Museums in Revolution
Four historical museums in Moscow
Uitgeverij Stichting beheer IISG, 1998. ISBN 90.6861.142.9, 64 pp., illustrated
This richly illustrated bilingual (English/Russian) book tells the story of four Moscow museums, from the beginning of the Russian Revolution to the present day.
For a long time the British Museum was the sole museum of any note in the international labour movement, and that only because Karl Marx spent years working in its famous reading room. Museums were regarded as institutions of the ruling class. That changed after the October Revolution, when the Russian proletariat itself became the ruling class. The number of historical museums quickly grew. They were generously financed, popular, and prestigious components of the Soviet apparatus.
The events of August 1991 brought a sudden end to this situation. Museums languished or closed. Museums in Revolution provides a history of the Museum of the Revolution, the Central Lenin Museum, the Marx-Engels Museum and the Lenin Museum in Gorki Leninskiye. These histories give a penetrating picture of how Soviet culture has been affected by Russia's current economic difficulties. They also constitute an appeal for international recognition of the need to preserve this cultural heritage for the future.
This book has been produced in collaboration with the International Association of Labour History Institutions (IALHI). The complete introduction is offered here.
For further information, contact:
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