YUZHNO-SAKHALINSK, September 17. /TASS/. A branch of the Russian Ethnographic Museum opened in Sakhalin. It is the museum's first branch ever, Director Yulia Kupina told TASS.
"It is a special day, we have been working towards it for several years," the museum's director said. "It is for the first time that we are opening our doors not in St. Petersburg, but eight time zones away from our hometown. It is a great honor for us to open a branch in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk in the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia."
"Our dream is to have this museum the region's "own" museum," she continued. "So that here, like it is in St. Petersburg, people would say with pride and warmth: "This is our ethnographic museum."
The first exhibition – Here We Live – presents the cultural heritage of Sakhalin's indigenous peoples: the Nivkhs, Wilts, Nanais and Evenks, she said. Many of the items have undergone complicated restoration and now they are back to their place of origin. The region's residents will see exhibits that have not been exposed over recent 100 years. The exposition presents more than 400 items. Most of them were brought from the Sakhalin Island by the famous Russian researcher Viktor Vasiliev in the early 20th century.
"It is a big event in the region's cultural life. Of a historical scale," the Sakhalin Region's Governor Valery Limarenko said at the opening ceremony. "I think it is very symbolic. The year 2026 has been in this country declared the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia. Now, we have a platform where unique cultures of this country's different peoples will be presented. I know that the Russian Ethnographic Museum's collection is unique. Sakhalin has been hosting exhibitions almost every year due to the cooperation with the Museum of Local Lore. Now we will have an ongoing opportunity to learn about the exhibits that tell about the life of peoples in this country."
The work on establishment of the Russian Ethnographic Museum's branch on the Sakhalin Island began in 2021, in compliance with instructions from Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova. A modern museum complex was built in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. The four-story building of more than 3,500 square meters has two exhibition halls, a storage facility, and office space. The Sakhalin Museum Complex will focus on studying and promoting ethnic and cultural heritage and current cultures and traditions of the peoples of the Northern Pacific, the Far East, Eastern Siberia's Arctic Zone, and the Sakhalin Region. Local residents and visitors will learn about Russia's development of the Sakhalin and the Kuril Islands regions.
About the museum
The Russian Ethnographic Museum is one of the largest ethnographic museums in the world. It is located in downtown St. Petersburg. The museum was founded as the Ethnographic Department of the Russian Museum of Emperor Alexander III. The date of its creation is considered to be January 10, 1902, when its staffing table was approved and financing began.
The Russian Ethnographic Museum's collection features more than 500,000 museum items belonging to 157 ethnic groups, including objects and illustrative monuments, photographic documents, books and archival materials on the culture of the peoples of Russia and neighboring countries. The museum collects, studies and presents the multinational traditional culture at exhibitions and permanent expositions, under various publishing and educational projects.