Nizhny is an extremely artistic and industrial city. It is an interesting combination, I know. This means that it is full to the brim with art museums and collections dedicated to engineering marvels, on which I will have dedicated articles by the time I will finish writing on Nizhny. This also means that the more “purely” historical exhibitions are a rare find, though once you do find them you are often amazed by their quality. I have always been one favouring quality over quantity, so “even” as a historian I can easily say that what this city offers in terms of museums of history certainly met my expectations given the fact that it is a much smaller Russian city that is not so far away from Moscow, where you can find all the “real” museums quite easily. I should also add that this list does not contain any one of the quite numerous “house-museums” or museums with a more ethnographical look into our past, as I am simply not very much interested in such collections. With this out of the way, let us now go over the two best museums for history geeks in town.
Russia – My History: Multimedia History Park – https://yandex.com/maps/-/CCUKZAUwWB
This museum, which has a name that quite clearly explains what it is all about, has a special place in my heart. It is unique, very unique actually. Do not expect to see any “real artifacts” here. There is none. In two enormous halls, you can go on a journey through the last millennia of history in this part of the world, by an almost excessive use of multimedia tools to tell you a narrative. That narrative is, of course, a highly militarized and nationalized “version” of the “truth,” but it is interesting, nonetheless. You can find a lot of touchscreen panels to learn more about certain periods, simulate historical battles, sea old ship models and buildings in detail, and even read about a few key ingredients’ journeys into Slavic kitchens. It is an experience, that is for sure. However, I should warn you, just as the cashier lady warned me, that this place is gigantic. It is a huge maze full of digital goodies and if you know some Russian you can easily spend an entire day here. That is why, it may be best to explore the Tsarist period first and then on some other day come back for the Soviet times. Tickets for both are sold separately at 300 roubles each. Furthermore, there is a much smaller exhibition that seems to change every now and then, and it costs 100 roubles to see it. That one does offer some “physical stuff” to show. In short, though I had some reservations in my mind about going to a museum that is almost fully made up of some “glorified presentations that are projected on walls” I changed my mind quite quickly after going through its first few rooms. The music, the ambience, even the fonts that are used to “convey” a story are on point, and this place deserves a place on any traveller’s itinerary if they come to Nizhny.
Back in the USSR – https://yandex.com/maps/-/CCUKZAaHlB
Though the Multimedia History Park will always have its own special place in my heart, it is certainly “Back in the USSR” that will remain as my favourite museum in town. It has an unbeatable inventory of an almost ridiculous number of Soviet-made “stuff” in pristine condition. I say “stuff” because you can find anything from cassette players to motorcycles, and from automatic rifles to children’s books in this museum. Well, it is more like two museums bundled into one as well, for which you have to pay 600 roubles in total to see both and 50 roubles more to be able to take some photos. The smaller exhibition is dedicated to the weapons of USSR, while the big one is all about vehicles and everyday items. Everything, and I mean everything is preserved in the most immaculate way imaginable. You feel as if they came out of a factory somewhere in Tomsk or Chelyabinsk just the other day, and now you can gasp at their intricate designs freely. This fine museum is a bit far away from the city centre, located inside Limpopo Zoo, but it is well worth a visit if not a must visit. Do not worry about the “zoo situation” by the way, you will not have to support animal cruelty to see this museum. When you get a ticket for the museum alone, you will be told to go straight there by the security guard and should be able to do so without an issue.
Only two museums? I can almost hear you say this loud and clear. Just two? In the whole city? Well, I suppose I should clarify my position a bit more on all of this. My “expeditions” to Albania and Serbia last summer made me enjoy quite a lot of high-quality museums with historical exhibitions. In a manner of speaking, I am (for now) quite “full” for such attractions unless they are really truly good or unique in some way. These two were, first is very unique, and the latter is simply very good. The thing is, I can take a train to Moscow and in a few hours start exploring some of the most fantastic exhibitions on the entire planet if I really want to see some more decent museums of history. I suppose, I am a bit spoiled when it comes to this issue. Certainly, there are many smaller exhibitions around town, some about the history of the Cold War in Gorky, some others dedicated to ethnography of the region, and yet some more that seem to be all about the specific neighbourhoods that they are located in. They often offer educational tours and seminars to schoolchildren here, and I am quite certain that they add a lot to the cultural atmosphere of the city. However, they are simply not “doing it” for me. I will certainly update this list if I end up finding more gems in the city, but that is unlikely, so simply enjoy these two and then go ahead and give the more technical and artistic museums of the city. Remember, they all have some serious history behind them as well!