The Russian History Museum opened in 1984. However, the museum collection was accumulated over the course of several decades prior to the museum’s official opening. Holy Trinity Monastery in Jordanville, NY was founded in 1930, eventually becoming an important spiritual and cultural center for the Russian diaspora. Emigres from the former Russian Empire, displaced by revolution, civil war, and World War II, began to view the monastery as a trusted repository for the treasured artifacts and documents they brought with them from their homeland or had painstakingly collected abroad.
By the 1960s, a special room on the monastery campus was dedicated to the storage and display of such objects. Among the founding donors were various emigre organizations, such as the Association of the Imperial School of Jurisprudence, as well as individuals. Princess Vera Konstantinovna Romanova was one such individual, donating items relating to her father, Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich (grandson of Emperor Nicholas I), over the course of the 1970s and 1980s.
Construction of an addition to the N. N. Alexandroff Building for the housing of a museum and archive began in 1980. Bishop Laurus (Skulra), the monastery’s abbot, spearheaded fundraising for the construction project and continued to solicit in-kind donations of museum and archival materials. The Russian History Museum opened to the public on June 17, 1984 with an exhibition of over 300 objects on display in the newly-constructed space. The collection continued to grow thanks to generous in-kind donations throughout the 1990s and early 2000s.
The Russian History Museum is committed to preserving and sharing the incredible materials in its collection. In addition to presenting exhibitions, the museum offers engaging public programs, such as its Second Saturdays online lecture series.
The museum continues to collaborate with other museums by lending objects for temporary display, thus sharing its treasures with a broad audience. In recent years, artifacts from the museum have been on display in the Science Museum (London), Ikonenmuseum (Frankfurt), Manezh (Moscow), Hillwood Museum (Washington, DC), and the Museum of Russian Icons (Clinton, MA).
The collection continues to grow largely through the generosity of in-kind donors. The museum is grateful for the support of everyone who contributes to its continued success and enables our unique gem of a museum to thrive.
The Treaty of Kahnawake of 1760
