The pioneering attempt of museum project in Tomsk

The pioneers of museum project in Russia in the early 19th century were F.P. Adelung, B.G. Vikhman and their followers - P.P. Svinyin, Princess Z.A. Volkonskaya, A.P. Bogolubov, and others. The first Russian museum projects helped to realize the importance of museum as a protector of cultural heritage. So, it was not a mere chance that Tomsk City Council (Gorodskaya Duma) decided to mark the 50th anniversary of the abolition of serfdom in Russia by foundation of the Siberian Scientific and Art Museum. In order to realize that decision a Museum Committee was specially organized in Tomsk in 1911. The members of the Committee were independent researchers G.N. Potanin and A.V. Adrianov, architects T.L. Fischel, V.F. Orzheszko, officials B.A. Aminov, F.Ya. Nesmelov, founder and the first director of Tomsk Technological Institute, Professor Ye.L. Zubashev, owner and philanthropist P.I. Makushin, and others. Many members of the Committee were connected with museums and collections, with studying of Siberia. They were rather skilled to start up the museum creation. The authors of the project considered the museum as a resource of objects of nature, human life and folklife, as a unique institution for securing cultural values. The Siberian Museum was designated as an institution for research and education. An important idea was formulated: the museum was to be universal, so uneducated and illiterate people could acquire knowledge there and at the same time scientists could use it for their research. The museum structure was developed, it consisted of departments of natural history and public history (they said, ''live and dead days of old''). Later, in 1915, the third department was set up. It was dedicated to the events of World War I. The project contained a detailed list of items for the museum, instructions on how to collect, identify and exhibit museum's objects, specimens and collections. The problem of financing the museum was solved. There were 50 thousand rubles from the city budget, donation of land for the construction of the museum building. And Tomsk Governor granted approval of fund raising. The project of the Siberian Regional Museum was prepared, but in the face of the military-revolutionary time the museum was not opened. However, the first museum project in Tomsk was not lost, it was new and significant on the museum scene, showed willingness of museum specialists to create a multifunctional storage of cultural heritage.

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