National art Museum of the Republic of Belarus is one of the most interesting museums of Belarus, the Museum with a dramatic story. The beginning of the Museum collection was launched in 1939, when the Polish period in the history of Western Belarus, it was annexed to the USSR. January 24, 1939, was issued a special decision of the Council of people's Commissars of the BSSR on the establishment of the Minsk State art gallery. At the exhibition it was decided to allocate fifteen rooms in the Higher Communist Agricultural School.

Thanks to the dedicated efforts of the first gallery Director Nikolai Prokopovich Mr mikholap were saved priceless works of art and artifacts from looted by the Bolsheviks gentry estates, Orthodox and Catholic churches.

Here, under the protection of the gallery in a few pre-war months were collected treasures. There were 2711 unique items. Before the war the Museum was preparing for the evacuation, the entire collection was described and Packed... and disappeared. Most likely, works of art were taken by the Nazi occupiers. Sorry, still exhibits the collection of the gallery was not found.

In 1944, the Museum Director Elena becomes'yevna Alugovoy, which began gathering the collection from scratch. Available gallery given only four rooms in the House of trade Unions on Liberty street and those that at first seemed empty. Began the tedious hard work, but thanks to the enthusiasm of the team gathered around Alugovoy, the Museum has literally risen from the ashes. The war-ravaged country to find the funds to redeem priceless national treasures from private collections. So, were acquired paintings by Boris Kustodiev, V. Polenov, K. Bryullov, I. Levitan.

The incredible optimism of E. Aladova received by all. So, in the city lying in ruins, Elena got permission for the construction of a huge magnificent buildings of the Art Gallery. At that time the entire collection included a total of 317 works. For the design of the new Museum took a young architect Michael Ivanovich Cormorants. Thanks to his efforts on the street for eight years was built the present Palace – the temple of arts with a massive façade and triangular pediment, within which offers a solemn marble colonnade.

In 1993 the Museum was renamed. Now it is called the National art Museum of the Republic of Belarus.