Russia is full of merchant manors and museums, perfectly preserved to this day and open to tourists. But only the town of Myshkin keeps an incredible atmosphere of those years as most of the local population in the 18th-19th centuries consisted of the merchant class. These pioneers of Russian entrepreneurship are portrayed in the museum "Makhaev Dvor" or the Museum of the Myshkin Merchants, one of the main attractions of the town.

The old merchant museum is a spacious two-story mansion once inhabited by the merchant's family, who placed their shop on the ground floor. The entire interior looks exactly as it did many years ago. It seems that the owners of the mansion are about to return or the indoor servants will enter the room. The living room, dining room, study, and bedrooms preserve their original appearance, furniture, and antique household items. You can learn more about them from experienced tour guides. Visitors can see the tools and personal belongings of the janitor, the small rooms of the maids, where they sewed and embroidered in their free time, and the study, where the owner dealt with important trade issues. The exposition of the merchant's living room introduces visitors to the vacuous life of the owner: his guests gathered here in the evenings to play cards and drink alcohol. The family dining room reminds visitors of the chow time with snow-white tablecloths and napkins, pies of sterlet, and French rolls with jam. The museum "Makhaev Dvor" also includes the clerk's rooms and the guest's apartment, which today houses the museum named after the Soviet children's author Vitaly Bianki. A visit to this unique museum can be compared to a time travel to the era of Myshkin's heyday. By the way, all the guests are greeted by a descendant of the Makhaevs' merchant family, Gennady Makhaev.