Ghani Muratbaev Memorial Museum

The Gani Muratbayev Memorial Museum was opened on November 7, 1968, by decision of the Kyzylorda Regional Council of the Kazaly District. The museum was housed in a building that had previously belonged to a Russian merchant and was built in the second half of the 19th century from logs brought from Siberia. During the early years of Soviet power, this building served as the office of the first Council of Workers’ Deputies of the town of Kazaly. The building is classified as a historical and cultural monument of republican significance.

Since 1979, the museum operated as a branch of the Kyzylorda Regional Museum of History and Local Lore. By the decree of the Ministry of Culture of the Kazakh SSR dated April 30, 1981, and the order of the Kyzylorda Regional Department of Culture dated June 19, 1981, No. 107, the museum was granted independent status. Since 2019, it has once again functioned as a branch of the regional museum.

Additional premises were added to the building in 1981-1984 and 1991-1992. In 2023, the museum underwent a re-exposition, and in 2024, the historical part of the building was restored.

Anniversaries of Gani Muratbayev - his 75th, 80th, 90th, 100th, and 120th birthdays - as well as the museum’s 30th, 40th, 50th, and 55th anniversaries were celebrated at the national level. In honor of Gani’s 100th anniversary, soil from his grave at Vagankovo Cemetery in Moscow was brought and placed in the museum’s exposition.

The museum is dedicated to educating the younger generation in the spirit of Gani Muratbayev’s ideals, promoting his heroic life and public service. Every year, on his birthday, the museum holds the traditional poetry competition of young poets "Mängilik shyrqar zhyrymsyñ" ("You are my eternal song") and a mini-football tournament for the Gani Cup. The museum also organizes events dedicated to commemorative dates to popularize national traditions, honor workers, heroic mothers, and war veterans.

Two public groups operate under the museum: “Önege” (“Example”), consisting of representatives of three generations, and the “Zhas ğanitanuşylar” (“Young Gani Scholars”) club.

When the museum first opened in 1968, its collection contained 200 exhibits and 3 halls. By January 1, 2015, the collection had grown to 6,624 items. In February 2015, 4,015 artifacts related to local history were transferred to the newly opened district museum in the village of Aiteke Bi. As of May 2024, the museum houses a total of 4,540 items, including 3,065 in the main collection and 1,475 in the auxiliary collection.

The building's total area is 357.8 sq. meters, with exhibition halls occupying 232.3 sq. meters and the storage area - 27.3 sq. meters.

Today, the museum includes eight exhibition halls and one temporary exhibition gallery.

The museum’s exposition is dedicated to the life and public work of Gani Muratbayev - a passionate youth leader of Kazakhstan and Central Asia, head of the Eastern Department of the Communist Youth International (KIM), democratic educator, prominent public figure, and first editor of the “Zhas Alash” newspaper.

Entrance hall: a gypsum bust of Gani (by Yesim Egdebayev) and the tapestry "Arman dala" ("Land of Dreams", by Shamil Kozhanov).

Halls 1-2 are devoted to the history of Gani's homeland. They feature materials about the ancient city of Zhankent, located on the Silk Road, household items used by ancestors - wooden bowls, ladles, and iron shackles with locks and keys. Also on display are documents related to the Kazaly uyezd, weapons used by folk heroes, history of the railway construction in the region, seals of rural judges, a badge of an aul elder, a bell, and a model of the first locomotive.

Halls 3-5 highlight Gani’s childhood, the founding of the Youth Union, the first youth congress, his work in Verny, membership in the Central Asian Bureau of the RCSM, his service in the Khorezm SSR, clothing, personal questionnaires, awards, and photos. Musical notes for “Dudar-ai” and “Qatyn zhırau,” recorded from Gani’s singing and included in A.V. Zatayevich’s 1000 Kazakh Songs, are also displayed. Exhibits include the first issue of Zhas Alash, his party ID, a diorama showing a meeting with Ilyas Zhansugurov and Sara Yesova, the pioneer organization named after Gani, the souvenir “Zhashtar zhastygy” ("Youth of the Fathers") presented by Serik Abdirakhmanov, the Youth Union flag of the Turkestan Republic, a reconstruction of Gani’s office, photos of monuments, books about Gani, and the soil from his grave at Vagankovo Cemetery in Moscow.

Hall 6 covers the history of the Kazaly district youth movement, including photographs, documents, and awards of Gani's followers - district Komsomol secretaries, laureates of the All-Union and Kazakh Komsomol prizes, youth brigades, and the first recipients of the Gani Prize.

Hall 7, the ethnographic hall, presents traditional household items of the Kazakh people: a yurt, mortar and pestle, millstones, kuby (butter churning vessel), asadals (wooden cupboards), wooden kitchenware, samovars, oil lamps, coal irons, and sewing needles - offering a glimpse into past everyday life.

Hall 8 is Gani’s room - a historical and educational space reflecting his lifestyle, spiritual world, and the way of life of Kazakh intellectuals in the early 20th century.

Exhibition Hall: hosts temporary displays from the museum's collection dedicated to special dates. Open house events are held throughout the year according to schedule.

The museum has high potential. Every guest visiting it becomes acquainted with the exhibits and learns valuable information about the life and legacy of Gani Muratbayev.