Ayni Literary Museum

Ayni Literary Museum (Ayni House-Museum) – the literary museum of Sadriddin Ayni, established in Dushanbe in 1963 by the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Tajikistan and the Council of Ministers of the Tajik SSR.

History

The museum was initially under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Culture, in 1966 it was transferred to the Academy of Sciences of the Tajik SSR. In 1978 it was established in honor of the writer's 100th anniversary. He spent most of his life in Samarkand, lived in Dushanbe from 1951 to 1954 until his death. Several years his family also resided in this house.

The Ayni Literary Museum consists of several rooms, each of which contains material related to the life and activity of Sadri Dīn Ayni. In the entrance hall of the museum a half‑scale model of Ayni is placed. In the first room personal items and material related to Ayni’s life and activity from his childhood to the October Revolution and the Bukhara Revolution (the years 1917—1920) are displayed. Between the first room, on the table a plaque with Ayni’s favourite book “Akhloqi Muhsini” on the table, placed by M. Olimov, as well as a collection of verses by the poet Badroddin Hiloli are placed. In this house one can see a witness and a pen that were given to Ayni by his father in 1886. On the wall of this room a portrait of Ayni and M. Nazrullo, after their 75th birthdays, has been installed. In the second room exhibits from the 1920s‑1950s (the book “Namuna‑i adabiyoti tojik”, awards, a doctorate diploma, a table on which he worked as president of the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Tajikistan, etc.) are collected. In the third room personal belongings of Ayni (a sofa, a clock, clothing, a rug, a kettle, a tea cup, a pen, gifts, etc.) are placed. In the fourth room works dedicated to Sadri Dīn Ayni (literary‑critical works, doctoral and candidacy theses, paintings by artists on Ayni’s works, translations of Ayni’s works into various world languages, etc., in total more than 2 thousand books) are placed. The fifth room is the hall of conferences, literary gatherings and discussions. Here there are exhibits that are constantly updated.

In the museum there are plates, cassette recordings with the voice of Sadri Dīn Ayni and his friends. Up to 1500 people visit the museum annually. Researchers also use the museum’s material for their studies.

Type of museum today

In early November 2021 the news of the provisional house‑museum of Sadri Dīn Ayni was announced, after which the city administration of Dushanbe, in a letter signed by the acting first chairman of the Dushanbe city council Amir Khan Qurbanzoda, requested the National Academy of Sciences of Tajikistan that this institution conform to the provisional status of the building.

"In the letter it was said that the museum did not correspond to the city's new general plan, the external façade surrounding it was being demolished." After this news was published in the press, various reactions arose in Tajik society to this demolition of the building in Dushanbe. Among them several scientific and creative institutions, including the Academy of Sciences, the Writers' Union under the leadership of the President of Tajikistan wrote a letter, demanding that this building should at least not be destroyed, but if there was no other solution, it should be rebuilt at another appropriate location.

Also many representatives of various segments of society, intellectuals and social network users sharply criticized this step and demanded that the demolition of Dushanbe be withdrawn from this decision.

The mayor of Dushanbe Rustam Emomali, with proposals and requests and expressing the opinion of a number of scholars and writers of the country regarding the relocation of the House-museum of the writer, scholar, founder of modern Tajik literature, the first President of the Academy of Sciences and hero of Tajikistan - Sadri Dīn Ayni, located on Hamza Hakimzoda Street in the Ismaili Somoni district of Dushanbe, gave the order that the museum should not be demolished and its future preservation should be ensured.

Now, the Sadri Dīn Ayni museum is located in the center of Dushanbe, Ismaili Somoni district, Hamza Hakimzoda Street, avenue No. 1. In this building the master Sadri Dīn Ayni, together with his family, spent the last years of his life (1951‑1954). The number of museum exhibits is 150 items, the number of main media is 189 items, the number of books is about 2000, which include works of the master in various languages and editions of different years as well as books entered into the museum. In the treasury are the master's manuscripts, correspondence with various personalities, newspapers and magazines, books that the master himself used, which are kept under protection.