Uchma Village Museum

Uchma Village Museum is located on the right bank of the Volga river near the place where the churches of the Uchma Kassianov Desert stood. The founder of the museum is a local resident, former forester and winner of The D. Likhachev prize for self-devotion, Vasily Smirnov. In 1989, he placed a cross at the grave of Saint Cassian, who was buried in Uchma. Five years later, next to the cross, on the site of the destroyed church, he also built a memorial chapel. Since many people did not understand the purpose of the cross and the chapel, Vasily established the Uchma Village Museum, which shows the history of 500 years ago. The villagers decided that the museum describes them so they brought their stories and household items. At that time, Elena Naumova, a Moscow citizen, graduate of the Physics Department of Moscow State University, and a laureate of awards in design joined Vasily. The museum became the brainchild of their family. Two new expositions about the bygone Russian village and its people are based on audio stories of local residents, supported by “revived” objects from simple village families. There is a person with stories, fate, habits, emotions and feelings in the centre of the narrative of all expositions: whether it is a prince of an imperial family, a monk, or a fisherman from the collective farm “Krasnaya Uchma”. Bridges that connect the stories and destinies of people from different countries, eras, and social situations make it possible to stop in time and not only get new information, but also listen to your own thoughts and feelings.

The main excursion programs are:

– The Byzantine prince in the Volga region.

– From one mound of earth to another. In the memory of the Russian village.

– Our own boat. Old women on love.

The collection is based on audio stories from Uchma residents. Everyday household items “came to life” thanks to the voices of their former owners.