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One of the most interesting Russian museums of wooden architecture comparable to a similar museum in Kizhi (Karelia) is located 500 kilometers to the south of Krasnoyarsk in Shushenskoye. A Siberian village of the end of 19 century was completely preserved on an area of 16 hectares.

The location of this museum in such a remote place is related to the fact that in 1897-1900 in Shushenskoye Vladimir Ulyanov (Lenin) served his exile, who then headed the revolution 1917, as a result of which the Bolsheviks came to power in St. Petersburg.

The memorial part of the exposition has 29 houses, 23 of which are the original houses of the end of 19 century. Of a particular interest are the house of Zyryanov where Lenin lived the first year of his exile and the house of Petrova where he moved after he was joined by N. К. Krupskaya. Also, it will be very interesting to have a look at the volost government and prison of the end of 19 century. Everything was preserved in its original state there.

The history of Lenin`s stay in Shushenskoye began in 1895 after his arrest. After a year of investigation, he was sentenced to exile in Siberia under police supervision, but his mother made sure that Lenin went into exile, not as addressed, but at his own expense.
In may 1896, Lenin left Krasnoyarsk for Shushenskoye on the steamer St. Nicholas. Now this ship has been turned into a Museum, and it can be seen in Krasnoyarsk. On may 8, Lenin rented a room in the house of the wealthy landowner Zyryanov. He was assigned a state allowance of 8 rubles a month, and this money Lenin gave to Zyryanov.


Simultaneously with Lenin, Nadezhda Krupskaya was arrested. She was sentenced to exile in Ufa, but she asked to be sent to Shushenskoye, where Lenin and Krupskaya wanted to get married immediately. In 1898, she came to Shushenskoye with her mother. Rings made of copper nickels were made by a local blacksmith, and the young couple were immediately married.
After their marriage, they moved to the spacious house of the landowner Praskovya Olympievna Petrova, where they rented half of the house: a kitchen, a room, and separate rooms for Lenin, Krupskaya, and her mother. As Krupskaya wrote in her memoirs: "... we lived a family Life. And we fought with the Russian stove together with my mother.

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The house of a well-off peasant Zyryanov where Lenin lived in the first year of his exile in Shushenskoye.
The house of Praskovya Petrova where Lenin lived with his wife N. Krupskaya.
A view on the house of Praskovya Petrova where Lenin and Krupskaya lived during an exile in Shushenskoye.
The house of Lauer with a big mezzanine is the biggest house in Shushenskoye.
The volost chief building and the prison fence in Shushenskoye.
The street before the house of Zyryanov in Shushenskoye.
The room of Lenin in the house of Zyryanov. It cost him 8 roubles a month.
The cart Lenin used to go to Minusinsk in 1898 in the backyard of the house of Zyryanov in Shushenskoye.
A photo of Lenin when he was in an exile in Shushenskoye. 
A photo of Krupskaya dating back to the period of an exile in Shushenskoye in the house of Lauer.
The room of Lenin and Krupskaya in the house of Petrova in Shushenskoye. 
The table and escritoire in the house of Petrova Lenin worked at when he was in a exile in Shushenskoye.
The fence of the prison, which is behind the volost management building in Shushenskoye.
The court room in the volost management building in Shushenskoye.
The court room in the volost management building in Shushenskoye.
Tavern is a drinking establishment for the poor in Shushenskoye.
There were no tables and chairs in taverns. So you had to drink in the standing position. Taverns also offered no meals.
Various vessels for measuring alcohol such as charka, kosushka, shkalik and shtof at the tavern in Shushenskoye.
The house of Urban in Shushenskoye. A shop of foreign goods was in this house.
The scales for bigger goods at the shop of Urban in Shushenskoye.
Eggshell or China porcelain at the shop of Urban in Shushenskoye.
An ice cellar in the yard of the house of Yermolayev in Shushenskoye.
A big birch at the house of Yermolayev in Shushenskoye.
The house of a peasant Zheltovskiy in Shushenskoye.
Zheltovskiy was a cooper, a maker or repairer of casks and barrels. This is his workshop.
A bright room of Zheltovskiy`s house in Shushenskoye.
A kitchen of Zheltovskiy`s house in Shushenskoye.
The house of a poor peasant Tvardovskiy in Shushenskoye.
The inside of the house of Tvardovskiy. All his family lived in a single room.
A stove and a table replacing a kitchen in the house of Tvardovskiy in Shushenskoye.