Karaganda Regional Museum of Local Lore

The Karaganda Regional Museum of History and Local Lore is one of the oldest and most significant historical and cultural institutions in Central Kazakhstan. The museum was established on November 7, 1932, by order of the People’s Commissariat for Education of the RSFSR. Since 1979, it has been housed in a specially designated two-story building. On January 21, 1999, the museum acquired the status of a communal state treasury enterprise. Today, the museum’s exhibition space covers 1,800 square meters and includes 14 exhibition halls. Its collection comprises 148,194 items, including 122,562 in the main collection and 25,632 in the scientific auxiliary fund. In 2011, the museum underwent a large-scale re-exhibition using modern information technologies.

Currently, the museum includes the following thematic exhibition areas:

1. Hall of Nature - showcases the biodiversity of Central Kazakhstan. Exhibits include taxidermy specimens of birds, mammals, reptiles, and insects. A special section is devoted to the traditional Kazakh art of falconry, highlighting the “Qusbegilik” school.

2. Hall of Archaeology - presents around 600 artifacts discovered through archaeological excavations in the Karaganda region. The display features finds from sites such as Enbeksuygish, Maytan, and Begazy-Dandybai. A diorama of a cave from the Karaganda Mountains and tools from the ancient Batpak settlement vividly illustrate early human activity. The hall also includes a panel with a replica of the Kül Tegin stele bearing Orkhon-Enisei runes, illustrating the history of the ancient Turkic Khaganate.

3. Hall of Traditional Kazakh Society - features unique archival materials reflecting the political and social structure of the Kazakh people. Original letters from historical figures such as Kazybek Bi, Khans Abulkhair, Abylai, and Kenesary are displayed, alongside documents detailing the national democratic movement of the early 20th century.

4. Soviet Era Hall - covers industrialization, collectivization, political repressions, and the Great Patriotic War in Kazakhstan. One entire hall is dedicated to the history of the Karaganda coal basin, including materials on geologists A.A. Gapeev, Z.P. Semenova, and I.V. Orlov, as well as 1930s photographs and a diorama of the "tent city" depicting the life of Karaganda’s first builders.

5. Space Hall - highlights the contribution of the Karaganda region to the history of Soviet and Kazakh cosmonautics. Exhibits include a model of the International Space Station, personal belongings of Kazakhstan’s first cosmonaut Toktar Aubakirov, pre-launch photographs, and aircraft instruments.

6. Hall of “Faces of the Ancestors” - the first computer-animated exhibition in Kazakhstan dedicated to portrait reconstructions of ancient inhabitants of the region. The digital reconstructions bring to life ancient people who narrate the religious beliefs, culture, daily life, and social structures of their tribes. This unique project combines scientific reconstruction and digital technology.

7. Saka Culture Hall - based on archaeological findings from the Taldy-2 burial complex in the Karkaraly district. The hall features a reconstruction of the "Golden Man" of Saryarka, as well as about 200 gold artifacts and over 22,000 decorative elements created in the early Saka "animal style," attesting to the high level of material culture among the nomadic elite.

The museum conducts systematic scientific research in the Karaganda region. Priority areas include archaeological excavations of the previously unexplored Tasaral Island necropolises of the Aral culture, the study of monuments in the Abai district, and the collection of ethnographic materials across the region.

The Karaganda Regional Museum of History and Local Lore is a unique scientific and cultural institution that encompasses all historical eras of Kazakhstan. It plays a crucial role in preserving historical memory, conducting fundamental research in archaeology, ethnography, natural sciences, and art history, and fostering public awareness and patriotic spirit.