The Sheltozersky Veps Ethnographic Museum named after R. P. Lonin is dedicated to the culture of the indigenous small-numbered people of Russia, the Veps.

The museum was founded in 1967 as a folk museum, thanks to the efforts of the well-known local historian, writer, and collector of Veps folklore Rurik Petrovich Lonin. Over the 13 years of the folk museum's existence, unique collections were gathered, reflecting the traditional occupations and crafts, everyday life and economy, folk beliefs and holidays of the Veps. In 1971, the Sheltozersky Local History Museum was recognized as the best among the folk museums of the republic. In 1980, it received state status, first becoming a department, and in 1987, a branch of the Karelian State Local History Museum.

The first director of the state museum was historian and researcher Alexander Pavlovich Maximov. R. P. Lonin and A. P. Maximov worked together on creating the exhibition of the Veps museum, which was located in the restored Melkin house, built in 1814. The main exhibition designer was the well-known historian Mikhail Yurievich Dankov, and the artist was Dmitry Uchuvatkin. In June 1991, the Melkin house opened its doors to the first visitors.

In 2010, the museum was named after its founder, and it now bears the full title of the Sheltozersky Veps Ethnographic Museum named after R. P. Lonin.