In 1911, Elena Andreevna Tretyakova, the widow of Sergey Mikhailovich Tretyakov, the brother of Pavel Mikhailovich (the founder of the Tretyakov Gallery), presented to Emperor Nicholas II a collection of artworks and documents dedicated to the wars in which Russia took part, as well as military trophies.
The emperor ordered to establish a museum based on this collection, for which the Martial Chamber was built in Tsarskoe Selo. Soon the People’s Museum of the Great War of 1914–1917 opened its doors to visitors. Unfortunately, it did not stay open for long and in 1918 the museum was closed.
Almost a century later, in August 2014, the first museum in modern Russia dedicated to World War I was opened in the building of the Martial Chamber, and the exposition “Russia in the Great War” was created.
The exhibition includes artifacts from the funds of the Tsarskoe Selo State Museum and Heritage Site, as well as gifts from collectors, patrons and ordinary people whose ancestors fought on the battlefields of the Great War: elements of uniforms, equipment and weapons of soldiers and officers of the countries participating in the war, as well as equipment, household items, paintings, graphic works, sculptures, photographs and documents.
Exhibits are marked with AR stickers for identification purposes.
