Description of the attraction
In 1962, in the town of Medvezhyegorsk, a museum was founded under the supervision of the teacher of boarding school No. 4 Viktor Petrovich Ershov. Initially, the museum was created as a school museum of local lore and was completely devoted to the history of the region. The original collection consisted of urban household items, icons, embroidery and folk costume elements. The museum received its municipal status only in 1991. The museum occupies an old building, which is an architectural monument, built in 1935, which was once a hotel for employees of the Belomorkanal.
Thirty years before the opening of the school museum, the Museum of the White Sea-Baltic Canal was built in Bear Mountain. The surviving exhibits of the White Sea-Baltic Canal Museum have added to the collections of the new museum, which, in fact, is its successor. In 1999, the museum opened a permanent exhibition called “LBC. Milestones in history . Its authors are E. O. Tumash, S. I. Koltyrin and artist Yu. V. Ozerov. The White Sea exposition is a collected collection of photographic materials and documentation, as well as other items that reflect the entire difficult history of the construction of the canal.
Since 1989, the Museum has been carrying out joint activities with the Petrozavodsk Memorial to collect documents from the townspeople and residents of lock settlements, as well as from guests who come to Sandormokh for the “Days of Remembrance”. At the end of 1990, the museum significantly enlarged its collection by searching for documents and photographic materials in the state archives of the Karelian Territory, in the archives of the LBC Administration, as well as with the help of personal belongings of former employees of the channel. At the moment, the collected materials are divided into two main categories: the first tells about the history of the White Sea-Baltic Canal itself, the second is dedicated to the memorial cemetery "Sandormokh". The museum contains over 1000 exhibits dedicated to the history of the Gulag. And this is not the limit. The collection is constantly supplemented with new items, and constructive changes are also taking place in the exhibition itself.
In 2008, the museum underwent a complete renovation of the exposition. “The Story of One Shooting” - this is the name of the new exhibition, which was included in the main collection of the museum after all the updates. This exhibition was prepared by the St. Petersburg Research Center "Memorial", and was previously presented in the city house of culture of Medvezhyegorsk. The museum regularly hosts thematic meetings, history lessons for schoolchildren and lectures for students. For greater interest in excursions dedicated to the history of the BBK, a special section of role-playing games has been introduced. Also, the museum staff prepared a video showing the history of the construction of the canal itself. This material is widely used in lessons and lectures on the history of Medvezhyegorsk region.
During the summer holidays, the museum staff organizes special memorial trips with schoolchildren to Sandormokh. The museum is an active participant in organizing the days of remembrance in Sandormoch, which are held every year on 5 August.
The museum is conveniently located next to the major highway Petrozavodsk-Pudozh-Kargopol, the so-called "Blue Road", on Kirov Square, which is practically in the center of the city. This location of the museum makes it convenient for visiting, both by organized tourist groups and individual excursionists.
In addition to large documentary materials, the museum contains unique items made of birch bark, wood painting, embroidery from Zaonezh, icons, as well as copper casting.
In the summer, an exhibition called "With Love from Medvezhyegorsk" opens at the museum. Here are products made of stones and semi-precious stones from the Onezhskaya factory, products from the Zaonezhskaya embroidery factory, extraordinary icons from the Tsiglevkin family's stone and other souvenir products.
