Ivan Ivanovich Smirnov

About museum

Ivan Ivanovich Smirnov was a local historian, the founder and head of the local history museum in the village of Voroshilovo, Penovsky District, Tver Oblast. He was born on November 1, 1940 in the village of Malaya Perevoloka, Penovsky District, Kalinin Oblast. In 1955 he began working at his native collective farm "Mir".

In 1965 Smirnov was appointed head of the village club in Voroshilovo. During that period Voroshilov gatherings began to be held at the club. In 1969 Smirnov, together with his assistants, Komsomol members and friends, assembled the core of the future museum's collection. In 1981 the museum became a branch of the Kalinin Museum, and Ivan Ivanovich its director.

For his contribution to the development of culture and the creation of the museum, in 1988 Smirnov received the title Honored Worker of Culture of Russia. After a fire in 1992, Ivan Ivanovich began restoring the museum based on the museum's storage fund. The museum reopened its doors to visitors in November 1995. Ivan Ivanovich Smirnov passed away on February 1, 1998. In March of the same year the museum was named after its founder.