The Museum of Contemporary History of Russia (until September 1998, the Central Museum of the Revolution of the USSR, the Museum of the Revolution) is one of the world’s largest museums of contemporary history.
The museum is in the center of Moscow (Tverskaya Street, 21), in a building that is an architectural monument of Moscow’s classicism of the late 18th century. From 1831 to 1917, it housed the Moscow English Club.
The museum exposition began in 1922, when, on the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the October Revolution, the Red Moscow exhibition was organized in the building of the former Moscow English Club. In February 1924, the sub-department of the Eastpart Exhibition merged with the exhibition in the Historical and Revolutionary Museum of Moscow.
Officially, the Museum of the Revolution was established by the decision of the Central Executive Committee on May 9, 1924. S. I. Mitskevich, a professor at Moscow University and one of the organizers of the Moscow Workers’ Union, was appointed the first director of the Museum. Soon the institution was named the State Museum of the Revolution of the USSR.
The main task of the Museum was to reflect on the history of the revolutionary liberation movement in Russia, from the 17th century to the victory of the October Revolution.
Since its opening, the Museum has been actively collecting funds, opening expositions dedicated to the peasant wars in Russia, the Decembrist uprising, the activities of revolutionary democrats and people’s will, the Russian revolutions and the civil war. Famous artists donated their works to him. So, I. E. Repin sent his paintings “January 9”, “Red Funeral”, “October 17, 1905”, “The Tsar’s Gallows”, as well as a portrait of Kerensky as a gift to the Museum.
In the era of Perestroika, the Museum opened its unique depository for general use, 70 thousand documentary monuments that entered into scientific circulation. In the early 1990s, the Museum created a whole series of exhibitions on various historical periods, which became preparation for the new museum exposition, which today covers the period from the middle of the 19th century to the present. A new branch of the Museum was opened – “Finding Freedom.”
In 1998, the Museum was named the State Central Museum of Contemporary History of Russia.
Today the Museum’s funds have about 1 300 thousand items.
Working days: Tue, Wed 10:00–20:00; Thu 11:00–21:00; Fri-Sun 10:00–20:00
Address: Tverskaya st., 21, building 1, Moscow
Metro: Pushkinskaya, Chekhovskaya, Tverskaya, Mayakovskaya
