The Chack-Chack Museum

The museum creators are the married couple Dmitry and Raushania Polosiny. The idea came to them spontaneously while traveling. From an interview with Dmitry and Raushania Polosiny: “There are many different museums now where, in a relaxed atmosphere, people learn the stories and customs of a particular place. The most memorable and probably decisive were the museums in the Moscow suburbs and the Pastila Museum in Kolomna. The most interesting thing for us was that before we had not heard about the Kolomna pastila, did not imagine that it is so different and, moreover, that there may be a museum dedicated to it. Then we wondered why Kazan lacks such museums, especially since we have such an interesting dish, the chack-chack, and there is nothing dedicated to it. Indeed, it is sometimes difficult to find a good chack-chack in the city. After that we began to study this idea and look for ways to implement it.”

The museum purpose is aimed at maximizing the potential of not only the settlement, but also the city and the republic as a whole: preservation of the Tatars intangible heritage, and the development and popularization of crafts and traditions of the Tatar people.

The Chack-Chack Museum is located in a 19th century house, which belonged to the Tatar merchant of the second guild Vafa Bigaev. It is located in the Old Tatar settlement, where the Tatars historically lived after the Kazan conquest by Ivan the Terrible. Entering the doors of the museum, you find yourself in the ethnic environment of a Tatar house, with its original ways and traditions. All the museum hostesses (employees) are dressed in national costumes.

With the museum opening, tourists had the opportunity to see not only the facades of houses, but also life itself inside Tatar houses, which helps them to understand the difference between Tatar culture and other cultures.

The museum has two floors. There is a souvenir shop and a tea room on the ground floor. The museum itself is located on the second floor. It hosts masterclasses focused on making chack-chack.

The Museum interiors are the best place for filming the historic interiors of the Tatar house, and filming programs about the cooking / preparation of chack-chack. Correspondents from various channels, including foreign ones, often come to the museum.

Exposition:

The museum recreated the traditional life and interior of the Tatar house. The leading role is played by utilitarian and household items, household goods of the Tatars of those times, dishes, utensils, furniture, and art textiles: woven and embroidered tablecloths, towels, curtains, napkins, greases; carpet products and homespun rugs, and bedding.