The museum was established and opened at the Ponyrovskaya secondary school in 1964. Its exhibition is dedicated to the first days of the war in the area, the occupation, the partisan movement, and the liberation of the area on February 13, 1943. Significant attention is given to the preparation for the battle at Kursk Bulge and the Ponyrov defensive operation on July 5 and 11, 1943.

For the first time, new photographs and documents are presented, including the interrogation protocol of German corporal F. Bruno, captured by scouts of the 15th Siva Division under the command of Captain P. G. Savinov on the eve of the Kursk battle.

The exhibition also features copies of nine banners of military units that participated in the defensive battles. The diorama "Battle for the Ponyri Station on July 10, 1943" depicts the real events and heroes of that day. The commander of the rifle battalion of the 9th Guards Airborne Assault Regiment of the 4th Guards Airborne Division, Captain A. P. Zhukov, skillfully led the battle for the Ponyri station from the front line, during which two tanks were destroyed, over 700 German soldiers and officers were killed, and two planes were shot down. He and his deputy for political affairs, Captain N. D. Kozyakov, were posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Soviet Union.

The exhibition concludes with materials on preserving the memory of the fighters who fought in the area, meetings of veterans, and memory watches that are organized annually by search teams.

On the museum grounds, there is an open-air exhibition complex "The Front Line of Defense. July 1943," recreating a fragment of the defense line with anti-tank hedgehogs, barbed wire obstacles, and full-profile trenches.

The museum is visited by up to 15,000 people annually, including residents of our country and guests from far and near abroad.