Tsarist Russia joined Europe’s museum craze a little late, developing only a few large museums by the time of the Revolution. The USSR later enthusiastically developed museums as educational and propaganda tools. Today, the cities of Eurasia contain surprising numbers of these institutions, both private and publicly funded, and on nearly every subject imaginable. Many of these museums have survived wars, revolutions, and economic and political collapse, often by innovating ways of preserving, funding, and maintaining their collections. For anyone studying history, museum science, literature, art, or nearly any other subject, these places make for fascinating travel and study abroad destinations.
Yaroslavl, located a five-hour train ride from Moscow, is often considered to be the capital of the “Golden Ring” – a collection of towns whose prominence in Russian history can be traced back to the rise of Moscow or before. It is the only city in Russia other than Saint Petersburg to have its entire […]