Exhibition of the House of the Tatar Book

About exhibition

Sharif Kamal - a Tatar writer, public figure, Honored Art Worker of the Tatar ASSR, and recipient of the Order of Lenin. The two-storey mansion that now houses the Sharif Kamal Museum was built at the end of the 19th century. On June 1, 2019, after a lengthy reconstruction, the museum was opened as the House of the Tatar Book. The official name is the Museum of the History of Tatar Literature with the memorial apartment of Sharif Kamal. Among the most valuable exhibits is a manuscript copy of Kul Gali's poem "Kissa-i Yusuf" ("The Tale of Yusuf"), written in the 13th century and preserved in numerous later manuscripts. The exhibition shows a copy dating from the 18th century. The exhibition also displays the first printed book in the Tatar language — "Alphabet of the Tatar Language", which was used by students of the Kazan Gymnasium in the early 19th century, and the first typewriter in Russia, "Yanalif", manufactured in Kazan in 1928. The memorial apartment remains the focal point of attention for the Tatar community and the younger generation. At the official opening of the museum it was stated that Sharif Kamal's memorial apartment is the "heart of the House on Ostrovsky". Today the museum positions itself as a multifunctional center uniting all three generations and a variety of spaces such as exhibition halls, a children's room, a library, a projection-mapping hall, a coworking space, and a bookstore.