Opening of the exhibition "ProSOVTORG, or the development of trade in Polotsk in 1919-1991"

On May 11, 2023, the Polotsk Museum of Local Lore hosted the opening of a new temporary exhibition "ProSOVTORG, or the development of trade in Polotsk in 1919-1991". The museum's researchers have been actively working for several months, studying materials and documents from the state archives and personal collections of Polotsk residents related to the history of soviet trade.

Thanks to the help of JSC "Polotsk-torg" and the staff of NPIKMZ, trading equipment was prepared, which gave a special flavor to the museum space. The first visitors of the exhibition were able to "visit" the outlets of Polotsk of different years — the food stores of the consumer cooperation of the 1920s and 1970s, the department store of the 1980s, as well as the local «hustle» of the early 1990s.

Honorary guests at the opening of the exhibition were teachers with many years of experience of the Polotsk Trade and Technology College L. L. Osmalovskaya, L. E. Ufimtseva and S. V. Kovaleva. Their memories of the glorious past of one of the largest secondary specialized educational institutions in the city once again confirmed the high level of education that could be obtained on the Polotsk.

The deputy chairman of the Polotsk District Executive Committee on Social Issues, S. M. Valyushkina, told the audience about who is training personnel for the trade sphere today and how the situation is in the Polotsk retail network.

Of particular interest to those present, among whom there were many young people, was a video about the work of shops in Polotsk of the past years, prepared by the head of the Museum of Local History Irina Vodneva.

Thematic excursions have been held at the exhibition since the first days of its work, and on May 20 at 19.00, as part of the "Night of Museums — 2023" events, a lecture "The Shadow sides of Soviet Trade" will be held, which will be read by E. V. Sumko, Candidate of Historical Sciences, associate professor of the Department of History and Tourism of the Euphrosyne Polotsk State University.

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