In the dining room of the House-Museum of Vladimir Lenin, near the left window on either side of the brass samovar made in Tula, there are two jars. Maria Ulyanova, Lenin’s younger sister, donated one of them to the museum.

These jars for jam were cast from transparent glass in Russia. The name of the factory where they were made, and the exact date of production is unknown. Researchers date them to the second half of the 19th century. Both exhibits are well preserved.

The first jar is in the form of a bowl with a glass lid; on its surface is a fine geometric ornament. The rim is wide and wavy, curved. The product stands on a high cylindrical faceted leg.

The second jar, original, smaller in size, is executed in the form of a hemisphere. On the walls applied in relief vegetative decor and frequent pattern in a small convex point. The leg of the jar is very low. The lid is lost.

Glass jars displayed at the exhibition of the Ulyanovs House-Museum, were dishes for homemade jam, which the family loved. Every summer Maria Alexandrovna cooked jellies and jams, made marshmallows and dried fruit from apples, cherries, plums, gooseberries, currants, and other fruits and berries from her garden.

Maria and Ilya Ulyanov had six children: Anna, Alexander, Olga, Vladimir, Dmitri, and Maria. Lenin’s elder sister Anna Ulyanov-Elizarova recalled,

A jar with cherry jam became a kind of symbol of the House-Museum because it was the favorite sweet treat of the Ulyanovs. The father of the family was particularly fond of it. In the summer the Ulyanovs often gathered in the garden pavilion, set a samovar to boil, and drank tea with a variety of treats.

Cherry jam became a symbol of the holiday in the Ulyanovsk region — Father’s Day, established in 2005. It is celebrated on July 26, the birthday of the teacher and educator Ilya Ulyanov. On this day the House-Museum traditionally hosts a tea party with cherry jam.