The Ethnography Museum is located in an architectural monument of the 17th-19th centuries, the Church of Nicholas Gostunsky. In 1986, after the restoration of the Nikolskaya Church, museum exhibitions opened here. The second floor houses the exhibition hall, while the first floor features the exhibition "Folk Art of the Ustyug Land." Today, this Ethnography Museum showcases the diversity of folk art from the Ustyug region from the 17th to the early 20th century, thanks to its rich collections. Here you can find patterned weaving, embroidery, cube stamping, wood carving and painting, blacksmithing, perforation, and ceramics.

Ustyug craftswomen displayed unparalleled skill in coarse weaving, characterized by rich ornamentation and vibrant colors. Towels, aprons, headscarves, shirts, and belts were adorned with patterns made from red and white cotton threads or colored gimp. Bright orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple tones added a decorative quality to the fabrics. Geometric-style ornaments included diamonds, triangles, and crosses, as well as figures of cavaliers, ladies, birds, and horsemen, which were typical of Ustyug weaving. Such patterns were believed to bring good fortune and protect against evil. The embroidery of Ustyug craftswomen was distinguished by a refined artistic taste, using white and colored thread, cross-stitch, tambour, and topstitch. In the ornaments of towels and undercloths, one can see floral motifs, female figures, leopards, deer, and birds. All these methods of decorating fabrics are reflected in women's costumes. The exhibition features festive women's outfits from the 19th and early 20th centuries, preserving the traditions of Russian national clothing, which emphasized the beauty of each woman. Costumes made from silk and semi-brocade fabrics stand out, adorned with precious headgear, chest and neck decorations, and pearl earrings. The maiden's sash, crown, white scarf with a golden flowering bush, and kokoshnik are embellished with gold and silver threads, pearls, mother-of-pearl, beads, and glass beads. Artistic wood processing was widespread in Ustyug. Craftsmen used carved, volumetric, and through carving, painting, and coloring. Most exhibits are related to flax processing, weaving, and sewing clothing: spindles, combs, parts of weaving looms, sewing tools, and rubels. Giant ladles, ladles for pouring, and salt cellars are distinguished by harmony of form and smooth silhouette. The high level of wood carving is evidenced by gingerbread boards used for making printed gingerbread. The museum has recreated a corner of a peasant's hut interior. The entrance to the golbets, doors, oven, partitions, cupboards, cradles, chests, festive arches, and spindles are decorated with bright floral painting, which was common in peasant huts and indicated the family's prosperity. Ustyug masters were renowned for their skills in blacksmithing. Forged and perforated gates, famous Ustyug chests, boxes with iron fittings, brackets, and candlesticks are characterized by artistic expressiveness and plasticity. The exhibition also features a variety of pottery: jugs, pitchers, beer mugs, pots, and tar vessels. The works presented in the Ethnography Museum testify to the richness of the artistic culture of the Russian people and the talent of the masters of Veliky Ustyug.