Formation of museums of higher educational institutions of the BSSR in 1920–30s (on the example of training collections of the Belarusian State University)

The article discusses the process of acquiring the funds of the museums of the higher school of the BSSR in the 1920–30s on the example of the formation of scientific collections of the museums of the Belarusian State University. To study the problems of the stock activities of the museum, general scientific methods of analysis, synthesis, description, classification based on the principle of historicism were used. The source base is belt on materials from the fund 205 of the National Archives of the Republic of Belarus that reflects the history of the BSU. The study of the sources and methods of receipt of museum items in the funds of university museums made it possible to consider the features of educational museums, identify priority areas for acquisition, reveal the specifics of the financial activities of museums, find organizations that contribute to fund activities, and characterize the ways in which museum items are received. The main forms of acquiring the funds of the BSU museums were donation (from scientists, major museums, educational and scientific institutions, organizations), collection of museum items during various scientific expeditions, business trips, production of exhibits in training workshops by scientists and university students, exchange and official acquisition of museum items. The combination of various forms and directions of forming the funds of the BSU museums provided the university with systematized, scientifically organized educational collections. Qualitative and quantitative characteristics, completeness and systematic character of the collections determined the high scientific level of development of educational museums of the BSU.