Gulag Museum at Perm-36

HISTORY

The suggestion to establish a memorial museum of the history of political repression in the former camp Perm-36 was first put forward in 1992. Before 1994 the museum work was focused primarily on identifying and collecting materials on the history of the camp Perm-36 as well as other prison camps in the region and in the country in general. At the same time a program of studies in the history of political repression in the USSR has been initiated. A non-governmental organization named "Voluntary research center Urals-GULAG" was established for performing these tasks. The center established contacts with potential partners, developed a preliminary conceptual framework for preservation of the former camp assets and incorporating them into a museum environment, and conducted a search for the sources of funds and materials.

It was at the special-regime sector that the center started practical work on the conservation of the former camp assets and incorporating them into a museum environment in 1994. The work had to be started at this sector because its entirely neglected facilities were very rapidly decaying while the strict-regime sector buildings were largely in use by the shelter for the mental patients. The most urgently needed renovations in the hutment had been completed by 1996-new board floors had been laid, new doors and windows had been installed, and the roof and the joist ceilings were partially repaired. The museum was officially opened for visitor admission in 1996.

The repair and reconstruction work was continued-in later years both in the hutment and in the checkpoint of the special-regime sector-the items restored included the missing or partially destroyed interior pieces, the outdoors components in the area (the prisoner walkways, etc.) and sections of the security installations.

Owing to the lack of funds the original security installations could not be restored and their mockups had to be fabricated. The mockups had the same external appearance as the real articles but were made of cheaper materials and built in a simpler manner. For instance, wooden posts dug into the ground replaced the metal pillars of the fences and other security installations while the barbed wire was attached not to the electric insulation holders but simply nailed to the wooden posts and so on.

The objective was to minimize the costs of restoring the general appearance of the camp facilities that would be the most realistic representation of the original camp. The intention was to make it possible for the museum visitors to see with their own eyes the camp as it looked in the time when it held the political prisoners. For the future there are plans to replace the mockups with the genuine security facilities when funding becomes available.

The restoration and reconstruction work in the strict-regime sector was started in 1999.

In 1994 a limited-liability partnership was established that was officially registered under the name Museum-Archive Complex "Memorial to the Victims of Political Repression". The founders of the partnership were the administration of the Permskaya region (oblast), the Perm regional branch of the Memorial Society and the "Socium" Partnership. The primary source of funding for the operations of the museum was special allocation from the budget of the Permskaya oblast made by the regional (oblast) administration. Some additional funding, materials, and equipment were donated by a variety of sponsors.

The Legislative Assembly of the Permskaya oblast approved the special regional program "Memorial museum of the history of political repression and totalitarianism (Perm-36)" for the years 1998-2000. In 2001 the Assembly approved its continuation as a new special program entitled "Memorial Center of the history of political repression "Perm-36" in 2002-2005". Starting from 1998 funding is allocated for the special programs as a separate budget item according to the budget legislation of the Permskaya oblast.

The museum began receiving donations (grants) from the international and foreign foundations and charities in 1997. Because of the complicated legal situation in Russia at the time the original museum partnership was formally registered as a private company which did not have a right to receive donations. This is why in 1997 the museum founders established an NGO which was registered under the name "Memorial Museum of the history of political repression and totalitarianism" in the city of Perm.

The simultaneous operation of two organizations of different legal status has led to some significant confusion and created complicated problems. In 2001 when he regional special program was approved the museum was re-registered as an independent not-for-profit organization "Memorial Center of the history of political repression "Perm-36"". The founders of the organization were the administration of the Permskaya oblast, the International Society "Memorial", the Perm regional branch of the International Society "Memorial", and the "Memorial Museum of the history of political repression and totalitarianism". At the same time the Museum initiated the liquidation of the entities that operated the museum in the previous period (that is, the partnership and the NGO).

The not-for-profit "Memorial Center of the history of political repression "Perm-36" currently has the following organizational structure:

The primary and central component of the Memorial Center is the former prison camp "Perm-36" which is being-restored stage by stage and converted into a museum complex. It is legally a branch of the Memorial Center. It is located in the village of Kuchino, Chusovskoy District, Permskaya oblast. The branch has not yet been officially registered as a museum but it will be given the museum status immediately after it receives the museum license and its exhibits are recorded in the register of the State museum fund. The branch includes the following units:

• The housekeeping service which has a number of employees (curators, cleaners, cook, electrician, handyman, drivers, etc.);
• the team of construction workers who are performing tasks on the repair and reconstruction of the old camp buildings and structures and procuring round and sawn timber for these purposes;
• security team of eight employees (four in each sector) performing 24-hour guard duty.

The operations of the branch and all its units is supervised by the manager of the branch who holds the rank of the deputy director of the Memorial Center.

All managers and staff of the Memorial Center possess high professional qualifications (four employees out of the total of twelve have doctorates and one of them has the rank of the full university professor). With the exception of the museum manager all of them live in Perm and come to the museum for performing their job duties. The staff researchers work at the museum in shifts. The Perm unit of the Memorial Center consists of the following departments:

• The research group with four staff researchers and the research chief. The group is the principal think-tank of the Center. The researchers are collecting and studying documents and other evidence on the history of political repression, developing new museum displays, exhibitions, and guided tours, and are conducting all excursions for the museum visitors.
• The educational department (one employee) is developing educational projects and programs, organizing guided tours and other group events, and providing methodological guidance for all educational activities.
• The design department (one employee) is designing and creating most displays, presentations, and exhibitions prepared by the Center, including both electronic and hard copies, producing the camera-ready manuscripts for all publications issued by the Center, producing an integrated visual image of the Center and its unique style.
• The custodial department (one employee) is concerned with classification, description, and preservation of all museum exhibits and materials.
• The management including the Center Director, the Deputy Director for reconstruction, the Executive Director, the coordinator of international relations (with the fund-raising responsibility), and the Financial Director.

The not-for-profit organization "Memorial Center of the history of political repression "Perm-36"" has the following management structure:

• The Board is the ultimate management body. The Board is comprised of tworepresentatives of each founding organization and the Center Director. The Board holds sessions twice a year and passes decisions on the major strategic issues concerning development of the Center.
• The management of the Center comprised of the Director, Deputy Director, Executive Director, Branch Director, and Financial Director. The management holds monthly conferences at which significant current managerial issues are resolved.

The Memorial Center has instituted the following advisory bodies:

• The Center Council including high-profile public figures and representatives of the third-sector, governmental, and municipal organizations and agencies.
• The Museum Council whose members are museum experts from Russia and other countries.

Copyright © 2010 The Memorial Museum for the History of Political Repressions «Perm-36»