History and mission

The Museum was established in 1948 at the Russian Center in San Francisco and incorporated in 1953 as an independent cultural non-profit corporation tax-exempt under the laws of the State of California and the United States. The aims of the Museum are:

To promote Russian culture and collect materials about its influence on American culture.
To collect and safeguard all types of historical materials, memorials, books, newspapers and magazines, including governmental, public and private archives and libraries, containing information on the activities of Russian emigrants all over the world, and on their lives before the revolution of 1917.
To collect and safeguard materials about Americans of Russian descent who made significant contributions to American culture, technology, or society.
To collect and safeguard materials about the history, activities, and contributions of Russians, the Russian American Community, and various Russian-American organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area and the West Coast.
To make these materials available to persons conducting research in Russian history or culture.
To establish exchange of materials and participate in joint exhibitions, research projects, etc., with similar educational and cultural organizations.
To maintain the Exhibition Hall open to the public, free of charge. To provide exhibits with written explanations in Russian and English languages.

The Museum is staffed entirely by volunteers interested in Russian culture. The majority of volunteers are fluent in Russian and English languages.

Presidents of the Museum of Russian Culture:

Константинов Пётр Филаретович (1948-1954)
Лукашкин Анатолий Стефанович (1954-1966)
Слободчиков Николай Александрович (1966-1999)
Браунс Дмитрий Георгиевич (1999-2007)
Корецкий Николай Алексеевич (2007 – 2018)
Др. Ганса Александр Николаевич (2018-настоящее время)