Nizhny Novgorod Museum of the Cold War and the History of the city of Gorky in 1946-1991

The museum aims to preserve, study and popularize the history of the largely unexplored period of the Cold War. The museum staff conduct exhibition and research work in the field of the modern history of our country and its Armed Forces, the history of the Nizhny Novgorod region and the city of Nizhny Novgorod, provide military and patriotic education to the youth by organizing thematic exhibitions and events, Bravery lessons, military historical reconstructions, etc. The museum also hosts permanent exhibitions on the history of the Cold War and the Soviet period of our country’s history in general, including its lesser-known aspects, such as the Soviet Army, the history of civil defense and the shelter system construction in the USSR, the country’s science and industry, everyday life of Soviet people, local history of Gorky (Nizhny Novgorod), the history of the Soviet machinery, etc.

The museum consistently hosts popular lectures on science and technology, life sciences, modern history, and other interesting topics. The museum staff give lectures entitled “Secrets of the Atom” on the nature of radioactivity and host scientific shows for children and adults, in which they perform physical and chemical experiments. Workshops on the basics of life safety and first-aid are also held in the museum.

The museum has a Nizhny Novgorod City Tour Bureau, a Military and Patriotic Club, and a military historical reconstruction club, which take part in various traveling military and patriotic events and exhibitions.

The collection contains more than 4,500 items, divided into several thematic groups and exhibitions:

– An exhibition “Honor of the Russian Uniform”. Uniforms, ammunition, and equipment of the Soviet and Russian armies (from the time of the Great Patriotic War to the present day).

– A large collection of weapon models, small arms, and ammunition, as well as other military equipment and devices from the Soviet and Russian armies of the 20th-21st centuries (several hundred items). Legendary Kalashnikov assault rifles, Simonov carbines, hand-held anti-tank rocket launchers, etc. The collection is shown at the exhibition “For the Glory of Russian Weapons”.

– One of the largest Russian collections of domestically produced gas masks and protective equipment from pre-war to the present day (more than 100 items), shown at the exhibition “The History of the Russian gas mask”.

– One of the largest Russian collections of fully working dosimetric and civil defense equipment from the 1950s to the present day (more than 500 items), shown at the exhibition “Attention everyone!”.

– An exhibition of active military communications devices, from the first tube radios and wired field telephones.

– Collection of measuring instruments and radio-electronic industrial equipment made in the USSR.

– Collection of chemistry glassware and laboratory equipment shown at the exhibition “History of Soviet Science”

– A large themed collection of working audio equipment and home electronics made in the USSR (tape recorders, turn-tables, radios, TV sets, etc, as well as a music library containing several thousand vinyl and shellac records, tapes and cassettes, filmstrips, diapositives, CDs, etc.). It is brought together in a thematic exhibition “Disco of the Eighties”.

– A collection of the Soviet everyday objects, industrial goods made by enterprises of Gorky and the Gorky region in the 20th century.

– An exhibition presenting a selection of Soviet-era posters and billboards (military, political, industrial posters, etc.).

– A large selection of documents on the key events of the Cold War, the history of the Chernobyl accident, the Afghan conflict, the history of the Gorky (Nizhny Novgorod) region and the closed city of Gorky, the history of the nuclear weapons, civil defense system, etc.

– The museum’s library and digital library (more than 8 thousand rare books on military technology of the 20th century).

– Audiovisual archives (film and photographic films, videos, filmstrips, records, tapes, etc.).