Postwar socialist city: reconstruction of its image based on materials from the collection of the Kstovo Museum of Local Lore and History (1950s–1960s)

Abstract

This article analyzes the structure of the collection of the Kstovo Museum of Local Lore and History, which is located at the exposition “The Heroic Chronicle of Kstovo citizens”, which tells about the construction of Kstovo and the Novogorkovsky oil refinery in the Gorky region in the 1950s–1960s. The purpose of the analysis is to evaluate the potential of museum items in the solution of the task of reconstructing the image of the post-war socialist city and the daily life of its citizens. Various museum items — photographs, documents, prints, memorial objects, combined in the exposition — reveal the specific features of the socialist city of the period: the presence of a large industrial plant, the transition to standard housing and industrial development, the young population manifesting itself in labor, social and political life, preferring active forms of leisure. In the course of the research, earlier unpublished photographs and documents from the museum’s collection are introduced into scientific circulation. Attention is paid to both museological and cultural aspects of the subject matter. The concept of a socialist city has been analyzed, and it has also been studied how completely the museum’s collection is capable of embodying the everyday reality of Soviet Kstov. Using the example of individual exhibits, authors demonstrated how the information content of each of the considered types of objects influences the creation of a holistic image of the city in the museum’s exhibition space. At the same time, the article also shows a broader historical context in order to highlight the common and specific features of the construction of the city of Kstovo, as reflected in the exhibits. The article focuses on the ways of representing Soviet everyday life in the museum space.

Keywords:

Kstovo, Novogorkovsky oil refinery, socialist city, Komsomol building, exposition, collection, Kstovo museum of local lore and history