Museums are always of special interest to those who really enjoy history and culture of people, and we are talking about both local residents and visiting guests. There is a museum in Mogilev, which building is a historical landmark in itself and a monument of architecture. This is about Maslenikov Museum.

 “Pre-museum” history

The museum building was erected at the beginning of the last century, namely in the period from 1903 to 1914. And initially there was a peasant-land bank. The building architecture deserves attention – it combines the key elements of late classicism, modernism and popular in those years pseudo-Russian style. It is interesting that the building has remained practically untouched until the present day.

After the setting of the Soviet authority, the building was given to the editorship of local Bolshevik newspaper “Revolutionary General HQ”. From 1919 to 1932, the museum was first opened there, namely Mogilev State Historical Museum (in the first years, however, it was called the Museum of Proletarian Culture).

During the Great Patriotic War, the museum collection was inflicted with truly irreparable damage, despite the specially equipped room-safe for the most valuable items. In the course of acts of vandalism and robbery, the heritage in the view of thousands of coins, weapons of the X-XIV centuries, manuscripts and ancient letters, icons from talented Mogilev and Belarusian masters, and even the work of a close relative of Ivan the Terrible was lost. Unfortunately, many of the exhibits disappeared forever.

CPSU committees, as well as the editorial staff of the new newspaper “Mogilevskaya Pravda” located at the museum in the first post-war years.

Modern period

Mogilev Regional Art Museum has been opened here since 1990, where unique examples of realistic art are still represented, as well as the most important works of local artists of different ages. Among the key figures – L. Marchenko, N. Fedorenko, V. Byalynitsky-Birulya, A. Barkhatkov and, of course, P. Maslenikov.

Pavel Vasilievich Maslenikov played an important role in the formation and distribution of Belarusian school of artists. Among his most famous works are the landscapes “Lake District”, “Belarusian Landscape”, “Altai Cycle”, “Gold Birches”, “Needles”, “Awakening”, “On the Plains of Polesye” and so on. In addition, Maslenikov was seriously interested in the history of art of his native land, in connection with which he published several works, including in the largest Belarusian collections.

Since 1996, it was decided to rename the museum in honour of such a great and significant figure of Belarusian art by the President’s relevant decree. Before that, the artist’s gallery was presented there. Also there is a bust by sculptor V. Letun established in honour of the artist near the building.

You can visit the historical building and see the numerous canvases of talented craftsmen in the framework of a journey on your own or with the help of one of several tours leading here through Mogilev region. It is interesting that the museum building itself is visually represented on the banknote of the National Bank with a value of 200 bel. rubles (and also on out-of-use banknotes of 200,000 bel. rubles).