State policy in the museum work in the second half of the 1950s - early 1990s and its local implementation in Tomsk Oblast

The development of museums in Tomsk Oblast from the second half of the 1950s till the beginning of the 1990s was in compliance with the national museum policy. This process can be divided into several stages: 1) 1956-1964. Reorganization of the museum network after the XX Party Congress because of The Stalin Museum in Narym reorientation and of the Kolpashevo museum reconstruction; 2) 1964-1982. A small growth of museum number; as a result, the Region Art Museum and the open-air museum in Ko-larovo were opened; 3) 1983-1985. Organization of the Museum Union of Tomsk Oblast and reconstruction of a range of state and public museums; 4) 1986-1991. A crisis due to the temporary closing of the Museum of Tomsk Oblast. The museum branches were less active in this period, yet searched for new types of activities. At the same time, despite the national museum policy, the development of museums in Tomsk Oblast had its own features. At the first stage, as a result of the de-Stalinization of public life connected with the XX Congress, the focus area of The Stalin Museum in Narym changed. However, despite the overall process of de-Stalinization, visitors of the Museum insisted on returning Stalin's objects to the exposition. Simultaneously, there was a boom in museum activities due to the principle of competition. For example, 270 museums of the Ministry of Culture, including the Museum of Tomsk Oblast took part in the Russian review of museum work. At the second stage, among the three nation-wide trends in museum construction (forming museum branches, organizing independent museums and growing the network of art museums) the following are observed in Tomsk Oblast: forming museum branches and organizing art museums. Museum branches were formed by some independent museums but not public ones. The network of art museums was established in Tomsk Oblast only in the 1990s-2000s. Before, there were only two art museums here (The Art Museum of TomskOblast and The Chainsk Art Gallery). At the third stage (in the 1980s), the organization of the Tomsk Museum Association did not improve the museum activities in Tomsk Oblast, as it was expected from the experience of in other parts of Russia (in particular, in Vladimir Oblast). It is worthy to note that the process of museum centralization in Tomsk Oblast was organized by the territorial principle (association of various museums of the region). The other principle (profile principle), for example, the union of literary museums in Penza, is not observed in Tomsk Oblast. The fourth stage is characterized by changing the national museum policy. Despite the difficult conditions, the museum network of Tomsk Oblast continued to develop. However, its development had an inertial character. The crisis of the museum network in Tomsk Oblast was connected with the temporary closing of the main museum - The Tomsk Local Lore Museum - in 1988, and, as a result, it lost its leading role in the museum network. Instead of it, The Art Museum of Tomsk Oblast took a leading role in the museum network. However, the system crisis in culture influenced The Art Museum, too. During this period new museum activities such as auctions of antiques, supporting private collections were suggested by art museum management to attract visitors to the museum.

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