Exhibitions of the Balakovo Museum of History

About exhibition

The museum was opened as a branch of the Saratov Regional Museum of Local Lore in July 1986. Today it is housed in the former mansion of banker and grain industrialist V. Golovanov, built in the early 20th century. The museum's collections comprise about 6,500 items in storage. These include collections of painting and graphics, numismatics, archaeological objects, ethnography, and applied arts. Of particular value are rare old books, including a Psalter from 1888, the personal badge of P. P. Mokin of the Ilyinsky Regiment, a fire pump from the early 20th century produced at the F. A. Blinov cast-iron mechanical factory, and the "History of Technology" collection. The exhibition materials reflect the city's history from a landed village founded by Old Believers in the 18th century and the 19th-century "wheat capital of the Volga" to the modern city with strong industry, the Saratov Hydroelectric Station and the Balakovo Nuclear Power Plant, cultural centers, technical colleges and universities. The museum exhibitions present pages of Balakovo's history and features of everyday life in the pre-revolutionary city.