National Museum of the Republic of Karelia

The first museum exhibition in Petrozavodsk under the name of the Olonets provincial museum was opened in 1838, it included samples of products and products of artistic casting of the Aleksandrovsky factory, previously exhibited at the provincial exhibition. However, this museum was not publicly available ^{[1] [2]} .

In 1871, the Olonetsky Natural-Industrial and Historical-Ethnographic Museum was founded.

In December 1916, the museum suffered from a fire, many exhibits were burned. In 1918, he came under the jurisdiction of the Olonets Commissariat of National Education ^[3] .

In the 1920s, the Olonets Church-Historical Museum became part of the museum. After the formation of the Karelian labor commune, it became a commune museum, part of the exhibits was transferred to the Olonets provincial museum, which moved to Lodeynoye Pole and was transferred under the direction of A. Fomin-Svetlyak ^[4] (after the liquidation of Olonets province became the county museum).

In Soviet times, renamed the Karelian Regional Museum ^{[5] [6]} , since 1928 - the Karelian State Museum ^[7] , in 1940-1953. - Karelian-Finnish State Museum, 1953—1956 - The State Local History Museum of the Karelian-Finnish SSR, subsequently - the Karelian State Local History Museum. The works transmitted from the Karelian State Museum of Local History, formed the basis of the museum collection of the Museum of Fine Arts opened in 1960 in Petrozavodsk.

September 21, 2011 renamed to the National Museum of the Republic of Karelia ^[8] .

Museum Managers

• since 1871 - Alexander Ivanovich Ivanov
• Shelyukov, Flegont Sergeevich ^[9]
• Alexander Karlovich Ginter (Günther) (1889–1899) ^{[10] [11] [12] [13]}
• Ivan Ivanovich the Annunciation (1910–1912)
• Vladimir Isaakovich Ivanov (1918–1922)
• Viktor Ivanovich Krylov (1925–1928) ^[14]
• Stepan Andreevich Makarev (1928–1932)
• Fedor Galactionovich Mironov ^[15]
• Christopher Georgievich Doroshin (1945-1948) ^[16]
• Ivan Mikhailovich Mullo (1932-1939, 1948-1953)
• Philip Ivanovich Egorov (1954-1958)
• Georgy Mezentsev (1958—1960-ies.)
• Valentina Matveevna Ionova ^[17]
• Efrem Davidovich Rybak (1975–1984) ^{[18] [19]}
• Lyudmila Vasilievna Shilova (1984-1989) ^[20]
• since 2005 - Mikhail Leonidovich Goldenberg (historian, candidate of pedagogical sciences)

The halls of the first stage of the permanent exhibition tell about the nature, archeology, history of Karelia.

• The exposition about the nature of Karelia tells about the formation of rocks and minerals, reveals the features of the plant and animal world of our region.
• In the hall of archeology, visitors will see unique artifacts - granite slabs with mysterious cave paintings - petroglyphs, ancient tools and household tools, objects of worship and amulets from the burials of the Oleleostrovsky burial-ground of the Stone Age, Northern Europe.
• In the halls devoted to the history of Karelia, the visitor will be able to “plunge” into the millennial era of the Middle Ages, find out how under Peter the Great and Empress Catherine II factory industry was formed, how Petrovskaya settlement became Petrozavodsk, the capital of the Olonets province, in the 18th and 19th centuries Petrozavodsk gradually developed and the Round Square was built.
• Guided tours, drama programs, classes for visitors of all ages and interests are accompanied by the display of multimedia programs. The museum has a cafe and gift shop.

Halls of the Permanent Museum. Address: Petrozavodsk, pl. Lenin, 1:

• Natural features of the region: "Stones tell", "Traces of the glacier", "Taiga land".
• "Stone Chronicle." Archeology of Karelia.
• Interactive complex "Visiting the ancient tribe."
• "Northern Frontier". Karelia in the Middle Ages. IX — XVII centuries.
• "We - Korela." Historical reconstruction of the Middle Ages.
• "Peter plants". Karelia in the era of Peter the Great in the late XVII - early XVIII centuries.
• "City-factory". Alexandrovsky plant in the late XVIII - early XX century.
• "Miners and loggers." Mining and forestry in Karelia (XVIII - early XX century).
• "By the highest decree." The founding of Olonets province in the late XVIII - early XIX century.
• "Provincial Capital". Petrozavodsk in the late XIX - early XX centuries.
• "In the civil service." Officials of Petrozavodsk in the XIX - early XX centuries.
• "City inhabitants". Life of Petrozavodsk in the late XIX - early XX centuries.
• "For the good of the people." Education and health care in the Olonets province in the late XIX - early XX centuries
• "In the land of runes and epics." Discovery and study of folklore in Karelia XIX-XX centuries.
• "Northern quadrille". Festive costume of the peoples of the republic. The hall opened in June 2019 ^[21] .

Halls of the Permanent Museum. Address: Petrozavodsk, ul. Engels, 5

• "Animal World of Karelia"

In the museum's collections there are about 220 thousand museum objects of the main fund, representing nature, archeology, the history of the region and Petrozavodsk, the traditional culture of Russians , Karelians and Veps .

In 2003, to the 300th anniversary of Petrozavodsk, the museum opened the interior of the ceremonial hall of the house of the governor of the mid- 19th century .

The museum has 2 branches:

• Sheltozero Veps ethnographic museum is the only museum in Russia telling about Veps culture and history
• Museum "Marcial Waters" - the museum of the history of the first Russian resort Marcial Waters

• Local History and Museum: [Karel. state local historian. the museum is 120 years old] / Comp .: N. A. Grossman, L.I. Kapust. - Petrozavodsk, 1992. - 199 pp., Ill.

• The official website of the museum