Vitebsk. Museum of the Hero of the Soviet Union M. F. Shmyrev

The Vitebsk Regional Museum of Hero of the Soviet Union Minai Filippovich Shmyrev was established in Vitebsk in accordance with the decree of the Council of Ministers of the BSSR dated February 1, 1966 and the order of the Ministry of Culture of the BSSR dated March 24, 1966 "On the opening and organization of the Memorial Museum of Hero of the Soviet Union M. F. Shmyrev" as a city museum. According to the decision of the Executive Committee of the Vitebsk Regional Council of Workers' Deputies of December 26, 1968, the city museum was transformed into a regional museum.

The museum was opened on July 5, 1969, during the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the liberation of Belarus from the Nazi invaders in the building of the former K. D. Golembiovsky orphanage for retired officials (late 19th — early 20th century). The heads of the museum were I. I. Simankov and N. V. Semeshina. Since 2002, the director has been I. A. Shishkova.

The four exhibition halls of the museum contain more than 1.5 thousand exhibits: personal belongings, documents, photographs, awards of the brigade commander, maps and diagrams from the Great Patriotic War, objects of partisan life, books dedicated to the activities of Shmyrev. The main fund of the museum (2013) totals 8,758 items of storage, scientific and auxiliary - 1,343 units. The museum consists of 4 exhibition halls with a total area of 223 m2 and an exhibition area of 39 m2.

A lot of weapons are on display in the halls of the museum, ranging from a parabellum to an aircraft projectile. The museum houses collections of weapons, household items, documents, fine art, faleristics, printed publications, and film and photographic documents. A continuation of the museum's exposition is the memorial park, located next to the museum building. A sculptural bust of M. F. Shmyrev (sculptor Z. I. Azgur), a mock-up of the "Rail War", artillery pieces, and partisan dugouts have been built in the park.

In the 1st hall, the materials of the exhibition tell about the childhood and youth of M. F. Shmyrev, his labor and social activities in the pre-war period, the organization of the partisan movement in the former Surazhsky district during the Great Patriotic War, the creation of the 1st Belarusian Partisan Brigade. The exposition of the 2nd hall is dedicated to the further expansion of the partisan movement in Belarus, the creation of new partisan formations on the basis of the 1st Belarusian Partisan Brigade (the Red Banner Lenin Komsomol brigade and the 1st Vitebsk Partisan Brigade). Here are materials about the interaction of partisans and pilots of the 105th Separate Guards Order of Alexander Nevsky of the Ponevezh Aviation Regiment, about the liberation of Vitebsk (26.06.1944) as a result of Operation Bagration (23.06-29.08.1944) and the end of the Great Patriotic War.

The exposition of the 3rd hall tells about the work and civic activities of M. F. Shmyrev in the post-war years. There are works of literature and art that reflect the exploits of the partisan brigade commander, the documentary film "Batska Minai" and the feature film "Batska" are shown. The exposition of the 4th hall presents the interior of M. F. Shmyrev's study with furniture, books, personal belongings, hunting equipment, documents and photographs of enterprises, educational institutions, and facilities named after M. F. Shmyrev.