The East Kazakhstan Regional Museum is the main historical and ethnographic museum in the city, covering the long human story of the region — from the Bronze Age Andronovo culture and the ancient Turkic and Mongolian periods through Russian colonial expansion, Soviet industrialisation, and the present. The collection includes archaeological finds from burial mounds in the surrounding steppe, traditional Kazakh domestic objects, and exhibits on the region's industrial and mining heritage.
The museum is housed in a solid Soviet-era building near the city centre and is well maintained by regional standards. Labels are in Kazakh and Russian; staff are usually willing to help if you do not speak either. Allow an hour or two. The ethnographic section, with its full-scale yurt reconstruction and displays of traditional Kazakh dress and craftsmanship, is the highlight for most visitors.