The State Historical Museum in Moscow is the largest national historical museum of Russia. Its exhibitions are unique, they reflect Russian culture and history as a non-national state from the prehistoric times till the present day. The museum was founded at the initiative of general public in 1872, but the construction of the museum has been only finished by 1881. Nowadays, the building of the Historical Museum is a famous historic and architectural monument. In 2008 the staff of the museum was awarded the "Symbol of Science" medal.