At its local history museum, Krutinka offers insights into peasant life, the war years and natural history. There is also a centre for traditional culture and notable sites on Lenin Street. The topics can be grouped according to their different focuses: ways of life, remembrance and nature each have their own dedicated rooms.

Three themed rooms at the local history museum

The “Zaselenije i byt krestjan” room is designed in the style of a Russian peasant home. Exhibits include millstones, a plough and a loom, as well as agricultural cooking and household items. The displays offer a glimpse of everything from farm work and weaving to everyday life at home.

The “Boevoi slavy” room features documents, letters, objects from the war years and photographs of local people who took part in the war. The third room, “Priroda i my”, illustrates the region’s wildlife with specimens of brown bear, wild boar, fox, capercaillie, swan and duck. It also contains mammoth bones and a display depicting a lake and forest. The three rooms therefore offer distinct perspectives on peasant life, remembrance and nature. If you plan to visit the museum, check in advance which rooms are currently accessible.

Traditional crafts and sites on Lenin Street

The “Russki uklad” Centre for Traditional Culture focuses on practical crafts. A description from 2017 mentions workshops on making traditional dolls, beadwork and paper crafts, wax flowers, working with newspapers and encaustic painting. The groups mentioned as participants include interested local residents, schools and preschools. If you would like to attend a workshop, check in advance for current dates and participation options.

Two notable sites are on Lenin Street: the late-19th-century Wolf Merchant House is at number 7, and the Church of Elijah the Prophet is at number 11. This makes it possible to distinguish a historic merchant house and a church as different points of interest in the town’s history. Check visiting options in advance, especially if you plan to go inside.

More to explore in the wider destination of Omsk Oblast

The wider destination of Omsk Oblast offers its own cultural and landscape attractions. In Bolsherechye, the “Starina Sibirskaya” Museum-Reserve brings together a historical and architectural complex, a local history museum, an art gallery, and the “Batakovo” National Archaeological and Nature Park. As an open-air museum, it comprises 15 historical and architectural monuments and notable sites. Visitor activities include guided tours, games and entertainment programmes, and opportunities to take part in re-enactments of traditional customs and folklore and ethnographic festivals associated with the folk calendar. Check specific dates if you would like to plan for one of these programmes.

Tyukalinsk was founded in 1759 as a postal station on the Siberian Tract and is considered an open-air museum town. It has 37 historical monuments, including 29 regional cultural heritage sites. The one-day weekend route “Uyezd Town on the Siberian Tract” combines a guided town tour with the interactive merchant tea event “Chayepitie po-kupecheski” and insights into the activities of local residents in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Another route, “Tyukalinsk — Merchant Town”, includes a visit to the “Voennye stranitsy istorii Tyukalinska” museum in a former barracks of the guard detachment at the transit prison. The visit also includes a screening of a feature film in the style of silent black-and-white cinema in an improvised cinema hall, with tourists taking part. Check current dates and availability for the routes.

One of Omsk Oblast’s landscape attractions is Lake Ebeity, the largest salt lake in the oblast and a designated water monument of nature since 1979. A one-kilometre ecological and tourist trail runs from the village of Gvozdyovka. Information boards cover the lake, the properties of its water and brine, and seven legends about its origins. A salt crystal was chosen as the symbol of the lake. Check trail access in advance.

Discover more destinations: Tambovka, Russkaya Polyana, Lesnoye, Rakitinka, Ust'-Zaostrovka, Nadezhdino, Omsk

For the wider travel overview: Omsk Oblast.