Museums of Russia: The branch of the Bakrushin Museum, the Ostrovsky Estate, to become a modern museum complex

Large-scale works are in progress on the eve of the 200th anniversary since the birth of the great playwright A. N. Ostrovsky. Upon their completion, a modern museum complex will open in Moscow as part of the first Museum and Theatrical District “Bakrushinsky”.

Overall, there will be four objects located on the territory of the Ostrovsky Estate – the main house, theatrical gallery, tea room, restoration workshops, as well as the internal landscape area of the garden.

Restoration of the entire complex of the old urban estate, where the writer was born, will allow to fully present his creative work to the modern public. New exposition platforms are being built, which will result in the complex’s territory being twice as large. It means that visitors will have a chance to see twice the amount of authentic objects from the museum’s collections of Alexander Ostrovsky which contain about 50 thousand items. This is a great opportunity to see a signet with Ostrovsky’s autograph, rare Stradivarius violin of the XVIII century and others.

Historical interiors will be reconstructed in the Main House. The new exposition on the creative career of the playwright and the fate of his plays, showcased on the theatre stage in his lifetime, will be installed on the second floor of the house.

Reconstruction of the garden will be organized in the stylistics of old Moscow and Zamoskvorechye, beloved by Ostrovsky. The landscape exposition will restore the atmosphere of Zamoskvorechye gardens with historical plantings of the XIX century. Semantic content of the garden space will feature recognizable fragments from Ostrovsky’s famous plays. Though the “garden scenography” and theatrical installations, guests of the estate will be transported to “the Berendey Kingdom”, “town of Kalinov”, “the Penki Estate”, etc.

The Bakhrushin Museum has established a special department for the study of Russian drama that conducts work in the relevant research directions of this field. The preparations for the International “Bakhrushin Readings 2023”, timed to coincide with the anniversary of Ostrovsky, are also ongoing. Online projects, including the “To Ostrovsky!” exhibition, are planned as well.