“How Russia will celebrate the 225th Birth anniversary of Alexander Pushkin’s “
On February 20, the Pushkin State Museum will open a large-scale inter-museum exhibition project “PUSHKIN.225”, which brings together more than 40 major federal and regional museums, libraries, archives, and creative unions. What is unique about this exhibition, how else will the anniversary be celebrated, and what is going on at the Pushkin Museum in Gurzuf and in Chisinau?
At a press conference in the Rossiya Segodnya press center, Evgeny Bogatyrev, Director of the Pushkin State Museum, and Yulia Loginova, Deputy Head of the Department of Cultural Heritage of Moscow, told us about it.
To begin with, Evgeny Bogatyrev recalled several landmark projects that were created for the poet’s previous anniversaries. The largest all-Union exhibition dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the poet’s passing was opened in 1937 in 17 halls of the Historical Museum. There were presented practically all possible at that time memorial materials, more than 2000 items in total, from authentic manuscripts to personal belongings. The exhibition worked until 1940 and with the outbreak of war was sent to evacuation. It later became the basis of the Pushkin Museum on Moika.
The next exhibition of this kind, also all-Union, was held in 1949 and was dedicated to the 150th anniversary of Pushkin’s birth. The large-scale exposition – more than 1200 exhibits – was located in the building on Prechistenka, where the Pushkin State Museum was soon opened. The exhibits from that exhibition became the basis for the museum.
“This year the inter-museum exhibition project “PUSHKIN.225” will unite 44 organizations, including the country’s largest museums, archives, private collections. There will be presented 1730 exhibits. Among the most valuable exhibits are: marriage crowns of A.S. Pushkin and N.N. Goncharova, which will be provided by the State Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve “Moscow Kremlin”, a pocket watch from A.S. Pushkin’s family with the family coat of arms and N.N. Pushkina’s ring from the All-Russian Museum of A.S. Pushkin, presented by A.S. Pushkin on the anniversary of the engagement”, – Bogatyrev revealed the mystery of the forthcoming exhibition.
Eugene Anatolievich also said that the exhibition is designed for family visits and will tell about the poet to our contemporary. It will consist of four sections: “The poet and his epoch. Relics”; “The poem “Ruslan and Lyudmila. Read and Play”, where you can spend time interactively; “The Poet in the Mirror of Epochs”, which will present materials that were created after Pushkin’s death: works by artists, historical memorials related to the poet’s anniversaries; “Legends and Myths”, which will tell about fictional stories that accompanied Pushkin during his lifetime and appear today.
What else awaits the poet’s admirers? On February 18 starts the traditional festival of arts “Moscow. Pushkin. February Evenings” with the participation of theater and film artists, famous musical groups and performers of Russia, dedicated to the wedding of the poet with the first capital beauty Natalia Goncharova. Evenings, performances and concerts will be held in the very Living Room of the house on Arbat, where on February 17, 1831 Pushkin gathered his Moscow friends for a “bachelor party” before the wedding, where on February 18, after the wedding in the Church of the Great Ascension he brought his young wife.
“Work is now underway on a future new exhibit: Dmitry Belyukin, People’s Artist of the Russian Federation, Academician of the Russian Academy of Arts, is creating a canvas that will tell about the sacrament of Pushkin’s marriage with Goncharova in the Church of the “Great Ascension”. This work will answer a lot of questions related to the life and fate of Pushkin”, – also said Evgeny Anatolievich.
Restoration work is now underway at the Pushkin Museum-Reserve “Boldino”: the renovated complex will open its doors to visitors on June 6, the poet’s birthday.
Pushkin Museum in Gurzuf is also preparing to receive guests. Since the museum is located on the territory of the sanatorium “Pushkino”, it was necessary to solve the problem with the access of visitors there. And now it has already been done. Restoration works are being completed there, because it is a memorial house, it was the only European building on the entire southern coast of Crimea. Yevgeniy Bogatyrev expressed hope that by June 6 the museum will open the renewed Pushkin exposition.
Unfortunately, things are more complicated with the A. S. House-Museum. С. Pushkin House-Museum in Kishinev. According to the Director of the Pushkin State Museum, Russia is ready to assist in the restoration and reconstruction of this authentic house, the “hut” that remembers the poet. But so far it has not been possible to agree on this with the Moldovan government.
“What is the greatness of the poet? He is still our contemporary for everyone. The most important thing for understanding Pushkin is to read him!”, – summarized Eugene Bogatyrev.
