The History of the Museum

In 1918 O.N. Tyutcheva, who was the last owner of the estate, and her son, N.I. Tyutchev, decided to pass Muranovo into the hands of the state. The same tear Olga Nikolaevna received a document that assigned her to look after the estate. In August of 1920 the Museum of F.I. Tyutchev was opened.
By that time in Muranovo were kept autographs, books, portraits and other belongings of Boratynsky, Tyutchev, N.V. Putyata, N.V. Sushkov, I.S. Aksakov and L.N. Engelgardt. The archives were full of biographic and economic documents and letters. Here was also kept a large collection of decorative and applied art, photographs, old clocks, furniture and different items of porcelain, faience and glass.
The founder of the museum, the poet's grandson N.I. Tyutchev in 1920-22 arranged the first memorial exposition, and since 1924 he was the permanent director and custodian of the museum.
All the life of N.I. Tyutchev was linked with Muranovo. Here he was born on October 27, 1876, here he received a perfect home education (later he studied law in the Demidov lyceum in Yaroslavl).
Since childhood Nicholas had an extremely strong aesthetic comprehension and love for art. He was well known as a connoisseur of the history of art and a collector of paintings, porcelain, rare autographs and books.
Perfectly knowing the history of Muranovo, he could successfully solve a difficult problem - a problem how to turn a dwelling into a museum. The exposition that he arranged has enchanted visitors of Muranovo for tears, so it was by no accident that M.V. Nesterov wrote about Muranovo: "What delights me here is that everything lives its own original life".
N.I. Tyutchev had a lot of assistants. These were members of his family: his brother F.I. Tyutchev, his sisters S.I. Tyutcheva and E.I. Tyutcheva, his nephew K.V. Pigarev. They all organized excursions, revived the flower-beds, bridges and paths in the park and arranged various and wide cooperation with local inhabitants.
While N.I. Tyutchev was the director, departments dedicated to Boratynsky and Tyutchev were opened, and temporary exhibitions commemorating different remarkable dates were organized. Tyutchev also wrote the first guide to the museum. In that time the Muranovo archive was often visited by both Russian and foreign specialists.
For high achievements in the area of culture N.I. Tyutchev received the title of an Honored Art Expert of the RSFSR. He died in Muranovo on August 26, 1949 and was buried near the church close to his father's grave. His cause was continued by his nephew, F.I. Tyutchev's great-grandson C.V. Pigarev who became the director after the death of N.I. Tyutchev.
C.V. Pigarev was born in Moscow on April 11, 1911. His mother Catherine was Feodor Tyutchev's granddaughter. Pigarev's childhood passed in Muranovo. His tutors were his uncle N.I. Tyutchev, the artist M.V. Nesterov and a literary and art critic S.N. Durylin.
Being 24 years old, Pigarev became the member of the staff of Muranovo. In 1944 he received a Kandidat degree and in 1954 - his doctoral degree.
Pigarev wrote books and articles about Ryleev, Batyushkov, Zhukovsky, Boratynsky, S. Aksakov and others. But his main work was the monograph "Life and Works of F.I. Tyutchev" (Moscow, 1962). He was the editor of Tyutchev's "Lyrics" (1965, 1966) and "The Works" (1980). He was also the initiator of publication of Tyutchev's "Literary Heritage" (2 vol., 1988, 1989).
Under N.I. Tyutchev and C.V. Pigarev Muranovo became the center of researches dedicated to Boratynsky and Tyutchev. Russian, English, German, Norwegian, American, Hungarian scientists had to visit Muranovo.
C.V. Pigarev is the author of three guides to Muranovo. Being the director of the museum (1949-1980) he was successfully continuing the improvement of the memorial exposition, which was enriched by numerous family relics. In 1973 his long and useful service was marked by the title of an Honored Cultural Expert of the RSFSR.
On May 14, 1984 Pigarev died in Moscow. He was buried in Muranovo, close to the graves of I.F. Tyutchev and N.I. Tyutchev.
In 1983 a restoration was started in Muranovo. In December of 1996 the museum was opened again.