The two main exhibits of the museum contain
documents and ethnographic artifacts.
The documentary exhibit tells the history
of the Karelian Isthmus and shows the mode of life of the
Finnish people residing there in the first half of the 20th
century (up to 1940). Visitors can learn the details of everyday
life both of a family at a farm and of a community of a village
or parish (district).
The material exhibit recreates a Finnish
farm of the first third of the 20th century displaying domestic
utensils, farm facilities and furnishings from a house built
in the 19th century.
Vladimir
Lenin, Georgy Plekhanov, Aleksandr Benois and Sulho Ranta
in Yalkala
Special stands are devoted to famous people
who visited Yalkala or lived here - revolutionaries Vladimir
Lenin and Georgy Plekhanov, artist Aleksandr Benois and composer
Sulho Ranta.
The farm of the Parviainens in Yalkala was
one of the hiding places for Vladimir Lenin when he was chased
by the police in August 1917. The Parviainens were the relatives
of his bodyguard E.Rahja. Here Lenin wrote the first chapters
of his book "State and revolution". He left Yalkala
on August 8, 1917 and, after hiding in Helsingfors (Helsinki)
for next two months, came back to Petrograd to head the Great
October socialist revolution. A monument to Vladimir Lenin
(by sculptors A.Danilenko, A.Pliskin, V.Tatarovich and G.Yastrebenetsky)
is erected not far from the museum, in the village of Il'ichevo.
Another Marxian revolutionary - Georgy Plekhanov
spent his last months in the vicinity of Yalkala and died
in the "Pitkajarvi" sanatorium located in the neighbouring
village.
Scenery environs of Yalkala were captured
by a renowned artist and art historian of the 20th century
Aleksandr Benois in his watercolors. His family used to rest
here in summer time.
In the early 20th century a prominent Finnish
composer and public figure Sulho Ranta lived in Yalkala.
Research
and educational activities of the museum
In addition to permanent collection, the
museum invites rotating shows; multifaceted educational and
research work is also conducted.
An unusual exhibit of wooden sculpture by
A.Kharlampenko is arranged in the open air. It shows characters
and wild animals from the Karelo-Finnish epic "Kalevala".
Temporary exhibits, like the "Granny's
Chest" display from the museum funds or "The Earth
Spirits" show of thread toys made by M.Styazhkina, present
cultural and folk traditions of the Karelian Isthmus people.
In March 2000 Yalkala hosted the international
conference on Russian-Finnish War of 1941 "105 Days of
Winter War" supported by the Open Society Institute (Soros
Foundation).
All the year round the museum provides a
ground for various performances. Festivals of traditional
art of the Karelian Isthmus indigenous nationalities, Days
of Aleksandr Pushkin, New Year and Shrovetide shows are just
a few of them.
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