How one man built a museum to preserve deaf history in Russia

A Lifelong Mission: How One Man Has Preserved the History of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in the Urals for Over 30 Years

For more than three decades, Vladimir Abramovskikh has single-handedly chronicled the history of the deaf and hard of hearing in Sverdlovsk Oblast. In 2005, on his initiative, the museum of the Sverdlovsk regional branch of the All-Russian Society of the Deaf was established. Today, it houses archival documents, photographs, and artifacts tied to the achievements of Sverdlovsk residents with hearing impairments. Abramovskikh continues to expand the museum's collections and designs performances in sign language.

He never imagined he would spend his life building an archive for the deaf and hard of hearing in the Urals. After graduating from an industrial technical school, he worked as a lathe operator at a factory. But in 1995, he found himself at the Palace of Culture of the All-Russian Society of the Deaf.

"They asked me to help organize an exhibition and design sets for an amateur deaf theater," Abramovskikh recalls. "I gladly agreed—I'd always loved drawing and dreamed of putting my skills to use, even though I had no formal art training. I started sketching designs, painting scenery, compiling a photographic chronicle, and arranging display cases for the cups and medals left over from All-Union sports competitions for people with disabilities—hockey, basketball, football, and track and field. It was crucial to preserve all of this."

Over the years, he assembled a unique archive of photographs and documents tracing the history of the deaf community in the Middle Urals. In 2005, the museum of the Sverdlovsk regional branch of the All-Russian Society of the Deaf opened in Yekaterinburg, with Abramovskikh as its founder.

"People brought in vintage telephones, no-spill inkwell sets, sewing machines, a 45-liter giant samovar, hand-painted trays made by deaf artisans—you name it," he says. "The most fascinating items are the one-of-a-kind pieces: glasses with hearing aids built into the temples from the 1980s, or a lamp that once illuminated sign language interpreters in Soviet-era cinemas, along with certificates of merit awarded to deaf industrial workers. These artifacts are invaluable—not just as relics of their time, but as a bridge to new generations of the hard of hearing in the Urals."

For 35 years, Abramovskikh has never changed jobs. For the past 13, he has served as the honored custodian of the museum at the Sverdlovsk regional branch of the All-Russian Society of the Deaf—and still designs performances for audiences with hearing impairments.

During Soviet times, the Sverdlovsk Society for the Deaf had its own theater, where performances were staged in sign language—it even held the title of a "People's Theater." That theater no longer exists today, but the actors remain. We still put on performances, so I continue making the sets. Right now, I'm also preparing a photo exhibition about deaf artists, featuring archival materials from the second half of the 20th century," Vladimir Abramovskikh shared with Obshchestvennaya Gazeta (OG).

His decades of work have been recognized multiple times, both by the All-Russian Society of the Deaf—with the "For Special Merit" badge, an honorary certificate, and the title of "Excellence in VOG"—and at the regional level. In 2009, for his significant personal contribution to addressing social issues and defending the rights of people with disabilities, Abramovskikh received a letter of gratitude from the government of Sverdlovsk Oblast.