Yuliya Stepanovna Kulakova

Yuliya Stepanovna Kulakova was a local historian, the founder and first director of the Kezhemsky (Kezhma) Museum. She was born on December 17, 1908, in the village of Zaledeevo in the Kezhemsky District. Later the family moved to Bodaybo. Kulakova was a Komsomol member and a pioneer leader, and took an active part in public life. In 1926–1927 she studied at a school for rural teachers and literacy workers in Kansk. After completing her studies she worked as a rural teacher (izbach) in her native village of Prospikhino—working at the people’s house, teaching literacy and participating in amateur cultural activities. Yuliya Stepanovna wrote pieces for the newspaper "Leninsky Shakhtyor" and maintained extensive correspondence, receiving up to a hundred postcards on holidays.

 

In 1983 the district party committee decided to create a museum. Yuliya Stepanovna went on an internship at the Krasnoyarsk Regional Museum of Local Lore. After her return to Kezhma a museum council was formed and the collection of exhibits began. On September 25, 1985 the museum opened in Kezhma on a voluntary basis. In January 1989 the museum received state status, and Yuliya Stepanovna became its first director. The museum’s exhibition celebrated the region’s natural riches, Angara-region heritage, songs and dialect. In 1994, by decision of the Kezhemsky district administration, the museum was named after Y. S. Kulakova. The Kezhemsky Museum won the regional "Inspiration" competition in the "Best Museum" category four times (1994, 1996, 1997, 1998). In 1995, at the age of 87, Yuliya Stepanovna was awarded the honorary title "Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation." Yuliya Stepanovna Kulakova passed away in 2000. On July 5, 2016, by decision of the District Council of Deputies No. 7-116, Y. S. Kulakova was awarded the title "Honorary Citizen of the Kezhemsky District."