One day, while walking through the Peter and Paul Fortress, I noticed that the restoration of the Annina Cavalier building had been completed and that a sign had appeared on the door inviting me to visit the museum that was located there. The new museum was called simply and unpretentiously: the Money museum (Museum of the History of Money). Earlier I thought that the place, where a lot of money was accumulated, was called a bank, but the reality made its corrections, now you can see a lot of money in the museum as well.
The building is not very big, but the exposition is diverse, well-designed and perfectly organized. In addition to the usual showcases there are video clips, digital installations and educational board games on the history of money.
I think the target audience of this museum is primarily children. If I were a child it would be hard to tear me away from the various display cases and dioramas, but even as an adult I could admire the little figures diligently stamping and printing money. The display case is interactive, if you turn it on all the figures start to move.
In my report there are too many pictures devoted to this diorama, so please understand and forgive me, because it all looks so nice. The neighboring diorama, showing an earlier time of a natural exchange of cabbage for boots and chicken for a shirt, I also liked very much, but the lighting conditions were worse there.
A continuation of the exhibit could be called "The Hard Life of Money." In the next display case, brand-new coins find their way onto a gambling table covered in green cloth.
On the side lies a newspaper printed in the old spelling. The spelling was reformed in 1918, so we can conclude that the dramatic events at the gaming table unfolded earlier. The headline on the theater catches our eye. It looks like an enjoyable evening awaits the player if he wins.
But the real drama plays out next. World War I, the Revolution and the Civil War made money cheaper than the paper on which it was printed. All of these paper notes were used to stoke the stove, which is the only use they could make. Although you can still put money on the walls instead of wallpaper.
The next showcase is from the Soviet period. The poster in the center calls for keeping money in a savings bank. Well, a lot of people did. In the 1990s, all those savings depreciated.
In the center of the hall is a tower of 1 ruble coins. There are exactly one million coins. The installation is called "a million".
Of the usual showcase exhibits, this book shook me the most. It is an album of counterfeit credit cards, from the 19th century. There is a sense of unhurriedness and thoroughness, inaccessible to our time.
I took a picture of a couple of information displays. The top photo shows a reference terminal, you can select any exhibit and the screen will display a detailed historical reference. The second screen is a board game for schoolchildren. You have to twist the steering wheels and answer the questions correctly. I did not manage to find out what the prize was, I tried to play it, but made a mistake already on the second question.