2024: Revamped Museum Spaces and New Exhibitions
The New Kunstkamera Building
The oldest among Russia’s museums, in 2024, is set to unveil a brand-new section – a multifunctional scientific and custodial centre on Zapovednaya Street in Saint Petersburg. Originally slated for the construction of the Institute of Applied Astronomy of the Russian Academy of Sciences at the end of the previous century, fate intervened differently.
The scientific and custodial centre comprises two structures. A three-story administrative building spanning 7,500 square meters and a seven-story custodial block covering 17,500 square meters will connect at the second and third-floor levels. The interiors are undergoing final touches, and landscaping work began in autumn. Plans include a vast lawn before the centre, planting nearly fifty trees, and over three hundred shrubs.
“For the Kunstkamera with its unique collections and vast repositories, totaling over 1.3 million storage units, the scientific and custodial centre heralds new opportunities. It will feature a spacious, well-lit exhibition hall spanning over 600 square meters, a conference room for scientific and museum events. Scientific departments, archives, and restoration workshops will relocate to Zapovednaya. Crucially, invaluable museum items from the repositories will find new homes, aligned with the requisite preservation standards,” museum staff shared on its official website.
The new spaces are anticipated to be fully operational by autumn 2024, with several more months for relocation. The opening will align with the Kunstkamera Day, celebrated annually on December 6th.
Project of buildings for the scientific and storage center of the Kunstkamera museum
Photo: etnos.kunstkamera.ru
Peterhof State Museum-Reserve’s Renewal in Spring
The unveiling of the Upper Garden to visitors following extensive restoration promises to be a highlight of 2024 for the Peterhof State Museum-Reserve. The distinguished monument of Russian landscape art from the 18th century – the grand entrance to the imperial residence – closed its doors in spring 2020. Comprehensive restoration hadn’t taken place here for over half a century.
During this period, as investigations conducted by the Peterhof State Museum-Reserve revealed, parts of the garden’s plantations lost their decorative appeal, moss covered pathways, and the drainage and engineering networks suffered wear. The treatments or replacement of trees, restoration of wooden pavilions, stair descents, fences with gates – all these undertakings are finally nearing completion. An exact date for the reopening of the renovated 15-hectare park area adorned with five fountains remains undisclosed.
Additionally, the restoration of structures within the Oranienbaum Palace and Park Ensemble, part of the Peterhof State Museum-Reserve located in the city of Lomonosov, is ongoing. The present appearance of Oranienbaum dates back to Catherine II’s time. Major work here has already concluded – since April 2023, the area has been open for walks and tours. In 2024, the list of accessible sites will expand, with plans to open four more interiors of the Chinese Palace: the Chinese sitting room, the toilet, the portrait room, and Catherine II’s cabinet.
The opening of the Upper Garden of the State Museum “Peterhof” after large-scale restoration will take place in 2024
Photo: vk.com/peterhof_museum
Tretyakov Gallery Settles in the “Picture Window” House
The Tretyakov Gallery has awaited relocation since 2007, and finally, in spring 2024, art enthusiasts will behold new exhibition spaces on Kadashyovskaya Embankment. A striking architectural feature of the building will be its “picture windows” on the facades, a total of 34 transparent decorative elements with prints of fragments from works by Russian artists from the 19th to the early 20th century.
The inaugural exhibition at Kadashyovskaya will focus on Russian peredvizhniki artists of the second half of the 19th century: Viktor Vasnetsov, Ivan Kramskoy, Vasily Perov, Vladimir Makovsky, Grigory Myasoedov, Ilya Repin, Alexei Savrasov, and Vasily Surikov. A project of such magnitude on the heritage of peredvizhniki spanning 50 years will be presented for the first time.
The Tretyakov Gallery will open new exhibition spaces on Kadashevskaya Embankment
Photo: speech.su/ru
Central Museum of the Cossacks to Make Capital Home
Expected in mid-2024, the Central Museum of the Russian Cossacks will open in Moscow in the former Palace Department House in Bolshoi Levshinsky Lane. The museum is envisioned as a nationwide centre for preserving Cossack culture, with its concept developed by the State Historical Museum.
At the new museum, visitors can witness exhibits from the State Historical Museum’s collections, such as Pugachyov’s standard, personal belongings of Stepan Razin, items connected with atamans Andrian Denisov, Matvei Platov, and Yakov Baklanov, as well as belongings of the august atamans of all Cossack troops.
“Cossacks participated in nearly every war Russia waged from the 15th century onwards, so not showcasing this would be a travesty, in my view. Of course, military campaigns, in one form or another, will receive significant attention,” Dr. Victor Bezosny, Doctor of Historical Sciences and Head of the Exhibits Department at the State Historical Museum, shared with the “Russian Cossack” portal.
The Central Museum of the Russian Cossacks will be located in Moscow in the former house of the Palace Department
Photo: kazachestvo.ru/ press service of the State Historical Museum
Great Novgorod to House Museum for Special Military Operation
Governor Andrey Nikitin of the Novgorod Region disclosed plans to establish a museum during the opening of an exhibition at the local State Archive. The exhibit focuses on the events of a special military operation and the heroism of its participants. Following a proposal made by a member of the “Novgorodets” search squad, part of the “Dolina” expedition, to the President of Russia, a corresponding directive was issued.
The exhibit currently boasts four sections: “The Great Patriotic War. Nazi Crimes on Novgorod Land in 1941-1944,” “The Revival of Nazism and its Combat,” “The Commencement and Execution of the Special Military Operation,” “Novgorod’s Aid to the Front: Volunteering, Rehabilitation of New Territories.” With over 100 documents, photographs, and items, the exhibition also includes video content and interactive tables.
“In the coming year, our exhibition will find its permanent home. The location in the city centre has already been identified. This museum aims to compile information about all participants in the special military operation who departed from the Novgorod Region. We must know, remember, and preserve the memory of those who returned and those who remained there. This is the task of our archive and the individuals involved in creating the museum collection,” relayed the Novgorod Region press service, quoting Andrey Nikitin.
A museum of the Special Military Operation will appear in Veliky Novgorod
Photo: press service of the government of the Novgorod region
Boldino and Lyovkya Estates to Undergo Restoration for Poet’s Anniversary
On June 6, 2024, the global literary community will celebrate the 225th anniversary of Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin’s birth. A week prior, on May 31, the reopening of the Boldino Museum-Reserve is planned following extensive restoration, which commenced in mid-June 2023 and marks the most significant restoration in the museum’s history.
The State Literary-Memorial and Nature Museum-Reserve of A.S. Pushkin “Boldino” is located 230 kilometers from Nizhny Novgorod in the ancient village of Bolshoye Boldino, in the ancestral estate of the poet. The estate and the church were spared from destruction during revolutionary and wartime years and retain their appearance from the times of Pushkin’s grandfather, Lev Alexandrovich Pushkin. Presently, it is a cultural monument of federal significance.
Throughout the restoration, visitors have had limited access to some areas of Boldino. Most sections, including the manor house, estate office, fairy tale museum, bathhouse, kitchen, and the iconic Gorbatiy Bridge, have been closed to visitors.
After the restoration, the museum will unveil two new exhibitions, with two others undergoing significant updates. For this purpose, 20 exhibits will be restored, and an additional 30 items will be procured from Nizhny Novgorod, Moscow, and Saint Petersburg. Furthermore, the 16-hectare area will be landscaped, and new signage will be installed.
The museum complex also includes the Lyovkya Estate, located 9 kilometers from Boldino. It was owned by the poet’s son, Alexander Alexandrovich Pushkin. The mansion, currently undergoing restoration, houses the museum of literary heroes from “Tales of Belkin.”
Tour guide from the “Nizhny Novgorod Holidays” tourist company, Marina Kabalina:
“Boldino is one of the most beloved Pushkin sites in Russia. Both children and adults enjoy visiting, especially in Boldino’s autumn, from September 2nd to November 27th. It’s a pity that both the museum in Boldino and the one in Lyovkya closed simultaneously. Such charm of noble estates cannot be found elsewhere in the Nizhny Novgorod region. We, guides, hope that restorers will renovate the club built in 1937, in memory of Pushkin’s death, and tidy up the area around the Assumption Church, built by the poet’s grandfather.”
“And Lyovkya – it’s such a beauty! Imagine driving through fields and suddenly, after a turn, seeing the Linden Alley with a yellow two-story house peeping through. Nearby are four pine trees, which, according to legend, were planted by Natalia Nikolaevna in honour of Alexander Sergeyevich’s four children. Beyond the pines lies the old Church of Alexander Nevsky, followed by the Zemsky School building, a pond with ducks… It’s like a scene from ‘The Peasant Woman.’ Wild plum orchards everywhere, peace, and coziness. Walking through the Lyovkya Park, Pushkin’s verses come to mind effortlessly.”
The estates in Boldino and Lvovka will be restored for the 225th anniversary of the birth of A.S. Pushkin
Photo: vk.com/muz_boldino
Kaluga Region to Welcome the Schepochkin House-Museum
Another venue set to open in the coming months due to preparations for Alexander Pushkin’s 225th birthday anniversary is the Grigory Ivanovich Schepochkin House in the “Polotnyany Zavod” museum-estate, part of the Kaluga Regional Local History Museum. The three-story stone Schepochkin house stands as an example of Russian classicism from the late 18th to early 19th century. Restoration work here is due to conclude in early 2024.
“We’ve already reconstructed the staircase on the first floor, carried out conservation of the paintings, installed doors, painted walls and ceilings, repaired the stretched cornices, cleaned the chimneys and stoves. We’ve restored the window sills on the first and second floors, moldings, stoves’ tiles, laid flooring, constructed vaults and slopes. Restoration is nearing completion. The next stage involves setting up the museum. The exhibit in the Schepochkin House will focus on the Patriotic War of 1812 and Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin. The halls ‘1812,’ ‘Kutuzov,’ ‘Kaluga in 1812’ will be open,” shared the administration of the Dzerzhinsky District of the Kaluga Region on its official VKontakte social media page.
The Shchepochkin House-Museum will open its doors in the Kaluga region
Photo: vk.com/nekolesnikcom
2024 has been designated as the Year of the Family in Russia. A museum visit can become a splendid shared celebration, with experiences that will bring joy and inspire new cultural discoveries for a long time. It’s the perfect time to visit museums and exhibitions, explore our history and art together with children.
By Anna Mechyonova