Museum of the History of the Ural State Technical University — UPI

About museum

In November 2009 the Museum of History of UGTU-UPI celebrated its 45th anniversary. Among the museum's collections are the photographic collection, the collection of artifacts, the library, the art collection, an archive of personal files of people whose names are linked to the university's history, and others. The historical hall's exhibition consists of the following sections: "Founding of the University", "History of the Institute in the 1920s–1930s", "Faculties established in the 1920s–1930s", "Repressions at UPI", "The Great Patriotic War and UPI", "Faculties established after 1945", "Sports life of the university", "Extracurricular work with students", "International relations of the university", "Anniversaries and jubilee publications", "The Rectorate of UPI". The museum is located in the main academic building of UrFU, a structure that is an architectural monument of federal significance. It was built in 1929–1940 to designs by architects S.E. Chernyshev, G.Ya. Wolfenzon, A.P. Utkin and K.T. Babykin. The museum's object collection numbers several hundred items. Mostly these are gifts to the university, the earliest of which date back to 1938. Among them are sculptural compositions made of semi-precious stones, wood, plaster and metal; souvenirs presented by the State Duma of the Russian Federation, by the President of Russia B.N. Yeltsin and by foreign delegations. The object collection also contains a collection of banners, a numismatic collection, household and interior items from the 19th–20th centuries, models of equipment and much more. The photographic collection constitutes the main part of the museum's holdings. The museum preserves several thousand negatives and several tens of thousands of positives (prints) — portraits of the founders and leading scientists, well-known alumni, images of the institute campus, and photographs that tell the story of student life and the life of the university from 1920 to the present day. In the archive of personal files special interest is attracted by materials on the activities of V.E. Grum-Grzhimailo, the "father of Russian metallurgy", metallurgists A.A. Baraboshkin, I.A. Sokolov and A.F. Golovin; chemists I.Ya. Postovsky, Z.V. Pushkareva and S.G. Mokrushin; architect K.T. Babykin; the founder of the Ural school of foreign languages O.M. Veselkina; materials on B.N. Yeltsin, N.I. Ryzhkov and other notable alumni. A large body of material has been collected about Heroes of the Soviet Union — students and graduates of UII-UPI. The museum holds more than 500 numismatic items — commemorative medals issued for anniversaries of industrial enterprises and societies, badges of foreign scientific societies, and the orders and medals of leading Ural scientists. The core of the art collection is the estate of the prominent architect of the Soviet avant-garde of the 1920s–1930s, P.I. Lantratov. In addition to drawings, photographs and documents, it includes more than 600 graphic works from 1910–1980 (theatrical costume sketches, portraits and domestic studies). The museum library contains over 650 volumes, including books donated by notable alumni, staff and students of the university. The museum also holds an almost complete run of the newspaper "For Industrial Personnel" (several thousand issues), which has been published at our university since 1934. The historical hall of the museum is located in the former gymnasium where B.N. Yeltsin played volleyball in the first half of the 1950s. On an area of 150 square meters there are more than 70 display cases and panels introducing the history of the largest university in the Urals. In 2006, after renovation, the museum gained a new exhibition hall, premises for storing the museum's collections and staff offices. As a result, the number of exhibitions held by the museum increased — exhibitions timed to significant dates and events in the university's life, exhibitions related to the names of outstanding alumni, teachers and staff whose biographies were closely connected with the university at different times, as well as various art exhibitions drawn from private collections. Over the course of its existence our museum has become one of the major museums of educational institutions in Russia. Thanks to the museum, civic-patriotic education of students and schoolchildren becomes more effective: through an interest in the history of our university and its traditions they learn about the development of education and science and about the advancement of technology in the Urals.