Ekibastuz regional museum

Ekibastuz regional museum - darkometer rating : 2 - A typical small regional museum of history and local lore in Kazakhstan . This one, however, has the extra distinction of covering more than the usual themes. In particular it also features a section about Ekibastuz 's connections with the gulag system. > More background info > What there is to see > Location > Access and costs > Time required > Combinations with other dark destinations > Combinations with non-dark destinations > Photos More background info: see under Ekibastuz . What there is to see: the museum kicks off in a very typical manner, familiar from virtually all regional museums in Kazakhstan , namely with a bit of archaeology and prehistory. Normally, I find this rather boring, but in this case at least there were some rather captivating skeletons discovered in various burial mounds from different periods in the region. Also predictable was the fully furnished yurt – the classic nomadic "housing" that so used to characterize all Central Asia (and Mongolia). A few more typical sections on – including the unavoidable "nature" hall with a host of stuffed animals – it finally gets more interesting in the following rooms. Here the Soviet era is covered, including the gulag history, as well as Ekibastuz 's all-dominant connection with coal mining. The latter is first introduced by means of an almost life-size mock-up of an early underground mine (whereas today mining at Ekibastuz is done in opencast pits), designed to visualize starkly the squalor endured by those early miners. The Soviet era, on the other hand, is still portrayed in quite some glory. There are flags, medals, propaganda posters, the works. In particular, of course, the victory in the Great Patriotic War (= WWII ) is highlighted.