The reconstruction of the Mendeleyevsk Local History Museum will be completed by the end of the year.

      The reconstruction of the Mendeleevsk Local History Museum is planned to be completed by the end of the year. This was announced at the plenary session "We and Mendeleevsk" — the children's book local history festival that opened today.

      The event took the form of a historical excursus into the "Empire of the Ushkovs," pioneers of the domestic chemical industry. Participants discussed how the legacy of the industrial dynasty is connected to the present and influences the city's future.

      "The Ushkovs brought raw materials for their chemical productions from Morocco. We are beginning to tell this story, and for many years their history remained unknown. Their legacy reflects the history of the entire country like a drop of water. And most importantly — it has not disappeared, it continues to live," said Svetlana Ramazashvili, director of the L. Ya. Karpov Chemical Plant Museum.

      The Ushkovs' factory office building, where Dmitri Mendeleev himself once worked, became a local history museum. Restoration is currently underway there with the support of the Ammoniy Chemical Complex. The company allocated 56 million rubles for the work, and the republic will co-finance a further 104 million.

      "The restoration is proceeding on all fronts — outside and inside. Much will be restored to its historic appearance. In old photographs we found an electric pole — probably one of the first in the country. We will certainly emphasize this find. The museum's concept is also changing — its internal exhibits and collections," said Robert Iskandarov, head of the Mendeleevsky District.

      It is planned to return the museum's historic name — "Ushkov Office." Personal belongings of the industrialists, household items, furniture and letters will be transferred to its collections. Among the exhibits is a letter dated to the early 19th century addressed to Sergei Witte, which will become a pride of the collection.

      Residents of the republic will see the unique finds already in October. On October 16, the exhibition "The Empire of the Ushkovs" will open at the Prisutstvennye Mesta in the Kazan Kremlin.

      "Recently we discovered two authentic portraits of the Ushkovs painted by Ivan Shishkin — they were stored for many years in the attic of the former office. This heritage survived different eras. The exhibition in the Kremlin is a kind of challenge both for the district and for the complex: in the very heart of Kazan we will tell the story of the industrialists' Empire," said Yuri Razbezhkin, deputy general director of the Ammoniy complex.

      Facts from the Ushkovs' biographies are included in the book "From Bondyuga to Mendeleevsk," the presentation of which was the culmination of the festival's first day. The authors are historians, local historians and writers who spent three years studying the industrial dynasty's legacy.

      The festival also revealed new facts to its young participants. In the dome "Mendeleevsk — Home" children create their own periodic tables, build sandcastles and study the language of Japanese anime. Tomorrow there will be meetings with writers and discussions of regional and nationwide film projects.

      "We and Mendeleevsk" will continue until October 12, and on October 16 the exhibition "The Empire of the Ushkovs" will present the dynasty's history to the general public.

      Photo: press service of the Mendeleevsky District of the Republic of Tatarstan.

      More news about the event:

      The reconstruction of the Mendeleevsk Local History Museum will be completed by the end of the year

      The reconstruction of the Mendeleevsk Local History Museum is planned to be finished by the end of the year. 19:45 11.10.2025 Tatar-inform IA — Kazan

      An exhibition dedicated to the founder of the Mendeleevsk Chemical Plant, Petr Ushkov, will open in the Kazan Kremlin

      The exhibition was presented at the "We and Mendeleevsk" book local history festival. 16:04 11.10.2025 Mendeleevskie Novosti — Mendeleevsk