Krasnoyarsk museum center may be considered the biggest exhibition floor of Siberia. In our days most of it is occupied by various expositions devoted to the modern art. However, there also remained the most interesting expositions devoted to Lenin and the first years of the Soviet power.
The construction of the huge museum building at the confluence of the rivers Kacha and Yenisei began in 1982. In 1987 it was opened as the 13th branch of the Central Lenin Museum, the only in Siberia. Due to the avant-garde architecture of the interior space, as well as skilfully arranged expositions, this museum of Lenin became one of the most interesting ones in the Soviet Union.
In 1991 it was decided to close most of the expositions devoted to Lenin and give the space to the expositions of modern art. However, it was decided to preserve the main expositions devoted to Lenin, so-called Red Halls, because of their cultural value.
The Krasnoyarsk International Museum Biennale has been held there since 1995. There are biennales of various genres: modern art, graphics, architecture, and design but the museum biennale is the only of its kind. In 1998 the Krasnoyarsk Museum Center was the first Russian museum to be awarded the challenge Prize of the Council of Europe «for the contribution to the development of the European idea».
