Museum history

The museum of memory of victims of political repressions of Dolinka settlement was created according to the order of the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan N.A.Nazarbayev in 2001.

From 2001 to 2011, the museum was located in the building of the former clinic for civilian employees of the Karlag NKVD.

Nowadays the museum is located in the building of the former Karlag Administration, built by thousands of prisoners in 1933-1935. The total area of the building - 3326,6 sq.m. There are 20 exposition halls located on two floors: “Famine in Kazakhstan”, “History of Karlag formation”, “Economic activity of Karlag”, “Women and children”, “Deportation of peoples” and others. The museum's permanent exposition presents archival materials on the history of political repression, letters, photographs, personal files of Karlag’s prisoners, as well as expedition finds - tools and household items of the Karlag’s prisoners. The collection includes works of art created by the camp's prisoners.

In the basement of the museum, there is an installation of a detention facility: a punishment cell, men's and women's cells, an investigator's office, a torture chamber and others. The conditions of detention, interrogation and registration of personal files are presented here. The installation of the detention facility is complemented by wax figures of prisoners, guards, and investigators.

The museum is engaged in scientific and educational activities. There is a research center for studying the history of political repression, where the works of Kazakhstan’s scientists are presented. Researchers are studying materials on the history of repressions in the archives of the Republic.

The museum staff organizes events such as meetings with former prisoners of the Karlag and descendants of the repressed. There are rallies on the Day of Memory of Victims of Political Repressions and Famine, conferences, round tables, seminars, and practical activities with schoolchildren and students. The event for International Museum Day, “Night at the Museum,” attracts a large number of visitors. On this day, May 18, excursions with theatrical elements are held at night. Scenes from the life of Karlag’s prisoners “come to life” in the exhibition halls. Temporary exhibitions are held throughout the year, featuring exhibits from the museum's holdings and private collections.

The museum's collection contains about 15000 exhibits, more than 6000 of them are authentic antiquities. A rather rich and diverse material has been collected, which forms the main fund of the museum. Photographs and documents occupy a special place in the expositions and funds of the museum, as they are irrefutable proof of the existence of forced labor camps, and research work is carried out on them. The collections of the newspaper “Putevka” from 1934 and the newspaper “Gana Gol” from 1935 in Kazakh in Latin letters, as well as the prisoner’s diary, are unique. Flags, posters, busts of Soviet leaders and other Soviet paraphernalia were collected over the years by the museum staff and now represent the main collections. Besides, there are rare works of deported artists Rechensky P.I., Andreyuk L.P. and Hamburger L.E., household items of Kazakh people of 1920-30 years, rushniks and embroideries made by hands of former prisoners, musical instruments of those times, items made by prisoners at the repair-mechanical factory, personal things of deported peoples and many other unique exhibits.

        The number of visitors, both Kazakhstan citizens and citizens of near and far abroad, is growing annually.