About museum

Center for the Study of the History of the Civil War — a structural subdivision of the Historical Archive of the Omsk Region with the status of a sector of the Department for Use and Publication of Documents. The Center is engaged in the comprehensive study of domestic history of the period 1917–1922.

When developing the concept of the Center, the experience of exhibition halls of federal archives in Moscow and Saint Petersburg was taken into account. The Center performs the functions of the archive's research and exhibition platform and serves as a memorial to the events of the “great turmoil” of the 20th century.

The Center is located in a building that has the status of a regional cultural heritage site — the former K.A. Batyushkin mansion, built in the early 20th century, where in 1918–1919 the personal residence of the Supreme Ruler of Russia, Admiral A.V. Kolchak, was situated.

During the Soviet period the building changed many owners. It housed the Siberian Administration of Military Educational Institutions, a children's home, the Omsk guberniya (district) department of the OGPU, a children's bone-tuberculosis sanatorium, and the drafting shop of the Omsk cartographic factory. In 1985–1987 the building fell into neglect and demolition was considered. An expert examination confirmed the historical and cultural significance of the site. After restoration, the Central Department of the Civil Registry Office (ZAGS) was located here.

In July 2011, at the initiative of regional authorities, the Center was created on the basis of the Historical Archive of the Omsk Region with the task of studying and popularizing knowledge about a controversial and tragic period of Russian history — the Civil War. The Center opened its doors to visitors on January 13, 2012.

The Center conducts active educational outreach among Omsk residents, city guests and the regional population to promote knowledge about the period of the Civil War in Russia, as well as facts of past and present Omsk local history. It provides on-site and off-site guided tours for visitors and organized groups, and for official delegations; organizes series of general and thematic lectures, documentary exhibitions, film lectures, and academic-practical conferences.

Over a decade of the Center's work it has been visited by more than 50,000 people living in the Omsk Region, other regions of Russia, and countries near and far abroad; more than 3,000 guided tours have been conducted. The Historical Archive of the Omsk Region has implemented over 70 major exhibition projects and exhibitions at the Center, timed to anniversaries of historical figures and events.

A visit to the Center makes it possible to learn historical facts more fully and to pay tribute to historical figures associated with Omsk during an era that became a turning point for Russia.

Opening hours of the Center for the Study of the History of the Civil War — Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: 8:30 to 17:15, lunch from 13:00 to 13:30.

Requests to arrange service for tour groups should be made in advance by phone 37-05-58. Researchers wishing to work in the Center's reading room and for initial registration must present a document proving identity (passport).