The Krasnoyarsk Regional Local History Museum is one of the oldest museums in Siberia and the largest in Russia. Its exhibition area exceeds 3,500 square meters, and it receives over 300,000 visitors annually.

The museum was founded in February 1889 thanks to the initiative of the local intelligentsia. Its original exhibition included items from archaeology, numismatics, and industry. Financial support for the museum came from the city authorities, intelligentsia, and patrons. Initially, it was located on Karatanov Street.

From the early 20th century until 1929, the museum was on the second floor of the Gostiny Dvor on Starobazarnaya Square. The Krasnoyarsk City Duma created a committee to address the construction of a new building, as the old premises became cramped and thefts of exhibits increased.

Architect Leonid Alexandrovich Chernyshev, known for his work in the Yenisei province, led the construction. The building was designed in the Art Nouveau style and resembled an ancient Egyptian temple. Construction continued until 1929, and the wall paintings were done by artist Karl Waldman.

World War I brought changes: barracks and a military hospital were placed inside the unfinished museum. Due to negligence, a fire occurred, damaging the wooden and metal parts of the building. Repairs resumed only in 1927.

The exhibition opened in 1930, and the museum received its modern name as a local history museum. During World War II, the exhibitions were suspended, and the building housed the administration of the Northern Sea Routes.

Today, the Local History Museum plays an important role in the cultural life of the city, representing the region's history from ancient times to the present day. Its collections hold unique items, such as autographs of Napoleon and Rasputin.

The museum's reconstruction, which lasted nearly 14 years, was completed in the early 21st century. The museum became a comprehensive exhibition of new Russia and actively engages in educational activities. Programs on the history and culture of the region, ecology, famous people, and industrial development in Siberia are implemented here.

The museum hosts folklore festivals and tours in several languages, many of which are interactive and aimed at schoolchildren. It participates in various programs and has won numerous grants in Russia and abroad. In 2008, the museum received the main prize in the competition "The Changing Museum in a Changing World."

In 1892, the museum's collection numbered 10,136 items, and today it holds about 470,000 storage units. The exhibition covers the history of the region from ancient times to the present.

The core of the exhibition consists of collections: archaeological (over 35,000 items), paleontological (skeletons of a mammoth and stegosaurus, reconstruction of a woolly rhinoceros), artistic (over 10,000 exhibits), church art, ethnographic (over 64,000 items), natural science (over 40,000 items), written sources, manuscripts and documents (over 100,000 exhibits), epistolary heritage of the Decembrists, archives, libraries, weapons, collections of Surikov, Astafyev, and others.

Among the unusual historical exhibits of the museum are the autographs of Napoleon and Grigori Rasputin, which attract the attention of visitors.