Prokopyevsk City Museum of Local Lore

Prokopyevsk City Museum of Local Lore was founded on August 14, 1961 on the basis of the inter-school museum of local history, which operated since 1953 in school No. 1, and since 1956 in the Palace of Pioneers.

The founder and first director of the museum was honored teacher of the school of the RSFSR Mikhail Georgievich Yelkin (1913-1987). Over the 26 years of the existence of the Society “Young Historian”, created by M.G. Yelkin, young local historians conducted 24 archaeological expeditions, in which 1127 students took part, made 5 major scientific discoveries. In addition, several paleontological expeditions, 4 expeditions to the Tomsk ironworks and campaigns to the places of guerrilla battles during the Civil War were conducted. Since 1964, the museum occupies the 1st floor of a residential building on Shakhterov Avenue, 63.

The first exposition of the museum in the 1960s was designed by Prokopyevsk artist G.V. Statsenko. The current exhibition opened to visitors in 1989. The author of the general project was a graduate of the Irkutsk Art School M.V. Perepechin. Photo design was made by a graduate of VGIK, winner of international photo competitions O. I. Deriglazov.

In preparation for the celebration of the 70th anniversary of the Kemerovo region in 2012, the Kosmos Hall was opened, a unique exhibit of which is a genuine space lander with lodgements for three cosmonauts. And on the birthday of the region on January 26, 2013, new modern expositions of the hall "Formation of the city of Prokopyevsk" were presented. The design of the expositions of the new halls was performed by artists: E.N. Babkin, member of the Union of Artists of Russia Kemerovo Branch, winner of the Kuzbass Prize; P.D. Veremeyev, member of the Union of Artists of Russia Kemerovo Branch; V.Y. Atuchin, winner of the Kuzbass Prize; O.B. Inozemtsev; A.P. Veremeyev.

Materials of the museum and articles of researchers are published in the city press and in popular local lore almanacs “Search”, the journal “Coal of Kuzbass”, in collections of thematic interuniversity conferences.

Museum staff are constantly participating in museum competitions.

• In 2007, Prokopyevsk City Museum of Local Lore became the winner of the contest “Museum of the Year”.
• In 2008 he was awarded the diploma of the winner of the regional competition “Best Museum Institution” in the nomination “Project of the Year”.
• In 2010, the museum became the winner of the competition “Miners and Coal Miners in the Great Victory”, announced by the Department of Culture and National Policy of the Kemerovo Region, the Department of Coal Industry and Energy of the Kemerovo Region and the V.P. Romanov Mining Memory Foundation.