For the 1970 centenary of Lenin’s birth, a two-block area of the village centre was reconstructed to look as it had in 1870. These well-kept ‘old’ Siberian houses now form the Shushenskoe Ethnographic Museum. Many are convincingly furnished, and in summer costumed craftsmen sit around carving spoons. It’s gently interesting, but as all trips are guided (in Russian) the visit can drag and you’re locked into spending over 1½ hours seeing everything.
In addition to Lenin’s private quarters, other high points include the fully stocked late-19th-century shop and a vodka bar, both towards the end of the tour.
