Музей антропологии и этнографии им. Петра Великого (Кунсткамера) Российской академии наук

MAE RAS

Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (the Kunstkamera) celebrated its 300 anniversary in 2014. One of the richest ethnographical museums in the world, it is a scholarly center of an international fame. The museum's unique collections, acquired through the efforts of thousands of persons, participants of the great academic expeditions, circumnavigations of the Russian fleet, and numerous donators, are rightfully admired both in this country and abroad. Indeed, they were assembled by entire Russia, and today the nation is proud of its first museum.

The Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, following its Charter, carries out fundamental, exploratory, and applied research in the following areas:

• Ethnogenetic processes and ethnic cultures, comprehensive studies of the formation and development of ancient and modern ethnicities and cultures, material and spiritual culture, ethno-social organization, current ethnic and ethno-social processes, historical and cultural interaction of the peoples of the world;
• Human anthropology, the study of human evolution, integrated study of problems of ethnogenesis and formation of ancient and modern anthropological types and communities, methodology of anthropological studies of the ancient and contemporary world population;
• Processes of change of ancient material culture, ancient technologies and techniques, the study of peculiarities of ancient cultural and social behavior;
• Languages in ethnic cultures of the peoples of the world, problems of theory and historical development of world languages, ethnolinguistic research;
• Study and preservation of historical and cultural heritage, history of national science, history of the oldest Russian museum – the Kunstkamera, the works of Mikhailo Lomonosov.