The opening of the museum was preceded by major efforts of local historians. The volunteers were united in Society for Don antiquity. The museum building was constructed between 1894 and 1896. It was designed by academician A. Yashchenko. The museum was erected by public donations at first. 30,000 rubles had been collected. The military council of Russian Empire has provided 45,000 rubles. The opening ceremony took place on 22 November 1899. Museum include six collections: prehistoric, historic, natural historical, library, archival and military regalia. Khariton Popov who founded this museum was the first director. In 1920 due to the Russian Civil War 2726 items were evacuated in Prague. During the Second World War the part of the collection was saved. After the liberation of Novocherkassk the Museum of Don Cossacks reopened. In 1946 the evacuated collections were brought back from Prague National Museum. Nikolay Dubovskoy's art collection was transferred to the Museum in the mid 1940s.
Collections
The main building
The main building is occupied by the collections of awards and appointed weapons, arm blanches and firearms. Also this exhibition include: Hetman regalia, military and regimental banners from the 18th-19th centuries, Cossacks military and domestic costume from the 19th-early 20th centuries, letters patents, different documents of the Don administration and organizational office. An art gallery is housed in the main building. It is one of the largest art galleries in Rostov oblast. The exhibition presents: Don painted portraits from end of 18th-early 19th centuries, portraits of the emperors and Don appointed atamans, works of the Wanderers. The museum hold valuable collection of antique books and newspapers.
The house was built near the second half of the 19th century. It is a typical Сossaсk dwelling-house in Novocherkassk of this period. An art studio opened here in 1900s. A lot of eminent persons of Russian and Soviet culture attended this place. Among the visitors were: Aleksandr Kuprin, Konstantin Trenyov, Alexander Serafimovich, Nikolay Dubovskoy, Mitrofan Grekov, Mikhail Erdenko, K. Dumchev, A. Listopadov and others. The building was being renovated in the 1940s. The art-gallery did not extant. Painter Ivan Krylov lived in Novocherkassk between 1900 and 1936. Memorial House-Museum is dedicated to the life and work of Russian painter on this period. Total exhibition space covering 108 m². The Memorial House-Museum of Ivan Krylov contains a lot of thinks belonging to painter.
Russian battle painter Mitrofan Grekov spent in Novocherkassk 14 years of his life. At this period Grekov created 94 paintings. The opening ceremony of Memorial House-Museum took place on 30 June 1956 23 years after death of Mitrofan Grekov. The house-museum consists of a wing, small orchard with parterre and the main building where painter was living. The exhibition hold sketches, studies, paintings, easel and original furniture. The museum is considered to be an object of cultural heritage.
Ataman palace
was, from 1863 to 1917, official residence of the appointed atamans. It was constructed between 1860 and 1863. Today, the restored palace forms part of a complex of buildings housing the Museum of history of Don Cossacks. Situated between Platovsky Avenue and the Alexander Garden. The richly decorated interiors of the second floor of the Ataman Palace host the exhibitions about Ataman rule in the Don region.
