Officially the Moscow House of Photography was founded in 1996 although the arrangements were started two years earlier when the first «International Month of Photography» had been organized. The Moscow House of Photography became the first Russian museum fully and thoroughly representing the development and the present state of the photographic art in Russia. The unique Museum has chosen the unusual for Russian museums strategy of festivals and broad scale projects that has turned out to be a success. In a few years hundreds of interesting exhibitions were held, they made the House of Photography popular and one of the most visited museum of the Russian capital. Such large-scale festivals as «Photobiennale» and «Fashion and Style in Photography» have become traditional and won international status. The Moscow House of Photography is not only an exhibition center but also a museum. Thus, alongside with the exhibitions representing the works of modern photographers, exhibitions of old prints and the works of the early 20th century masters are regularly held. The European House of Photography located in Paris served as a model for its Moscow analogue. Owing to the cooperation of the Moscow House of Photography with this and other European photographic establishments, large-scale international projects and exhibitions of foreign photographic masterpieces have become possible after decades of isolation behind the iron curtain. In the premises of the Moscow House of Photography the first photo library was established. There one can get Russian and foreign books on the technique, history and art of photography, photograph albums, exhibition catalogues, reference books and encyclopedias.