How Magnezit Museum originated, who founded it and why the museum staff work is much like detective work, how the museum exhibits are recorded and what stories they can tell — the new Exhibition for 55th Anniversary of the Museum that opened on November 7th will answer these and many other questions.

Through the photographs, documents and video footage of the exhibition visitors will learn the story of Magnezit Museum from its early days to present time, meet the people who contributed to its foundation and development. The opening photograph of the exhibition shows a historical moment: Pyotr Lvovich Glinin, Head of the Technical Inventory Bureau, is giving a tour. He was actually the first person to think of creating the industrial museum. This idea was supported by a group of like-minded people, one of whom was production designer Aleksandra Sergeyevna Averkiyeva who made several dioramas and models, including the 1900 Karagay quarry diorama. Together with other models it is still the centerpiece of the museum’s depository. 

And here is a photograph of Magnezit’s archivist Mikhail Grigoryevich Ryzhikh who kept many valuable items from the 1900s to mid-1950s, like posters, movie leaflets, tickets from Satka’s Luch electrotheater, local drama group playbills. Found by chance, they were restored in 2019 with the support of Magnezit Group management and the specialists of the State Research Institute for Restoration, and are now available to mass audience at The Great Silent exhibition.

A major contribution to the development of Magnezit Museum was made by Magnezit’s veteran, winner of Magnezit Group’s corporate award “For professionalism and dedication” Viktor Aleksandrovich Nemchinov. With his help, the museum obtained unique exhibits: a factory product made in 1928, original photos and documents from the family archives of Vladimir Georgiyevich Rogozhnikov, the first manager of Magnezit, and many others. Viktor Aleksandrovich did a lot of research work. It was he who discovered that from 1931 to 1937 Magnezit production was managed by Zinovy Yakovlevich Tabakov.

“In line with our country’s tragic history of that time, Zinovy Yakovlevich was arrested and executed. And his name was basically written out of the plant’s history. Viktor Aleksandrovich managed to put the facts together piece by piece,” says Galina Golovko, Head of Magnezit Museum, “And in our days this story has taken an unexpected turn. Natalya Karpova from Chelyabinsk, who happened to know Tabakov’s great-granddaughter Anna Leonidovna Khomenko, visited our exhibition for his birth anniversary. Later Anna Leonidovna handed over to the museum some scanned photos and documents, items related to Zinovy Yakovlevich.”

Today, Magnezit Museum is quite popular. It is a modern multi-functional center for culture, education, exhibition and career guidance where everyone can find something to their liking: kindergarteners, students, teachers, employees, veterans and partners of Magnezit Group, visitors of our town and district.

The museum hosts thematic tours, educational games, various workshops, and with a virtual reality headset you can go down to Magnezitovaya Mine or visit other production departments without leaving the museum halls.

What attracts attention next is the exhibit’s centerpiece, made by curator of exhibition projects Nadezhda Maksimova.

“Here we wanted to show that museum is a universal entity, which consists of important blocks, just like Mendeleyev’s periodic system of chemical elements. Take museum funds, for example. It is important to understand what these funds contain. They must be studied. This is challenging, hard work. We have showed this process using the example of a postcard album given to the museum by plant’s veteran Viktor Charykov,” says Nadezhda Maksimova.

“We are working with many museums across Russia and are proud of our years-long friendship with Magnezit Museum. It is constantly evolving and will soon expand beyond the usual. New exhibition spaces are underway on the plant’s premises,” added Egor Larichev, one of the developers behind the renovation project of Magnezit Museum.

As the new exhibition is dedicated to the anniversary of Magnezit Museum, the staff received congratulations and gifts form the visitors on the opening day.

“Over the 55 years, Magnezit Museum has put together a unique collection on the plant’s history. Visitors genuinely find the museum entertaining, its work goes beyond the ordinary,” noted Anna Kalashnikova, Director of Satka’s Central Library System, “We greatly value our friendship and cooperation, and hope to work together on more ideas in the future. We wish you prosperity and new interesting projects!”

Source: Magnezitovets. Photo by Vasily Maksimov.