“The history of Jews in each epoch reflects its spirit and peculiarities”, says the founder of the museum Alexander Moiseyevich Boroda. This is the cornerstone of the entire exposition. It is chronologically structured dwelling upon key points in history.
“The Beginning” cinema theatre. The first thing catching our visitor’s eye is theround-shaped cinema hall. Here you can watch 4D films about the first days of the world – from its creation and the appearance of major religions to the destruction of the Second Temple and the establishment of the Jewish diaspora.
That troubled time was the time of hope for Jews. The letter from the British Foreign Secretary Lord Balfour, also known as the Balfour Declaration, gave hope to believe there would soon be a Jewish national state in Palestine. The background for this were the Bolshevik Revolution and the ensuing Russian Civil War.
Despite all the difficulties following the formation of present-day Russia, this period has turned out to be a favorable one for Russia’s Jews. We have finally gained freedom of religion and movement and respect from Russia’s officials.
A big interactive table shows the history of Jews’ migration. You may and should touch this exhibit. By tapping on certain parts of the map you will learn about the life of Jewish communities in different countries.
This place of mourning was constructed in likeness to the Children’s Memorial in Yad Vashem, the National Holocaust Museum in Israel. The building, made of old aviation steel, has a multitude of mirrors installed inside in such a way that the light of several candles, which are installed there as well is, is reflected a countless number of times. Heroism, betrayal, courage, defeat and victory are all parts of the rich history of the Second World War. On the huge dioramic screens you will see eyewitness accounts, people at the front, guerilla fighters, people in ghettos and in concentration camps – the pain and dreadful experience of the War. All museums are similar to some extent. Often it is a collection of items united by one theme, lying on display behind the glass. You cannot say the same about our museum. It is different. It is interactive. It is difficult to say what it resembles most, a museum in its conventional meaning or a theme park. The exposition imparts the information in a multitude of ways. It is multifaceted. It engulfs you, enters your mind and interacts with almost every single of your sense organs. And it is possible thanks to the cutting-edge audio-visual and computer technologies.
That troubled time was the time of hope for Jews. The letter from the British Foreign Secretary Lord Balfour, also known as the Balfour Declaration, gave hope to believe there would soon be a Jewish national state in Palestine. The background for this were the Bolshevik Revolution and the ensuing Russian Civil War.
Despite all the difficulties following the formation of present-day Russia, this period has turned out to be a favorable one for Russia’s Jews. We have finally gained freedom of religion and movement and respect from Russia’s officials.
The interior of the hall dedicated to the Soviet Union bears a lot of symbolism. In the center of the ceiling you will see a five-pointed red star under which there are big screens showing images of different processes symbolizing that turbulent time – Collectivization, Electrification, Industrialization and other government initiatives that moved traditional Jewish issues to the background.
Translated from Yiddish, shtetl means a small settlement or a town. Shtetls were places in the Russian Empire with a large number of Jews among their population after the adoption of a law banning Jews from settling in big cities also known as the Pale of Settlement. This part of the exposition reproduces a typical shtetl with squat houses, an invariable market, a synagogue and a school. Two over three-meter tall glass panels show unique images of the life of Jews at that time. 
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