Nizhny Novgorod "Cold War" Museum - Museum of the History of the USSR

About museum

The Nizhny Novgorod 'Cold War' Museum and the history of the city of Gorky in 1946-1991 - the Museum of the History of the USSR was opened on February 23, 2015. Work on collecting and curating funds and studying the history of the world, the country and the city has been carried out by the Museum's staff since the early 2000s. Over the entire period of operation several thousand exhibits have been collected, concerning primarily the history of the Soviet Army, several large exhibitions devoted to the Civil Defense system of the USSR, industry, science, culture, sport and the everyday life of the Soviet person of that era, and, in particular, of Gorky residents.
We house one of the largest collections of gas masks from the USSR and Russia (from the 1930s to the present), an exhibition of army communications equipment, a large collection of dosimetric instruments (from the early 1950s through the 1990s), a huge number of items of ammunition, military uniforms, equipment, instruments and devices of various branches of the armed forces, services and units of the Armed Forces and Civil Defense of the USSR, and all the equipment is in working condition. We possess an impressive collection of models of Soviet and Russian weapons - from pistols and submachine guns to grenade launchers, flamethrowers and anti-tank missile systems.

There are many documents, books, photographs, and a large exhibition on the everyday life of citizens in the USSR (including a large exhibition of working audio equipment from the 1960s-1990s, together with recordings, televisions and radio receivers). The Museum's collections and funds are constantly being replenished. Our museum also has an exhibition dedicated to Soviet childhood - dolls from the Gorky 'Mir' factory, board games that young visitors to the Museum can play, items from Soviet schools and thousands of other exhibits!

Our top priority is to instill in the younger generation a spirit of patriotism, an interest in the history of their homeland, military-patriotic and research work, and interaction with a wide range of interested members of the public, educational, research, historical, civic and patriotic organizations.

The Museum conducts many interesting tours dedicated both to the history of the Soviet era and timed to various events and holidays. The Museum's staff have developed dozens of outreach museum programs for children - pupils of schools in Nizhny Novgorod and the Nizhny Novgorod region. The museum brings hundreds of exhibits to schools and holds themed Living History Lessons.

The Museum hosts the military-patriotic club 'Combat Order' and a Volunteer Corps, where children learn the basics of initial military training, adopt a healthy lifestyle and acquire professions such as tour guide, restorer and other museum specialties.