Activities of V.K. Makarov in the Council of Keepers of Suburban Palace Museums

The Council of Keepers of Suburban Palace-Museums began its work in mid-1918. The main task of the Council was to consolidate efforts to transform the royal residences into museums. The keepers of Peterhof, Tsarskoye Selo, Gatchina, and Pavlovsk solved numerous problems at their meetings regarding the future of the royal palaces, the daily activities of the organizations, and discussed reforms in the management of the palace-museums. The study is devoted to the activities and role of Vladimir Kuzmich Makarov in the Council of Keepers. He is the only one of the keepers of the suburban palaces who took part in the activities of the Council from the first to the last meeting. A graduate of the Faculty of History and Philology of the Imperial St. Petersburg University, he stood at the origins of the creation of the museum on the basis of the former royal residence in Gatchina. The Council of Keepers was a platform for him to solve pressing problems. The study is based on the application of the principles of historicism, objectivity, and systematicity of scientific analysis. The article is based on documents from the archives of St. Petersburg, materials from the repositories of the State Hermitage, the Russian National Library, and the State Russian Museum. The position of the custodian of the Gatchina Palace Museum is of great importance in studying public opinion on the status of imperial residences in the early years of Bolshevik power. The scientific novelty of the work lies in studying the strategy of museum workers' behavior in preserving historical heritage in the context of Soviet cultural policy. A staunch supporter of turning former royal palaces into museums, V.K. Makarov consistently defended the right to preserve national heritage throughout the years of the Council's existence. The activities of the custodian of the Gatchina Palace Museum in the work of the Council influenced the development of all suburban residences to varying degrees. V.K. Makarov resisted attempts to transfer the palace premises to third-party organizations. He carefully preserved the Gatchina museum collection, openly confronting the position of the central museums.