The Museum of the First Soviet (Council in English) is located in a small stone building of the petty-bourgeois council. This house was built in the late 19th century. During the revolution of 1905, meetings of the City Soviet were held there. It was created during the strike of the workers of the textile factories of Ivanovo-Voznesensk.
During the revolution of 1917, the Bolsheviks were able to seize power, as they relied on the City Soviets (Councils). These Soviets were formed in cities by initiative workers, and they became the basis of the city administration of the Soviet government. The name Soviet Union comes from the word "Soviet".
The first such Workers` Soviet was established in 1905 in Ivanovo. In Soviet historiography, it was later called the "First Soviet" and even created the Museum of the First Soviet. This first soviet (council) coordinated the demands of the strikers in the factories of Ivanovo-Voznesensk.
Then they did have political demands. All the demands of the workers concerned the improvement of working conditions, which were quite difficult in factories around the world at the beginning of the 20th century. As a result of the general strike, the factory owners partially complied with the workers` demands. But in general, the strike was suppressed by force, and hunger forced the workers to return to the factories.
The exposition in the central hall of the museum is dedicated to the events of the Ivanovo-Voznesensk workers` strike, as well as the work of the First Soviet of Ivanovo under the leadership of Avenir Nozdrin. There are a lot of photos and documents here. In other halls, rooms with furniture from different soviet time have been created. In the Museum you can see how the room of the Ivanovo worker looked like in the dormitory of the factory, as well as the rooms of Soviet people from the beginning of the 20th century to the 1980s.
