Tomsk regional museum and the protection of cultural values (1920-s)

This article is devoted to the discussion on the contribution of Tomsk regional Museum in the preservation of cultural memorials in 1920-s. The authors are using previously unknown sources, in particular a letter from Museum department of People's Commissariat of Education, received in Tomsk in September of 1920. This letter was written in response to the request of Tomsk artists who toured the Bishop House, former Astashev' home, on 14 February in 1920. After their visit to the house, the artists decided to open a museum in it. It is shown that Moscow museum leaders supported the idea of artists and demanded the Tomsk authorities to allocate the Museum in Bishop House. Relying on archival documents and documentary publications authors of this article enable to clarify the spadework to the opening of the Museum. They show that all the preparatory work carried out the section staff for the protection of memorials and than department for the protection of memorials, known as Gubmuzey, as its successor. They searched a premise, gathered the museum collections, worked up and documented the collected items in the inventory book. By the way doing of that book was begun in October 1920, and we believe it is an important indication of the functioning of the Museum. All these works suggest that employees of Tomsk section for the protection of memorials considered Museum as a center for gathering and storage of cultural monuments. Staff of the department for the protection of memorials made a first attempt to open a Museum in February 1921, but attempt failed. Only at the beginning of 1922, Bishop House was transferred to the Museum. The first exposition was opened on 18 March 1922. From the first years, Tomsk regional Museum has spearheaded work on the protection of monuments of art and antiquity. The Museum staff, led by Shatilov and Myagkov, as well as the leaders of the Gubmuzey recognized that role of the Museum. Collectively they examined the architecture monuments and recorded them in drawings and photographs, besides they collected ancient icons of Tomsk temples, some things belongings to Batenkov, and unique collection of ancient books of Nifantov, and handed over them to the Museum. Tomsk regional Museum collected cultural monuments from the entire Tomsk territory, in Kuznetsk and Narym province. Photos and drawings of the monuments collected in the Museum allowed the staff to prepare documents on the organization of State protection of architectural monuments in Tomsk. However, Shatilov' attempts to survey and preserve grave of famous elder Fyodor Kuzmich and prominent Tomsk scientists situated on male and female monasteries cemeteries have failed. All that graves and the cemeteries were destroyed subsequently. In addition, members of the Tomsk Museum engaged in history and methodology of monument protection. For example, the architect A.L. Shilovsky based artistic and historical value of the Tomsk architectural ensemble, called for its preservation. As the important output of this article is the affirmation that the Tomsk regional Museum played a major role in the organization of works on protection of history and culture monuments in 1920-s.

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