“Appointees” — directors of the Museum of A. M. Gorky in Kazan: The Soviet model of cultural management

Abstract

In the presented article, the author analyzes the historical stages of development of one of the oldest literary museums in the Republic of Tatarstan, the “Kazan Museum of A. M. Gorky” (now “Museum of A. M. Gorky and F. I. Chaliapin”), in the context of the institution’s directors who were appointed by higher party bodies. Many appointees lacked experience in the museum sphere and did not have the corresponding educational background. This format of selecting candidates for key positions was characteristic of the Soviet period and was a kind of model for managing culture. However, the activities of the leaders of the museum — “appointees”, the intensive development of areas of work and dedication to the chosen profession influenced the formation of a special museum space in the republic, which united representatives of science, art, and outstanding writers of the region. The article emphasizes the special role of one of the first directors of the museum, Maria Nikolaevna Elizarova, who was not only a principled communist, but also a writer who led the museum for almost four decades and laid the foundations for its development strategy for many years. Elizarova’s cultural initiatives, as well as her predecessors’ and followers’, were significant in preserving the historical and cultural heritage of the region. Given the lack of existing facts on the history of the “Kazan Museum of A. M. Gorky”, and the activities of its employees, the material presented in the article is able to fill historical gaps and form a general idea in regard to the outstanding personalities who stood at the helm of the museum.

Keywords:

museum, Gorky studies, exposition, restoration, exhibits