The Ethnographic Museum of the Peoples of Transbaikalia was opened on July 6, 1973, and is one of the oldest in Ulan-Ude. It is the only open-air park-type museum in the Republic of Buryatia. Today the museum operates six exhibition complexes presenting the traditional culture and way of life of the peoples who have long inhabited Transbaikalia: the Evenks, Soyots, Transbaikal and Prebaikal Buryats, long-established Russian settlers, Cossacks, and Old Believers.
View of the grounds of the Ethnographic Museum of the Peoples of Transbaikalia
The Evenki complex contains traditional Evenki dwellings — chums covered with birch bark and reindeer skins, wooden storage platforms (labazes), household items, and farm shelters. The Buryat complex includes felt and wooden yurts, a religious building — a dugan, a winter house with a barn and a utility shed. The interiors of the old dwellings can be viewed through glass doors.
Chum covered with birch bark. Photo: нашэтномузей.рф
The Old Believers' complex consists of the homes of family Old Believers exiled to Siberia in the 18th century. The gate of an Old Believers' house is richly decorated with carved wooden patterns — these emphasized the owner's prosperity. Also located here are the houses of well-to-do peasants and craftsmen. Of particular interest is the St. Nicholas Church, built in the early 20th century. The parishioners of this church were exclusively the village's Popovtsy (priestly) family Old Believers.
St. Nicholas Church. Photo: нашэтномузей.рф
Carved gate. Photo: нашэтномузей.рф
The Starozhilsky (Cossack) complex contains an authentic 19th-century monument brought from the Zaudinskaya stanitsa of Verkhneudinsk — the house of the stanitsa ataman. Among other interesting monuments of the old town complex is a log wooden building with a mezzanine and an exterior covered staircase, richly carved wooden window trims, shutters, and cornices.
House with mezzanine. Photo: нашэтномузей.рф
House with mezzanine. Photo: нашэтномузей.рф
House with mezzanine. Photo: нашэтномузей.рф
The museum is adapted for visitors of all ages. On the grounds there are children's playgrounds, rest areas with gazebos, benches and tables, hammocks, restaurants and cafes where you can try national cuisine or order dishes from a classic European menu. Also located on the grounds is the 'Corner of Living Nature', visits to which are included in the ticket price. The museum hosts folk festivals and mass events, animated tours, and competitions in national sports. The museum combines the region's traditional culture with modern museum and leisure trends.
