One of Russia’s largest private collections of vintage computers has unveiled an unusual new exhibition that allows visitors to experience the early days of personal computing as if they had stepped back in time.
Located in Yekaterinburg, the Anti-Museum of Computers and Video Games is home to more than 10,000 exhibits, ranging from early home computers and gaming consoles to software, peripherals, and rare technology from different decades. Unlike traditional museums, most of the collection is fully interactive, allowing visitors to use the machines rather than simply observe them behind glass.
The museum’s latest project takes this concept even further with the opening of «The IT Apartment».
A Museum That Feels Like Home
Instead of a conventional exhibition hall, the new space recreates the authentic home of a computer enthusiast from the late 1980s, 1990s, and early 2000s.
Vintage PCs sit on original desks, surrounded by floppy disks, CRT monitors, dial-up modems, software boxes, books, and everyday household items. The goal is to immerse visitors in the atmosphere of an era when personal computers were becoming part of daily life.
Rather than presenting technology as isolated museum pieces, the exhibition tells the story of how people actually lived, learned, worked, and played with these machines.
Inspired by the World’s Apartment Museums
The new exhibition follows the concept of a house museum, a format that has become increasingly popular around the world. Museums located inside authentic homes offer visitors a much deeper emotional connection than traditional galleries.
Famous examples include the Sherlock Holmes Museum in London, the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam, as well as numerous preserved homes of writers, artists, scientists, and musicians across Europe and North America. These museums demonstrate that history is often best understood in the spaces where everyday life once unfolded.
The Anti-Museum has adopted the same philosophy—bringing the history of computing back into the environment where it originally belonged.
Interactive Technology and Nostalgia
The museum continues to preserve its signature interactive experience. Many of the computers remain fully operational, allowing visitors to boot vintage operating systems, launch classic software, and play legendary video games on the original hardware.
Specially designed photo zones recreate the look and feel of a typical computer enthusiast’s apartment from decades ago, offering visitors the chance to capture authentic retro-style photographs.
More Than a Technology Museum
«The IT Apartment» is more than an exhibition of old computers. It is a journey into the everyday life of the generation that witnessed the birth of the digital age.
Here, technology is not displayed as a collection of obsolete devices but as an essential part of family life, education, entertainment, and creativity. It is a reminder of the time when connecting to the Internet meant listening to the sound of a dial-up modem, software came in colorful boxes, and every new computer seemed to open the door to an entirely new world.
For younger visitors, the exhibition offers a unique opportunity to discover how the digital revolution began. For those who grew up during that era, it provides something equally valuable—a chance to relive memories through the computers, games, and technologies that shaped an entire generation.