DOSTOYEVSKY MUSEUM

Set back from the main square, the museum can be spotted by the relief sculpture of the great writer wearing a beard, on the modern part of the building; it is next to the small log house that Lieutenant Dostoyevsky occupied between 1854 and 1859. It stands out enough from the surrounding architecture to be noticed. On the right is a statue of Dostoyevsky in uniform, chatting with Shokan Valikhanov, Kazakh ethnologist and historian, a contemporary of the Russian writer and considered the father of modern Kazakh historiography. The two men met in Omsk, and struck up a close friendship that lasted despite Dostoyevsky's exile.

The museum, housed in a beautiful setting with walls decorated with large pages of Dostoyevsky's handwriting, displays mainly period photographs and a number of books that marked, influenced or inspired the Russian author, just like Hugo, Byron or Balzac. Semey is also featured, with a historical model of the city and black-and-white photographs of its main monuments. In the center, a space evokes the world of the Gulag. Here, visitors can linger over drawings by Korsakova and Tolkacheva, depicting prisoners' faces with intensity.

The visit concludes with a tour of Dostoyevsky's home, which consists of an entrance hall adjacent to a small bedroom, a living room and a study. Period furniture has been arranged to recreate Dostoyevsky's everyday world during the five years he spent at Semey.