Museum of History and Culture of the Republic of Karakalpakstan

The Karakalpakstan Regional Museum of Archaeology (currently named the Museum of History and Culture of the Republic of Karakalpakstan) is not only one of the oldest scientific and educational institutions in the lower Amu Darya and the Aral Sea region, but also one of the oldest in all of Central Asia.

History

The exhibition of the State Museum of History and Culture of the Republic of Karakalpakstan was first organized in 1929 in the city of To‘rtko‘l, the first capital of the Republic of Karakalpakstan. The people who rendered devoted service in establishing this museum were E. Dosnazarov, G. Ubaydullaev, N. V. Torchinskaya, N. Baskakov, and the Q. Ayimbetovs. As a result of the flooding of the Amu Darya waters, the museum was moved in 1944 to the city of Nukus. At that time, a group of Uzbek scholars, including the President of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, academic T. N. Qori-Niyozov, as well as academics Oybek (Muso Toshmuxamedov) and V. Vohidov, visited the museum, and scholars from the Russian Federation, S. P. Tolstov and T. A. Jdankolar, wrote down their impressions of the museum.

In 1959, after the establishment of the Karakalpakstan branch of the Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan, the museum was transferred to the jurisdiction of the branch. In 1965, the museum was moved to a two‑storey building located in the city centre. The museum’s collection holds jewelry, archaeology, handicrafts, applied arts, nature, information pertaining to the 20th century, and works of visual art created by artists of Karakalpakstan along the Aral Sea. Throughout its creative history, the museum has been presenting the rich history, art, and nature of the Karakalpak people to the broad public.

According to the decision No. 975 of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated December 11, 2017, our museum was renamed from the Karakalpak Regional Studies Museum to the State Museum of History and Culture of the Republic of Karakalpakstan. In addition, based on this decision, the “Ecology” museum of Moʻynoq district and the “Archaeology” museum of Ellikqal’a district were introduced as branches. The branch of the State Museum of History and Culture of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, Moʻynoq district Ecology Museum, was established in 1980; initially the museum fund contained only a few exhibits, and up to the present the museum fund has been enriched with new exhibits.

Based on the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan’s decision No. PQ-2803 dated February 28, 2017 “On additional measures for the economic development and employment of the population of Muynoq district of the Republic of Karakalpakstan in 2017-2018,” a new museum building was completed in order to attract tourists widely to Muynoq district and the Aral Sea, as well as to convey the district’s long history, nature, fauna and flora, and the customs of its people to the public through museum exhibitions. A new Concept of the museum was developed, an exhibition hall was organized, and on October 20 of the current year, based on the statement No. 07/1-426 of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated October 6, 2018, the opening ceremony of the “Ecology Museum” branch of the State Museum of History and Culture of the Republic of Karakalpakstan in Moʻynoq district was held within the framework of the international gastronomic festival “99 Different Dishes from Aral Fish.”

Currently the museum fund contains nearly 300 exhibits, and visitors who come through the museum exhibition hall can see works belonging to the painters F.Yu. Madgazin and R.Matevosyan, known as the “Orol Kuychisi”, as well as photographs of the development of fishing in the Muynoq district, pictures related to the fish canning plant, and learn about the past and present life of the Aral Sea, its flora and fauna.

The State Museum of History and Culture of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, Ellikqal’a district branch, was established in 1989 as a department of the Karakalpakstan Regional Studies Museum.

Today the museum exhibition hall houses more than 3,000 unique exhibits from historical monuments such as Tuproqqal’a, Ayozqal’a, Guldursinqal’a, related to ancient Khwarezm and Karakalpakstan history, as well as items of local peoples’ ethnography and applied arts.

Currently the museum has 2,500 exhibits.

The museum is filled with stone fossils of ancient animals and plants, rare and extinct birds and animals of the Aral region. Among them the exhibition “The Last Turan Tiger” is distinctive. The skin of the last Turan tiger was gifted to the museum in 1980. The skin was restored by taxidermist M. Zaslavskiy over four years.

Branches

Based on the resolution No. 07/1-426 of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated October 6, 2018, the Muynoq branch of the Museum of History and Culture of the Republic of Karakalpakstan “Ecology Museum” was opened on October 20 of that year. The Ecology Museum exhibition is dedicated to the Aral Sea problem. It presents objects of the plant and animal world, exhibits of folk applied arts, national clothing and handicraft items, samples of products from the “Muynoq” fish factory, as well as photographs and paintings reflecting the glorious era of the sea.

By the decision No. 975 of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan dated 11 December 2017 “On approval of the complex program of measures for improving the activities of state museums and strengthening their material‑technical base in 2017–2027”, the branch of the Museum of History and Culture of the Republic of Karakalpakstan, the archaeology and history museum in the Ellikqalʼa district, ceased its activities, and in its place the Ellikqalʼa branch of the Museum of History and Culture of the Republic of Karakalpakstan was established. The museum’s exhibition hall consists of two sections: archaeology and folk applied art. The museum holds more than 2,500 exhibits.

Museum collection

Today the museum consists of four sections — nature, archaeology, ethnography and modern history.