There are 15 museums in the Penza region, including The Country Estate Museum «Tarkhany» which is of federal value.

The Country Estate Museum «Tarkhany»

The Lermontov State Museum and Reserve of Tarkhany is a unique historical and cultural monument of national importance in Russia. There are three expositional complexes there.

There are the following items in the first complex: the former mansion, Maria Egipetsky's church, restored servants' room and the house of key-keeper, the park, three orchards, an oak grove and ponds.

The second complex is a cemetery of Arsenevy – Lermontovy with a chapel over it where the poet sleeps. The tomb of his father is near the chapel. There is also Michael Arhangel's rural church and a lodge there.

The third complex is a manor of M.A. Shan-Girey Apalih which is 3 km far from Tarkhany, Lermontov's second house.

The Lermontov State Museum was opened in 1939 in the Lermontovo Village (called the Tarkhany Village until February of 1917), in the estate of the poet's grandmother Yelizaveta Arsenyeva (born Stolypina).

In 1969, the Museum was transformed into the Lermontov State Museum-Reserve of Tarkhany. In 1997, by decree of the President of Russia the Museum was included into the State Register of the Highly Valuable Objects of the Cultural Heritage of the Peoples of the Russian Federation.

Since 1977 the director of the museum has been the Honoured worker of culture of Russia Tamara Mihajlovna Melnikova.

The holdings of the Museum contain nearly 28,000 items, with the main holding containing 14,000 items. The Museum possesses editions of works by Lermontov, published during his life time as well after his death; and original illustrations to the editions by many outstanding painters (Mikhail Vrubel, Konstantin Korovin, Ilya Repin and others).

The Museum is the richest repository of original and rare objects of the 18th and 19th century estates of Russia's landed nobility: furniture, dishes, paintings, objects of decorative and applied art, sculptures, a remarkable collection of books by Russian and foreign authors that were of interest to Lermontov.

The museum is located in the Lermontovo village of the Penza region. It is 100 km far from Penza, the highway Penza — Tambov. The nearest railway station is "Belinsky" (Kamenka) — 35 km. The museum works from 9.00 till 16.00 (during the summer period till 17.00). The Day off is on Tuesday, last Thursday of each month is a sanitary day.

Tel: + 7 (84153) 3-56-01, 3-56-03, in Penza: +7 (927) 377-61-95.

The Penza State United Museum of Local Lore

The Penza State United Museum of Local Lore was founded in September, 22, 1905 by the Penza community of natural science lovers. The initiators of a natural-historical museum were the enthusiasts from the local intelligency — F.F. Fedorovich, A.N. Magnitsky, I.I. Sprygin, J.T. Simakov, A.F. Djubur, N.N. Derzhavin, etc.

The first visitors could visit a museum only in 1911. In 1919 it was nationalized and became the state scientific and educational institution. In 1924, with the enlargement of the collection, the natural-historical museum is transformed into the museum of local lore and moved to the two-storeyed building of a hostel of female diocesan school which it occupies until now.

The exhibitions of museum of local lore take place in seven halls with the total area of more than 1 thousand sq. meters telling about the paleontologic and geological past of the region, its modern nature and variety of fauna, region's archeology and also about stories of occurrence of the city and about feats of arms of its citizens.

The museum possesses the fine library of more than 50 thousand books, including rare old printing volumes and books with autographs.

Now the structure of the Penza state museum of local lore includes departments of V.O. Kljuchevsky's museum, I.N. Ulyanov's museum and the museum of Zolotarevsky's settlement.

Address: Penza, Krasnaya Str, 73.

Tel: +7 (8412) 56-24-70, 56-55-20.

The V.O. Kliuchevsky Museum

The V.O. Kljuchevsky's museum was founded in 1991 in the house in the former Popovka street (now Kljuchevsky Str, 66) where the future historian has spent his childhood and his youth (1851 - 1861). The museum complex consists as well of a nearby house connected to the museum by a passage and a back wing (commercial building).

The creators of the museum paid special attention to Kluchesky’s biography of Penza period using the information basically founded in the memorial house. During the restoration of the house its planning and its facade have been fully kept.

The display of the museum carefully depicts the life of the Kluchevsky’s family after his father’s death and their movement to Penza. In the backside of the hall there are several valuable exhibits — the old unique things from Penza house — a wall-mounted clock, an inkpot, an apron from a window of the Kljuchevsky's house. Here are presented the materials connected with the time when Vasily Kljuchevsky was studying in religious school (1851–1856) and school of theology (1856–1861).

The second section of the display is devoted to scientific, pedagogical, social work of V.O. Kljuchevsky. Materials of this period help to show Vasily Kljuchevsky's personality as a phenomenon of Russian culture. He was not only the historian and talented researcher, but also the magnificent lecturer, the literary critic and the connoisseur of art.

Address: Penza, Kljuchevsky Str, 66.

Tel: +7 (8412) 540-588, 543-801.

The I.N. Ulyanov's Museum-Reading Room

I.N. Ulyanov's museum was opened in April, 1970 in a building of the former office building of the Institute of Nobility where in 1855-1863 I.N. Ulyanov served as a senior teacher of physics and mathematics. In 1969 a monument to I.N. Uljanov and M.A. Uljanova was established in the opposite square (sculptor A.A. Fomin).

The exposition is installed in four halls and reflects historical conditions of the life of the Penza province in the middle of XIX-th century and it also shows I.N. Ulyanov's social-pedagogical activity and his fight for equal and comprehensive education. There are also unique materials of the Penza colleagues of I.N. Ulyanov — teachers and public figures, such as V.I. Zaharov, V.H. Hohrjakov, V.A. Aunovsky, А.I. Sokolov, A.P. Gorizontov, N.P. Orlov, V.I. Loginov and others.

Address: Penza, Krasnaya Str, 54.

Tel: +7 (8412) 56-24-40.

The Literary Museum

The Literary Museum of Penza was opened in 1989 in a building of the former first gymnasium for boys belonging to the XVIII-th century. The first students of the gymnasium were Vissarion Belinsky, the philologist Feodor Buslaev, the Penza governor Michael Speransky, the well-known Russian mathematician Nikolay Lobachevsky and the great Russian poet Vasily Zhukovsky.

The books of three centuries are presented here. The literary Penza museum doesn't only keep the atmosphere of the past but also tries to be popular and to form the global cultural and educational space.

Address: Penza, Kirova Str, 2.

Tel: +7 (8412) 56-13-12, 56-10-10.

V.G.Belinsky's Museum-Estate

V.G.Belinsky's Museum-Estate was opened in June, 1938 in Chembar. First it was placed in the house where Belinsky's family lived. In 1942 the building of the former Chembar district school was given to the museum. In May, 1969 the house museum was transformed into V.G.Belinsky's Museum-Estate. Since 1975 it has become a branch of association of literary-memorial museums of the Penza region. It includes Belinsky's house, a building of Chembar district school and a former merchant F.I. Antjushin's house.

Address: 442250, the Penza region, Belinsky, Belinsky Str, 8.

Tel: +7 (84153) 2-16-57.

The A.N. Radishchev's State Museum

The A.N. Radishchev's State Museum was opened in 1945 in the family ancestral lands of Radishchevs in the village Verhnee Abljazovo (now Radishchevo) in Kuznetsk area of the Penza region where the writer spent the first 7 years of his life and where he returned back many times. The museum represents memorable household items belonged to Radishchev's relatives, unique books and engravings of the end of the XVIII-th century, a manuscript of the famous Radishchev's book "The Journey from St Petersburg to Moscow" of the beginning of the XIX-th century and some other documents.

Address: the Penza region, Kuznetsk area, Radishchevo.

Tel: +7 (84157) 6-16-25.

The A.I. Kuprin's Museum

The A.I. Kuprin's Museum was opened in September, 1981 with great support and the participation of A.I. Kuprin's daughter. The collection contains items presented to the writer by his daughter: Kuprin's archive of the period of emigration (two A.I. Kuprin's autographs, letters of his wife, letters and documents of K.A. Kuprina), household things of the writer (a wedding ring, a coffee maker, a flask etc.), books from his library. The collection also includes the lifetime published books of the writer and the original illustrations to them.

Address: 442580, the Penza region, Narovchat, Kuprina Str.

Tel: +7 (84163) 2-13-41.

The Malyshkin Museum

The Malyshkin Museum was opened in March in 1977 as a part of the Regional Museum of Local Lore. There are two exhibits in the museum: the first one is devoted to the household items and is located in the former Malyshkins' house, the second — to the literature and is located in the Novitskys' house, adjoining the house of the parents of the writer.

Address: the Penza region, Mokshan, Penzenskaya Str, 19.

Tel: +7 (84150) 2-27-43.

The Penza Picture Gallery named after K.A. Savitsky

The most popular museum in Penza widely known far beyond the bounds of the Penza region was founded in 1892 according to the will of the Penza governor Nikolay Seliverstov. Now the collection of the museum consists of more than 12 thousand items, including masterpieces of West-European, Russian classical and Soviet art and works of the Penza artists.

Address: 440026, Penza, Sovietskaya Str, 3.

Tel: +7 (8412) 56-56-00, 56-63-73, 56-43-15.

The Nickolsky Museum of Glass

The Nickolsky Museum of Glass was founded in 1789 when the owner of the glass factory Aleksey Bakhmetiev began to collect the best samples of the production of the factory. The collection of the museum is one of the most unique and the largest in the country. Here you can see the crystal production of the Russian and foreign glass specimens.

Address: the Penza region, Nikolsk, Komsomolskaya Str, 27

Tel:+7 (84165) 4-55-24.

The Penza Museum of One Picture

The Museum of One Painting named after G. V. Myasnikov was founded in February in 1983 on the base of The Penza Picture Gallery named after K.A. Savitsky. During more than 20 years the visitors of the museum can look at the masterpieces of Russian and foreign art from the collections of the Hermitage, the Russian Museum, the State Tretyakov Gallery and other art galleries of the country.

Address: Penza, Kirova Str, 11.

Tel: +7 (8412) 56-14-27.

The Folk Crafts Museum

The Folk Crafts Museum is located in one of the oldest monuments of wooden architecture of the Penza region. It was opened in 1975. The staff of the museum is occupied with preservation, studying and propaganda of traditional Penza art crafts. The museum funds have a set of samples of the Abashev clay toys, the ceramic products, the art glass, the frescoes, the embroideries, the weaving, the items made of straw and wooden fretwork.

Address: 440052, Penza, Kuibysheva Str, 45а.

Tel: +7 (8412) 32-12-53, fax: (8412) 32-13-48.