ABSTRACT
The kraevedenie museums are spread around the country and can be encountered at almost any town or even a tiny settlement you could imagine within the border of Russia— from the easternmost village of Eurasia to Central Russia, from the places with 100-year history of exile to the regional capitals. This chapter introduces case study regions that this book is based on, and introduces the city settings where the case study museums are situated. The Soviet plan to create a unified type of building for the kraevedenie museums has never been complete, and Soviet and Russian museums occupy all types of buildings and can be found anywhere: in former monastery complexes in the central square, ground floors of residential buildings on the outskirts, or in a special separate building.
