Human destinies, the history of the country and the native land where we were born, documents, photographs, facts, all of this forms our memory, which is carefully preserved by museums. Among them is the Novospassky District Local History Museum, which celebrates its 45th anniversary in November. Here you can immerse yourself in the past and learn a lot about the present, feeling the history of your small homeland closer.

The collection of materials for the museum began back in 1979. By the 40th anniversary of Victory, the museum building was constructed, and it opened its doors on November 20, 1985. The first director, Maria Gordeeva, spent many years searching for and collecting materials and relics, uncovering unknown pages of her native land. Today, the museum's archive holds 13,000 items, of which more than 3,000 are part of the main collection.

In the Novospasskoye Museum of the Ulyanovsk Region, you can visit five halls of the main exhibition. Here, a rich collection of household items from the late 19th and mid-20th centuries is presented, including interesting examples of tools and vintage clothing. The exhibitions tell about the impact of the Civil War on the Novospasskoye region, the establishment of Soviet power, and collectivization. One of the largest collections is dedicated to relics of the Great Patriotic War. Of the 6,500 Novospassk residents who went to the front, 3,420 did not return. The exhibition also highlights the pride of the Novospassk residents, four Heroes of the Soviet Union and holders of the Orders of Glory.

The museum continues to work on new exhibitions, such as "Cossacks in the Novospasskoye District," "Collective Farms and State Farms: A Historical Stage in the Development of the District," and "A.S. Kazakov, Hero of the Small Homeland."

Museum activities include not only exhibitions and the collection of exhibits. In November 2019, the Novospasskoye Museum won the All-Russian competition of exhibition projects "Salute, Victory," dedicated to the 75th anniversary of Victory. The museum's director, Nadezhda Anokhina, was invited to the VIII St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum, where she participated in a strategic session of the International project "Territory of Victory." At that time, an Agreement on joint activities was signed with the Central Museum of the Great Patriotic War, and the district museum became a branch of the Museum of Victory. The museum also participated in the All-Russian flash mob "ZoyaHero" and the postcard project "Meeting the 45th Year."

In the context of the pandemic, the museum staff successfully adapted to the new work format. Daily, they post local history materials online in messengers and social networks, for example, on topics like "This Day in the History of the Country," "An Item from the Museum," "We Remember Everyone by Name," and "Witnesses of the War."

In the summer, the museum launched the campaign "Enrich the Exhibition of the District Museum," appealing to residents to bring in antique items, embroidery, and photographs to enhance the exhibitions.

For the 45th anniversary, a new paleontological section appeared in the hall "Pre-Revolutionary Past." The exhibits, donated by an initiative group of teachers and students from Surulovskaya School, include remains of ancient mollusks, a sea urchin, the shell of an Inoceramus, and a mammoth rib donated by a resident of Novospasskoye. Now children can study ancient animals not just from pictures.

The Novospasskoye Local History Museum preserves the past, cherishes the present, and looks to the future with hope, knowing that everything is important for history.