The National Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan (NM RT) is the largest museum in Tatarstan. It was founded as a Kazan Town Scientific and Industrial Museum in 1894 and opened on April 5, 1895. The basis of the museum is a private collection of 40 thousandth items of Andrei Fedorovich Likhachev (1832-90), a well-known regional archaeologist, numismatist, collector also the exhibits of scientific and industrial exhibition in 1890. Well-known scientists of Kazan University stood at the roots of the establishment of the museum and of the museum's collections formation, such as: A.A. Stuckenberg, N.P. Zagoskin, P.I. Krotov, N.F. Vysotsky, N.F. Catania and others. The museum occupies the former building of Gostinniy dvor (guest house), a monument of architecture and history of Russian Federation and the Republic of Tatarstan.

    There are over 800 thousand units in the museum's collection.

    Nowadays the museum is in the process of reconstruction, the project of which provides creation of a permanent exhibition on the area of more than 6 000 sq.m. 2001, the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Tatarstan approved the scientific concept of creation of exposition of NM RT in Gostiny Dvor building; consisting of three main parts: "History of Tatarstan, from ancient times to present days," "Nature and a Man", "Culture: the interaction of cultures of peoples of Tatarstan". Now the museum has the following exhibitions: "Ancient History of Tatarstan", "Money, trade and trade routes in the Middle Ages", "Tatar Golden Treasures," "Kazan Province in the XVIII century", there are also temporary exhibitions.

    Introduction of information technologies in all activity spheres of the museum began in 2001. During these years, a portal "Museums of Tatarstan" www.tatar.museum.ru have been created, it contains information on more than 100 museums of the republic.

    The National Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan won the contest "The Changing Museum in a Changing World" in 2006. The Internet site of the contest: http://museum.fondpotanin.ru