The Russian Museum of Photography is a municipal cultural institution of Nizhny Novgorod. It is the first state museum of Russia devoted to the history of photography and at the same time one of the youngest museums of the city. It was established on September 21, 1992. The first director of the museum was Vladimir Voytenko, ITAR-TASS press photographer.The museum is located in the building constructed in the early 19th century as a rental unit belonging to a merchant. The premises served for home and work for two world-famous photographers  Andrey Karelin, a remarkable art photographer (1837-1906; lived and worked in the building from 1873 till 1881), and Maksim Dmitriyev, an outstanding press photographer (1858-1948; lived and worked in the building from 1886 till 1929). On the first floor of the building there was a photographic studio designed in such a way that its roof and streetward wall were made of glass. M. Dmitriyev's family lived on the second floor, overbuilt in 1880s. His phototype laboratory was situated on the ground floor.