Ivan Kuskov was born in Totma in 1765 and went on to become the leading Russian explorer of Alaska and California and the chief administrator of the Russian-American Company.  He led five expeditions to California and is famous for founding there the fortress known as Fort Ross.   He returned to Totma at the end of his life, dying there in 1823.  The house where he spent his last years has now been turned into the Ivan Kushkov House Museum.

The museum has several small rooms with displays on the expeditions of Kuskov, on the Russian-American Company and on Fort Ross.  Several personal belongings are also on display.  The museum is run as a branch of the Totma Museum Association.

Just outside the house is a bust of the explorer.