HISTORY OF THE MUSEUM
The building where the museum is located has its own unique history.
At the end of the 80s of the XVIII century, a house in the classicism style was built on Tverskaya Street by architect Matvey Kazakov. The house belonged to Ekaterina Kozitskaya, one of the richest women in Russia of the XVIII century. Later, the house as a dowry went to her youngest daughter Anna, who became the second wife of the diplomat Alexander Beloselsky-Belozersky.
At the end of 1824, Zinaida, the daughter of Beloselsky-Belozersky from her first marriage, settled in this house, which turned the house into a real temple of arts. Here she brought her father’s collection, where there were originals and copies of famous paintings. Here she also held literary salons, where famous writers of that time gathered: Pushkin, Vyazemsky, Baratynsky, Devitte and many others.
In 1898, the merchant Grigory Eliseev acquired the house. The building is being rebuilt, and the Eliseevsky store, which has existed for more than a century and closed only in April 2021, opens on the ground floor. After nationalization in 1918, the residential part of the building was used for apartments.
In 1935, the writer Nikolai Ostrovsky and his wife moved into apartment № 39.
THE GRAND OPENING OF THE MUSEUM
Three years after the death of Nikolai Ostrovsky, at the initiative of the Komsomol Central Committee, it was decided to create a museum named after the writer in his Moscow apartment. The grand opening took place on October 21, 1940. Raisa Ostrovskaya, the writer’s widow, was appointed the first director of the museum.
Immediately after the opening, the museum began an active excursion and scientific and educational activities: matinees were held, literary and artistic evenings were organized with reports on the life and work of N. A. Ostrovsky, where members of the writer’s family spoke with their memories. Until the end of the 1980s, the museum actively participated in the life of the country: in 1957 it welcomed guests of the IV Festival of Youth and Students, and since 1960 it has been accepted as pioneers, handed Komsomol tickets to soldiers and students, issued passports upon reaching the 16th anniversary. The museum staff conducted many lectures throughout the country, went with cultural programs to the virgin lands and the construction of the Baikal-Amur highway.
«HISTORY OF THE HOUSE» AND «INCLUSION» IN THE MUSEUM
Since the 1980s, the museum has taken a course on the development of the theme of the history of the house. This is how Zinaida Volkonskaya’s salon appeared. In parallel, the theme of «Overcoming» was actively developing about people with disabilities who, following the example of Nikolai Ostrovsky, did not give up, but continued to create.
RENAMED INTO THE N.A. OSTROVSKY STATE MUSEUM — HUMANITARIAN CENTER «OVERCOMING»
In 1992, the museum became the State Museum — Humanitarian Center «Overcoming» named after N. A. Ostrovsky, which provided comprehensive support to persons with disabilities, held exhibitions of artists, writers, arranged meetings with Paralympic athletes, and organized concerts.
RENAMED THEN A. OSTROVSKY STATE MUSEUM — CULTURAL CENTER «INTEGRATSIA»
On 14th of December 2016, by order of the Department of Culture of the City of Moscow No. 967, at the initiative of its head A.V. Kibovsky, the State Museum-Humanitarian Center and the Center for Socio-Cultural Programs «Integration» are merging.
This practice should become a new word in the cultural sphere of the city with the successful organization of the activities of the joint institution as a multifunctional center, the ultimate goal of which will be to promote the ideas of an «inclusive society» in various forms.
The task of Integration is to become a unique center, a place for communication and meetings and to provide an innovative approach, expressed in a combination of traditional museum business and social entrepreneurship, solving the problem of employment of people with disabilities, as well as vulnerable groups of the population and the elderly.
