Volgograd State Technical University Students Are Building an App for Virtual Tours of Historic Volgograd
Students and staff at Volgograd State Technical University are developing a mobile app called Arkhiv (Archive) that uses augmented reality.
The app lets users compare how the city looked in different historical periods and explore archival materials right where the events took place. The project brings together historians and architects and is led by Denis Posternak, a student at Volgograd State Technical University. The app is currently being tested.
Augmented Reality for the Urban Environment
The app is built around augmented reality, a technology that overlays virtual 3D objects onto the real-world environment. Users scan a QR code on an information sign near a historic building to see a digital reconstruction of the structure.
The app offers several ways to explore each landmark: historical background, an audio guide, archival photographs and 3D models. Its main feature lets users compare the architectural appearance of buildings across different eras.
The developers have demonstrated the app's capabilities using the House with Swans in central Volgograd as an example. Users can view reconstructions of the building as it appeared in 1928 and 1942, then compare them with its present-day appearance. The building has a particularly compelling history. Constructed in the 1920s, it was badly damaged during the Battle of Stalingrad. It was later restored, and in 2024 its historic decorative features were returned.
The Archival Foundations of Historical Accuracy
The digital reconstructions are based on documentary sources, helping ensure that the 3D models accurately reflect the buildings' history. For the House with Swans, the developers drew on materials that Sergey Ostrovsky, chairman of the building's council, had spent more than a decade collecting.
Unlike artistic interpretations, historically grounded reconstructions require researchers to work with architectural drawings, photographs and archival descriptions. At the time of publication, the app already featured 15 historic sites in Volgograd.
The project is part of a broader trend toward digitally preserving Russia's cultural heritage. 3D reconstructions, which are increasingly popular, give audiences a way to explore architectural landmarks that have been lost and can no longer be physically restored. For school and college students, these immersive experiences can make history far more tangible than conventional photographs and written descriptions.
Testing the App and Addressing Its Limitations
The developers are testing the app and plan to add an AI assistant that can answer questions about history, along with a feature that generates photographs in the visual style of different historical periods.
Accuracy remains the main challenge in introducing an AI assistant. Generative AI systems can produce answers that sound convincing but are factually wrong. One of the most promising approaches is to generate responses from a verified source database and provide links to the relevant archival materials. The same principle applies to the photo-generation feature: users need to be able to distinguish a reconstruction supported by historical evidence from an artistic image created by AI.
For the app to reach a mass audience, the developers will need to make sure it works reliably across different smartphones, secure funding to create additional 3D models and install information signs, and establish partnerships with museums and archives.
AR Tourism Is Emerging as a New Trend
The long-term plan is to turn the app into a full-fledged city guide combining historical information, archival images and interactive tours. MTS offers regional museums a similar service called AR-Turizm (AR Tourism).
Digital historical reconstruction is gaining momentum in Russia and around the world. In 2023, the Tsifrovoy Stalingrad (Digital Stalingrad) project, involving specialists from Volgograd State Technical University, recreated the city's prewar appearance. In 2024, the Uznay Moskvu (Discover Moscow) app used augmented reality to show buildings that no longer exist. In 2025, Volgograd State Technical University researchers published a study on virtually reconstructing Stalingrad after its destruction. In 2026, the web version of Uznay Moskvu made historical AR models accessible on smartphones.
The Arkhiv app is a promising example of how digital tools can preserve cultural heritage while supporting domestic tourism. For Volgograd residents and visitors, it could become a new way to explore the city's history. Although Arkhiv is being developed for one specific city, its underlying technology could also be adapted for other Russian cities and countries across the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) that want to preserve their historic architecture digitally.
