Maxim Bogdanovich Literary Museum

The Maxim Bogdanovich Literary Museum was founded on April 1, 1981 after the adoption of a resolution on September 19, 1980. In the first 15 years, it was a member of the Association of State Literary Museums, and from 2001 to 2014 it was an independent institution with branches of Belarusskaya Khatka and Folvark Rakutevshchyna. Since 2014, the museum has become a branch of the State Museum of the History of Belarusian Literature.

The museum opened to the public on December 8, 1991, on the day of the 100th anniversary of Maxim Bogdanovich's birth. Although the poet's native home has not been preserved, the museum recreates his poetic world and life path with the help of exhibits and artistic techniques. The second exhibition was presented on December 9, 2016, on the day of the 125th anniversary of the poet.

In 1996, when the museum was headed by Ales Bialiatski, some employees began to help arrested political activists and their families, which led to the founding of the Viasna Human rights Center.

The museum's exposition is divided into five halls, each of which highlights a separate stage of Maxim Bogdanovich's life and work.

Hall 1: The poet's childhood. The origins of talent. The cycles "Sounds of the Motherland" and "In the enchanted Kingdom"

In this hall, visitors immerse themselves in the world of the poet's childhood. Pyotr Drachev's artistic work "Minsk of 1891" represents the reconstruction of the Upper City. The coat of arms of Minsk, assigned to the city in 1591, is placed above the panorama. In the center of the hall there is a stand with materials by Belarusian folklorists that reflect the mood of the first cycles of the "Wreath". Adam Bogdanovich's book "Remnants of the ancient worldview of Belarusians" (Grodno, 1895) is also presented.

The decoration of the hall creates the atmosphere of Maxim Bogdanovich's childhood: plaster stucco on the ceiling resembles a towel ornament, straw products symbolize the Snake King, mermaid braids, forest, swamp and wildflowers. The mother's belt symbolizes the memory of the Motherland. Two photographs of Maxim are placed above it: the original - Maxim with his brothers and aunt Maria (Nizhny Novgorod) and a dummy frame in enlarged form in a round frame.

Hall 2: The formation of a creative personality

In the center of the hall, as a compositional core, there is a graphic series of 12 figures of religious and cultural figures of ancient Belarus. Photographs of Belarusian figures of the XIX - early XX centuries are placed next to them. The Slutsk Belt and the Third Statute of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania are important symbols of the hall.

Hall 3: The flowering of creative talent

Two key expositions are presented here: a stand dedicated to the collection "Wreath", and a niche stand with exhibits reflecting the creative personality of Maxim Bogdanovich. Visitors can see the "Wreaths" with autographs of the poet, presented to aunts Maria and Magdalena, as well as cousin Anna Gapanovich. The museum also houses a "Wreath" that belonged to the poet Vladimir Dubovka.

A separate stand presents a "Wreath" with an autographed dedication to Nyutse Gapanovich, in an embossed leather frame. The drawing from the cover of the "Wreath", made in 1905 by an unknown Belarusian artist, is repeated on the stand.

A picture of M. Bogdanovich from 1911 is placed in the center of the stand niche. On both sides of it are the magazines "Nasha Niva" with "The Story of the Icon and the Goldenrod" and "The Christmas Story" from the Apocrypha. An important exhibit is a reproduction of the engraving "Christ who Knocked" (illustration to the Apocrypha, XIX century), which belonged to the poet's friend Dyador Debolsky.

Hall 4. Madonnas

This hall is distinguished by the fact that it presents collections of personal belongings of Anna Kokuyeva and Anna Gapanovich. Sunlight passing through stained glass windows with images of cornflowers and cornflowers creates a play of light and shadow. The ceiling is decorated with a stucco cross of dark crimson color, which divides the hall into three parts and focuses on the key exhibits: the engraving "Sistine Madonna", the handwritten collection "Zelenya" and the portrait of Anna Kokuyeva. The cross symbolically connects the engraving with the "Crown" in the next room.

The Sistine Madonna is a heliogravure, which is a fragment of a painting by Raphael Santi, presented by Maxim Gorky, probably for the wedding of Adam Bogdanovich and Alexandra Volzhina. Under the engraving is a photograph of Maria Bogdanovich with Maxim, taken in 1892-1893. Among Anna Kokuyeva's belongings, a portrait of little Anya stands out, which Maxim Bogdanovich saw in the living room of the Kokuyev family.

In the collection of Anna Gapanovich, the central place is occupied by a handwritten collection of "Greenery" in an oval niche along with a photograph of Anna. This is a notebook in a ruler with the inscription: "Maxim Bogdanovich. "Green". Poems. Translated from the Belarusian author. — Yaroslavl, 1909, 13 gg.". The original was kept by Anna Gapanovich since 1914, and after her death by her sister Vera, and then by Natalia Kuntsevich, who donated it to the museum in 1981.

On the table near the stand with a photo of Aunt Maria in a national Belarusian costume and Natasha Kuntsevich there is a toy bear Vasenka. Uncle Maxim Bogdanovich gave it to two-year-old Natasha. Natalia Kuntsevich kept the toy and gave it to the museum.

Hall 5. Death of the poet. Unfulfilled ideas

In the fifth hall, the atmosphere of the tragedy of the last months of the poet's life reigns, reflecting his unfulfilled dreams and desires. This room is more concise, but no less expressive than the previous ones.

Stucco and metal decorations on the ceiling and walls, stylized as a Lost Swan, symbolize unfulfilled plans. The watch, given to the poet by his father after graduating from high school, counted down the last minutes of his life and is now on display under the portrait. The decoration of the hall (stained glass windows, ceiling decoration) is made in the Art Nouveau style, emphasizing the tragic atmosphere.

The museum conducts active exhibition activities. On the ground floor of the building there is an exhibition hall, which is used for thematic exhibitions of objects from the museum's collections and for exhibitions of works by Belarusian artists. In addition, mini-exhibitions are often created in the museum lobby. The subjects of the exhibitions vary: from certain periods of Maxim Bogdanovich's life, places and persons associated with him to anniversaries of researchers of his work and museum workers.