Pyotr Fedorovich Gribtsov

Pyotr Fedorovich Gribtsov was the founder and first director of the Blagodarny District Historical and Local Lore Museum. He was born on July 3, 1924 in the village of Blagodarny, Stavropol Governorate. After finishing secondary school in 1942 and following the liberation of the village from German occupiers, he worked in the district library. In 1949 he was appointed head of the department for work with pioneers and schoolchildren of the district Komsomol committee. Gribtsov graduated from the Stavropol State Pedagogical Institute and began teaching history at School No. 6.

 

After working at the school, Pyotr Fedorovich moved to the district newspaper, where he worked as a correspondent for ten years. He then headed the political education office of the District Committee of the CPSU. It was during this period that he conceived the idea of creating a district local history museum. In 1968 Gribtsov was appointed head of the culture department of the Blagodarny District Executive Committee, where he worked for 21 years. He founded a cultural-education school to train rural specialists, which graduated four cohorts of highly qualified personnel. Gribtsov contributed to the development of cultural institutions and the organization of large theatrical celebrations. A significant event was the expedition "To the Ancestral Barrows" with the participation of more than two hundred people. 

Pyotr Fedorovich Gribtsov made an enormous contribution to the establishment of the Blagodarny District Historical and Local Lore Museum. He led the museum until 2000 and assembled a unique collection that includes exhibits dedicated to the Civil War and the early Five-Year Plans, as well as personal belongings of notable locals; he collected documents and photographs on the pre-revolutionary history of the district and actively defended historical and architectural monuments. Gribtsov was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honour, received the title of Honoured Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation, and also became an honorary citizen of the town of Blagodarny and the Blagodarny District. Pyotr Fedorovich Gribtsov passed away on May 7, 2003.