Museum of the Cossacks

While studying the history of the Cossacks, Yakbarov Alexander Vladislavovich faced one great difficulty – the lack of any uniformity in the views on the history of our ancestors, the Kuban Cossacks. Even studying the primary sources, we have to deal with different, often contradictory, opinions. This fact led the museum’s owner to believe that it is preferable to look at history through the aspect of material culture. After all, when such an object is in front of your eyes, you can`t disprove the fact of its presence.

In January 2008, it was decided to open a Museum of the Cossacks based on the North-Western FCS Kurin. This process required a long and painstaking amount of work in the archives, cultural and ethnographic expeditions, and acquaintance with many interesting people. The collection of museum exhibits grew over time. A small, but close-knit team of like-minded people appeared. In December 2009, with the assistance of the administration of the Prikubansky district of Krasnodar, the “History of the Formation of the Cossacks in the Kuban” exhibition was opened. This was the first exhibition of the Museum of the Cossacks.

However, field work continued in 2010, when together with the first Deputy of the Museum E. Koltakov 15 expeditions were organized – each of them were planned in detail according to the location and its purpose – the study of a certain area. The residents of the villages gave their employees old photos and books from their personal family archives. So, the museum archive appeared. Old recipes for cooking and drinking were also collected. It was decided to establish a separate museum project – restoration of Cossack cooking – a little-studied history of original cuisine culture of the Cossacks. Bit by bit, we had to collect information about the Cossack fighting techniques, in particular about the technique of working with a dagger (a project led by Sergei Loek).

In 2011, the museum opened its own premises in the headquarters of the North-Western Kurin. 2011 year was a special year, as in March of this year, the relics of the Kurin – old Orthodox books, were returned.

On April 26, the 20th anniversary of the rehabilitation of the Cossacks, the museum opened its own permanent exhibition in the premises of the Kurin office.

Many guests came to the opening of the exhibition: Alexander Burmagin, Ataman of Krasnodar, Nikolai Yurin, Chairman of the audit Commission of the CC, Kovalenko, one of the founders of the Cossack movement in Kuban, our good friends from the center of national cultures and the Krasnodar society of international friendship, as well as the society of international friendship of the Kuban Agrarian Academy. The director of the museum led the first tour of the museum, telling a fascinating story about the existence and lives of the Kuban Cossacks during the late 19th – early 20th century.

Nowadays, the museum’s collection contains:

– reproductions of strange paintings;

– household appliances, clothing, items household items, tools;

– photos, documents;

– old map of the Kuban Region and the verst plan of Ekaterinodar;

– old Orthodox books.