What is a kraevedcheskie museum? History of the largest (post-) Soviet museum network.

Speaker: Sofia Gavrilova, School of Geography and the Environment, University of Oxford
Convenors: Nicolette Makovicky, Oxford School of Global and Area Studies (OSGA), Dace Dzenovska, School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography (SAME)

Sofia Gavrilova will present a book proposal based on her recently defended thesis on the history of kraevedcheskie (regional history) museums. The proposed book is the first monograph fully dedicated to these unique (post) Soviet museums and the specific form of knowledge they represent – kraevedenie. The proposed book covers the Soviet period of centralisation, when the majority of the exposition principles were set, as well as the current life of museums in more than ten regions across Russia. The book examines the main exposition patterns of the museums today and trace their development back to the Soviet period.