Charity and donations in the museum science in Siberia in 19th and early 20th century

This article deals with the charitable activities for the sake of Museum science in Siberia in the 19th and early 20th century. It turns out that the private museums, which were created by M.A. Zenzinov, M.D. Boutin, V.P. Sukachev, married couple of I.A. and J.P. Matveyev, A.I. Kytmanov in the second half of the 19th century, constitute an example of their own free will and disinterested help to museums. The authors emphasize that national and public museums in Siberia enjoyed charitable support as well. This support took a form of financing the construction of Museum buildings, the organization of different museum works. It is shown, that Irkutsk museum was constructed in 1882-1883 owing to money collected by the citizens. The building was expanded on merchant P.A. Sievers' donation subsequently. Krasnoyarsk merchants Kuznetsovs and Danilovs donated their money in building Minusinsk Museum and its expeditions. Merchant A.D. Startsev donated stone house for Museum in Kyakhta. Then two-storey building of Yakutsk Museum was built on the funds of local benefactors F.V. Astrakhantsev and G.V. Nikiforov. Private donations ensured the acquisition of valuable collections. For example, Archaeological Museum of the Imperial Tomsk University, created in 1882, was based on Tobolsk collection of antiquities, bought thanks to money of merchant M.K. Sidorov. In addition, the Siberian Maecenases and merchants A.M. Sibiryakov, A.F. Tolkachev, Z.M. Tsibulskiy, I.G. Gadalov, A.D. Vasenev contributed funds for the acquisition of collections to Tomsk University museums. According to the authors of the article, the most important role in the replenishment of all Siberian museums belong to investigators and collectors. In fact, Tomsk governor and collector P.K. Frolov, who initiated the creation of the Museum in Management of Kolyvan-Voskresenskiy plants in Barnaul in 1823, put in it his own archaeological collection. The Minusinsk museum created by N.M. Mart'yanov in 1877 was based on founder's natural sciences collection. Gifts of geologist V.A. Obruchev, archaeologist I.T. Savenkov, ethnographer M.N. Hangalov, as well as an outstanding researcher of Siberia and Central Asia G.N. Potanin ensured the rebirth of the Irkutsk Museum after a fire in 1879. A former political exile A.K. Kuznetsov had founded Nerchinsk and Chita museums using his own botanical, geological and archaeological collections. Collectors B.P. Shostakovich, I.P. Kuznetsov-Krasnoyarskiy, G.P. Safyanov replenished with their collections and museum subjects Tomsk University Archaeological museum. The founder of Archaeological museum professor V.M. Florinskiy donated a good portion of his collections into this repository. Summarizing the information, the authors conclude that charitable support provided the growth and development of Siberian museums during XIX - beginning of XX century. They are sure that available experience of making gifts and donations to museums can be used nowadays.

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