This past weekend at the Alexandrovskaya Sloboda museum-reserve the recently opened exhibition "At the Printing Yard" was once again in the spotlight. The main figures for the GTRK-Russia-Vladimir film crew were the museum director Marina Rybakova and the printing-house owner and deputy of the Legislative Assembly of Vladimir Oblast Evgeny Fedorov, who noted: "What distinguishes a real museum from a pseudo one? The presence of 'honest' exhibits that 'belong' to this place, that 'speak' about it. The Museum of Ivan the Terrible is exactly that. The mere fact that it contains two genuine editions by Andronik Nevezha, printed in the Sloboda, is already an event. No specialist will pick apart such exhibitions — they were created according to the most proper canons of museum practice."
The museum's new "printing" project served as a catalyst for mutually beneficial cooperation, the result of which is expected to be a new educational tourist route. Its initiator, the CEO of the joint-stock company "Kirzhach Printing House", E.S. Fedorov, shared the near-term plans: "Of all the subjects of our country, apart from Moscow and Saint Petersburg, which place holds the status of a historical capital? Vladimir and Alexandrov! Our region has two capitals! Moreover, Alexandrovskaya Sloboda is a center of world book printing. This part of the history of the Russian state must be known by our children. We agreed that in a year a themed café called 'Printer Nevezha' with an appropriate interior and dish names will open on one of the city's central streets. And tourists will receive a whole set of impressions from the trip: an introduction to the work of the printing yard at the Museum of Ivan the Terrible — lunch at the 'Printer Nevezha' café — a visit to the operating printing factory of the Kirzhach Printing House — a walk across Kirzhach's Typography Bridge (the longest wooden bridge in Russia). I think this is a wonderful route — ours, Vladimir's, informative, authentic!" (By the way, we remind you that thanks to the sponsorship of Evgeny Sergeevich, admission to the new exhibition will be free for all schoolchildren of Vladimir Oblast during the summer holidays).
The first young visitors that same day took part in an exclusive tour led by the acting director of the Alexandrovskaya Sloboda museum-reserve, Marina Rybakova, who emphasized: "The central figure of our exhibition is Andronik Timofeev Nevezha. Under his leadership four editions were produced here: the Gospel, the Apostle, the Book of Hours, and the Psalter. This man was a technical genius of his time — he prepared the book from beginning to end and mastered all stages: he designed typefaces, carved headpieces, did all the corrections, and personally worked the printing press. It is a very complex process. Andronik headed the Moscow Printing Yard; accordingly, when the yard moved to the Sloboda, Timofeev moved with it. In total he worked for thirty years."
We hope that the unique exhibition, with a carefully developed concept and attention to detail, will quickly gain popularity among tourists and become sought after by tour operators.
