Abstract. The article is devoted to one of the main problems of the planned research «Natural Heritage in a Cultural Context: Original Projects of Museum and Park Expositions with Natural Themes in Modern Russia and the Problems of Their Implementation», which is held at the Russian Heritage Institute. The author considers the basic principles of interpreting natural heritage in a cultural context related to the dialectics of the relationship between Nature and Culture in history, in literature and in the space of specially protected areas (nature reserves, national parks, museum-reserves). As a result, guidelines are being developed for further research and understanding of the features of updating natural heritage in a cultural context using museum tools.

Keywords: natural heritage, nature and culture, cultural context, objects of natural heritage, cultural landscape, ecology, natural reserves, national parks, museums-reserves.