State Historical Museum, Moscow

The State Historical Museum is one of the country’s principal museums of national history and culture, with collections covering periods from prehistoric societies through the Russian Empire and into the early twentieth century.

It was founded in 1872 with the approval of Emperor Alexander II, and its purpose was to create a national historical collection drawing on archaeology, manuscripts, weapons, decorative arts, and other material connected with Russia’s past. The present museum building was constructed in 1875–1883 according to the winning design by architect Vladimir Sherwood and engineer Anatoly Semyonov. The museum’s holdings are exceptionally large, numbering more than five million objects and over 14 million sheets of documentary material. Its collections include archaeology, numismatics, manuscripts and early printed books, weapons, religious art, textiles and costume, furniture, precious metals, ceramics, glass, paintings, drawings, and other historical material. Only a fraction can be shown at one time, while the permanent exhibition follows a broadly chronological sequence through different periods of Russian history. The building itself is an important part of the museum experience. Its Russian Revival design was intended to harmonize with the older architecture around Red Square, while many interior halls were decorated to reflect the historical periods represented in their displays.

Architectural details, wall paintings, mosaic floors, ornamental ceilings, and decorative motifs were based on medieval churches, palaces, archaeological finds, and works of applied art, creating what the museum’s founders envisioned as a visual history of Russian architecture and artistic traditions.