Russian museums: The State Historical Museum celebrates its 130th anniversary

May 27, 2013 the State Historical Museum in Moscow celebrated its 130^th anniversary.

The emergence of the museum is associated with the initiative of the Moscow public. The reason for it was an exhibition dedicated to the 200th anniversary of the birth of Peter the Great.

The offers of the initiative group on creation of the museum there were approved by the emperor Alexander II on February 9, 1872.

May 29, 1883 emperor Alexander III with the empress during the coronation ceremonies visited the new museum.

June 2, 1883 in the presence of representatives of the cultural and scientific community of Moscow took place the consecration of the Front passage and the first 11 halls. On this day the first visitors of the museum crossed the threshold.

The public is enthusiastically greeted the opening of the museum, because, in the words of the famous historian K. N. Bestuzhev-Rumin, “the people who wants to be a great people, should know their own history”. Historical monuments are the witnesses of the long history of the peoples of Russia - for the first time appeared in a single exposure, and for the first time the public could see the “full picture of each era of the history of Russia” in a diverse combination of documentary, visual and clothing sites. The State Historical Museum established as a national museum located on the Red Square and is a symbol of Russian history, science and Russian identity.