The Astrakhan culture museum is in the immediate vicinity of the Prechistenskaya bell tower of the Astrakhan Kremlin. Originally, it was just the literary museum of Chernyshevsky. The latter was forced to live in Astrakhan for several years after he returned from the Siberain exile.
Nikolai Gavrilovich Chernyshevsky is one of the most famous Russian philosophers and literary critics. He is the author of the novel «What Is To Be Done?». Chernyshevsky was born in Saratov in 1828. He wrote many critical articles and published his philosophical works.
In 1862 he was arrested and was recognized the revolutionary, the number one enemy of the Russian Empire. After that he was condemned to penal servitude in Siberia for 20 years. Only in 1883 he was allowed to return to the European part of Russia, in Astrakhan.
Chernyshevsky settled in the house of merchant Khachikov. He lived in Astrakhan 6 years. The above mentioned museum was opened just in this house. At first the museum was devoted only to Chernyshevsky, but eventually museum collections were greatly extended and now you can get acquainted there with the culture and everyday life of Astrakhan of 19 century.
