gives a feeling of freedom and increases interest in the subject of the excursion.
The halls of the museum have become real venues for cultural and educational work. The poster of the museum includes excursions, lectures, master classes, many exhibitions, a calendar of classes with children is compiled. The life of the Arseniev Museum in Vladivostok is interesting, eventful, informative.
In the halls of the museum
In the first room is the "Open Library". It is open in the literal sense of the word. Museum tomes are allowed to be picked up to browse, read, leaf through. This is an innovation of the Arseniev Museum in Vladivostok.
"World of nature" - this is the name of the second room. It is difficult to argue that the most beautiful and formidable animals live in the taiga. Scarecrows of huge predators are terrifying. Their size and open mouths can scare not only herbivores, but also visitors to the museum.
In the corner of archaeological finds, the tomb of Prince Esikuy is represented. The stone complex dates from the 12th century. A lot of stone products were found in the burial: gates to the funeral church, statues, sculptures.
On the second floor, the Arseniev Museum in Vladivostok acquaints visitors with the life, culture and history of the indigenous peoples of this region. Housing, costumes, implements of labor and life, vehicles of the Udege, Nanai and Oroch people are shown by this exhibition.
The following five halls are united under the common name: "Time of the people." The story of life in Primorye in the 19th-20th centuries, the study and development of this harsh region is divided into the themes: “Time of the Road”, “Time of the House”, “Time of the City”, “Time of the Case” and “Time of the Violence”.
Letters, diaries, notes, and observations of the amazing woman Eleanor Lord Prey, the wife of an American employee living in these places at the beginning of the 20th century, complete the tour. She put everything she saw in a foreign land on paper, thus, a huge archive of observations of an eyewitness of events was collected. The design of the hall is very interesting, her letters can be read on the walls, screens, tables and so on.
The Arsenyev Museum in Vladivostok has three branches: the City Museum, the Arsenyev House Museum and the House of Official Sukhanov.