Last weekend the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda museum-reserve celebrated the Day of Slavic Writing and Culture. The program was very thematic and inventive.
Throughout the day on the open-air site free master classes were held: miniature painting, writing in ustav and poluustav scripts, calligraphy, pottery; there was also a bookcrossing event, a book fair, a quiz and much more. People danced in round dances beside the activities – the leaders were performers from Veronika Gavrilenok's Round-Dance Play School. In the shade of ancient linden trees, on benches and on the grass, music lovers gathered. For everyone interested, a unique performer, leader of the ensemble 'Moscow Rozezhniki' and multi-instrumentalist Oleg Shchukin, performed here.
The celebration was opened by the head of the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda museum-reserve, honored cultural worker M.K. Rybakova, and the honorary guests: the Minister of Culture of Vladimir Region O.V. Demina, the head of Alexandrovsky District A.V. Kuznetsova, member of the Archaeographic Commission of the Russian Academy of Sciences B.N. Morozov, representatives of the diocese and the general director of the joint-stock company 'Kirzhach Printing House', deputy of the Legislative Assembly of Vladimir Region E.S. Fedorov.
'This holiday is special — on the one hand it is a state event that emphasizes the role of the Russian language in strengthening national self-awareness and independence, and on the other hand we honor the memory of Saints Cyril and Methodius, who united peoples with different ethnic traditions. Russia, as the center of Slavic culture, has always contributed to strengthening dialogue between peoples. And our Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda was destined to play a special role in enlightenment and to become a center of book printing,' emphasized Anna Kuznetsova, head of Alexandrovsky District, in her greeting.
The main event took place at the location in front of the wooden cell where the new exhibition 'At the Printing Yard' was solemnly opened. Museum specialists recreated the historical interior of the tsar's medieval printing house for the exhibition.
'The culmination of the celebration was the presentation of our new educational project. Now we will visually show our tourists that Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda, like Moscow, is the cradle of printed Russian art. From the time of Ivan the Terrible to Peter the Great there was an immutable rule — where the tsar is, there is the printing house. Therefore, after the great fire in Moscow the 'printing house' arrived here following the sovereign. At that time the only printing yard in the country operated here. The opening of this exhibition is an important event in the cultural life of the entire region,' said Marina Rybakova, head of the Aleksandrovskaya Sloboda museum-reserve. Together with Anna Kuznetsova, to the sound of ancient bells they planted a symbolic rowan of the 'Nevezhensky' variety — according to legend bred by Andronik Nevezha himself, the chief sloboda printer.
Throughout the day a theatrical guided tour developed especially for this exhibition was offered free of charge to everyone. Guests of the celebration not only saw how the tsar's shtanba (state printing workshop) was arranged but also met the 'master himself' and learned details about the art of producing medieval books.
Thanks to the support and sponsorship of the director of JSC 'Kirzhach Printing House', Evgeny Sergeevich Fedorov, visiting the new exhibition 'At the Printing Yard' will be free for all schoolchildren of Vladimir Region during the summer holidays. The honored guest of the celebration appreciated this conceptual addition; his near-term plans include creating new art objects and stylized cafes to enhance the medieval atmosphere of the Grozny capital and attract tourist flows.
The project also attracted the attention of the Minister of Culture of Vladimir Region O.V. Demina, who stressed that visiting such an exhibition should definitely be included in school tourist routes.
This exhibition fits harmoniously into the museum's concept, because it was in the Sloboda, the favorite domain of Tsar Ivan the Terrible, that in the 16th century it was destined to become an important book center of the country. By decree of the Tsar, the sovereign's printing yard was moved here from Moscow, where the book trade was practiced by the master Andronik Nevezha. It is known that under his direction in the Sloboda such publications were produced as the Psalter (which in the Middle Ages was used to teach literacy), the Chasovnik (Book of Hours) and the Apostle.
