The Memorial Museum of Maxim Gorky in Arzamas is dedicated to the life and work of one of the most famous Russian writers of the 20th century, Alexey Maximovich Peshkov, known by his pseudonym Maxim Gorky. The museum is located in the house where the writer spent several months. This museum serves as an important center for preserving the memory of Gorky and his contributions to Russian and world literature.
Gorky lived in Arzamas from May 5 to November 4, 1902. He was exiled here by the decision of the tsarist government due to his revolutionary activities. Gorky was born and raised in Nizhny Novgorod, and from a young age, he began to show interest in the revolutionary activities of the Bolsheviks. The tsarist secret police decided to send him to Arzamas, which many considered a center of Orthodoxy and monarchism in the Nizhny Novgorod province.
Maxim Gorky arrived in Arzamas with his entire family: his wife, Ekaterina Peshkova, and their children, Maxim and Ekaterina. Gorky`s mother-in-law also accompanied them. They rented four rooms in the 11-room wooden house of the merchant Podsosov. The tsarist secret police set up an observation post opposite the house and kept constant watch over the writer. In his letters to friends, Gorky spoke very warmly of Arzamas but was extremely negative about the "spies" who were watching him.
In Arzamas, Gorky wrote several significant works, including the play “The Lower Depths”, which brought him widespread fame. He also wrote the plays “*Summer Folk” and “The Petty Bourgeois” during this period. Many prominent figures of the time visited Gorky`s family, including the entire management of the Moscow Art Theatre, where Gorky`s plays were staged. Vladimir Lenin even then referred to him as a "world-famous writer."
The Memorial Museum of Maxim Gorky in Arzamas was opened in 1982. The initiative to create the museum came from local residents and admirers of Gorky`s work, who wanted to immortalize the memory of the writer whose life and work were closely connected with Arzamas.
The museum is located in the house where Gorky lived during his exile in Arzamas. The building is a historical and architectural monument of the 19th century. The museum`s exhibition is spread across four halls. One of the halls recreates Gorky`s study, while another recreates the room of his wife, Ekaterina Peshkova.
The other two rooms are dedicated to the writer`s works. Here, visitors can see first editions of his works, photographs, letters, as well as critical articles and reviews of his writings. The exhibition also includes works by artists inspired by Gorky`s literature.
