The Gorky Museum in Kazan has been operating since 1940 and is one of the oldest literary expositions in Russia and the most visited cultural site in the city. Alexey Peshkov, known to the world as a writer Maxim Gorky, did not live here for long, from 1884 to 1888. Then he came here once, being already a famous writer. So why was a museum named after him opened in the city? Why do Kazan so cherish the memory of this man?
Great writer and outstanding person
The greatness of the writer is not subject to any doubt. The name of Maxim Gorky quickly became famous in Russia at the end of the 19th century. The collections of his essays and short stories in 1898-1899 diverged in unprecedented print runs of those times. And this despite the fact that he had to comprehend the basics of writing independently. The lack of evidence of primary education, as well as a lack of knowledge blocked his access to the university, which did not prevent him from literally breaking into the literary life of pre-revolutionary Russia.
In the Soviet years, he stood on a par with the classics of Russian literature. His books did not leave anyone indifferent, they were in great demand. Maxim Gorky was one of the most published writers. The circulation of his works was second only to megaclassics of Russian literature: L.N. Tolstoy and A.S. Pushkin.
The greatness of this person is evidenced by his initiatives, decisions and actions. Enlightener, humanist, internationalist - he was understood and loved by readers not only in his homeland. His works have been translated into many foreign languages, his literature teaches people to be better. He himself studied life with people, and his “universities” began precisely in Kazan.
Museum History
In 1938, when it was decided to create the Gorky Museum in Kazan, the premises for him were immediately chosen. The house, built at the end of the XIX century, in the basement of which Alexey worked as an assistant to the baker, has been preserved. True, it was residential, and to begin with, some rooms were freed. March 12, 1940 opened a house museum.
As the tenants resettled, the exposition occupied an increasingly large area. The collected materials were delivered from storage. The last inhabitants were relocated in only 1986, and the building was completely transferred to the museum.
Aleksey Maksimovich, recalling this period of his life, did not hide that these were very difficult years, but it was here that he learned to confront difficulties, grew spiritually, learned the side of life that he had not encountered before.
Two museums in one complex
In 2016, a large-scale reconstruction was completed at the Gorky Museum in Kazan. Now the exposition is talking about two great people, one of whom hosted “their universities” here, and the second, his great friend, a native of Kazan, Fedor Ivanovich Chaliapin. On March 7, 2018, the museum officially received a name that included two great names.
The Chaliapin Museum was opened at the long-existing, formed Gorky Museum. It was decided to put emphasis on the Kazan theme in the exhibits, which connected these people at the beginning of their career, on the role of the city in their future destinies.
Museum staff completed the task. But in addition, they managed, without violating the concept of exposure, to show the whole life path of each of the heroes.
Alexey Peshkov in Kazan
16-year-old Alexei arrives in Kazan from Nizhny Novgorod to prepare for university entrance. The dream did not come true, and the guy agrees to any job to feed himself. Labor at the port in the crew of movers enabled the observant young man to take a closer look at life at the bottom of society. This was his first experience. Then he found the place of a janitor at General Korno. Finally, he was lucky. In 1886, he got a job as an assistant baker to Andrei Derenkov. The bakery was in the basement of an apartment building. Now the staff of the Maxim Gorky Museum in Kazan consider it to be their most valuable exhibit.
Derenkov at that time owned a grocery store, where clandestine student meetings were held with the knowledge of the owner. The ideas of populism were then very popular. Alexey also attended these gatherings. But to say that his revolutionary ideas were born this way is wrong. The young man did not understand the meaning of what was happening, although he readily read propaganda literature. He could not yet comprehend, comprehend and accept the ideas of the revolution. Later he recalled that no one took him seriously, rather, he was funny for the student community.
Hard physical work exhausted the guy, but he still found the strength to read, he tried to write. His first publications appeared during this period in the local newspaper Volzhsky Vestnik. He claimed that he was physically born in Nizhny Novgorod, but spiritually in Kazan. Here he recognized the many hardships of life, fell into depression, found strength and made his way to the goal. He has grown stronger in these four years. In his works he often used the experience gained in this city. At the Gorky Museum in Kazan, it was estimated that the events described by the author were somehow connected with Kazan in 21 of his works.
Fedor Chaliapin, a native of Kazan
Museum staff began to collect materials about the life of their countryman a long time ago, in the 40s of the last century. But to arrange an exhibition dedicated to the disgraced singer was not possible. The collection was kept in storage. Maxim Gorky and Fedor Chaliapin were friends. Although they lived in Kazan at the same time, they met later, in 1901, at the Nizhny Novgorod fair, where the singer performed.
Two cheerful, cheerful people quickly converged in character, in many ways understanding each other. They say that a funny incident happened to them. Both then lived in Kazan and, being unfamiliar, tried to enter the choir of the city theater. Chaliapin was not accepted, then he had a mutation in his voice, and Peshkov became a chorus. Guides tell this story in the Gorky Museum in Kazan as a funny joke.
Museum workers managed to say at least something about the great singer only in the context of friendly relations with M. Gorky. In 1968, an entire room was first allocated to demonstrate the collection. The singer’s daughter took an active part in the work and hoped that someday the museum named after the great singer would be opened in Kazan. Finally, from March 2018 there is a museum of Gorky and Chaliapin in Kazan.
Exposition today
The Gorky Literary and Memorial Museum in Kazan carries out a large and useful work among the population of the city. Themed evenings, festivals, theatrical events, activities with children, concerts are organized here. On the birthdays of the great countrymen, a solemn laying of flowers at the monuments is held. The museum does not remain aloof from city holidays.
But the museum’s employees consider their main task to convey truthful information about the great writer, based on historical facts, devoid of speculation and distortion. They recommend reading his works in order to understand the scale of this extraordinary personality.
