The long-awaited event has finally taken place. Yesterday, at the already-opened (last Saturday) exhibition "TERRA INCOGNITA. Muscovy of the 16th Century through the Eyes of Foreigners," a presentation-meeting was held with great success and warmth, at which, besides invited official guests, everyone who in one way or another had been involved in the magnificent project was present—deemed by those gathered "worthy of the highest level." We talked a lot about this work during its implementation. So today we present the first impressions, opinions, and assessments voiced by participants of the event.
Marina Konstantinovna Rybakova, Acting Director of the Alexandrovskaya Sloboda Museum-Reserve
A brief prologue from Marina Konstantinovna Rybakova, Acting Director of the Alexandrovskaya Sloboda Museum-Reserve:
"Just now beautiful melodies of the Renaissance era were performed—melodies once played in the royal castles of Europe to accompany dances. The music transported us to the distant 16th century, the age of great geographic discoveries and the time when Europeans developed a huge interest in Russia. A country about which they had a very vague idea, they considered it terra incognita, that is, an unexplored land—frightening, yet still alluring. Welcome to a world full of mysteries and surprises, to the World of the Middle Ages! The main message of the exhibition is to show that it was precisely then, in the period of developing trade relations, that confrontation with the West arose and an information war began—a war that continues to this day. That is the relevance of the exhibition project, dedicated to the 495th anniversary and the upcoming 500th anniversary of Ivan the Terrible, the first crowned tsar of Russia."
Anna Vasilyevna Kuznetsova, Head of the Administration of the Alexandrovsky District:
"I want once again to admire the creative team of the museum-reserve for marking the anniversary of Ivan the Terrible with such an interesting and timely exhibition... Through the connection of times we understand that we remain just as much a terra incognita, but for a different reason. A great deal of work is being done to let the image of Russia be overgrown with tall tales and history distorted. And from large platforms they say that an information war is ongoing. And here the museum-reserve is doing very significant work, including for bloggers and opinion leaders, so that everyone knows: this process is not new. But at the forefront of informational victories there have always been intellectuals and people who love their country and look ahead. This is a step in our joint work so that the truth about our great history and our mighty country is brought out and serves as a cause for pride among our youth.
We have reasons to be proud: on the eve of the Anniversary and City Day such a project is being launched! I wish that as many people as possible visit the exhibition."
Sergey Alexandrovich Afonin, private collector:
"I always support people who are passionate. Passionate about their work, about an idea. The Alexandrovskaya Sloboda Museum is always in a difficult position, because this subject is hard to reveal. Stocking exhibitions with items from the tsarist period is very difficult—there are few on the market, and they are mainly concentrated in the largest museums. And I sincerely want to help you and lend something to realize the idea. It is always very pleasant when these items arouse interest and serve people, because they give an extra reason to be proud of the homeland, of history, of the ancestors who built this country, and they were not idlers or drunks, as some think... Idlers wouldn't have made it to Northern California... Therefore I congratulate you and wish you further creative success, and I think this will not be our last joint work."
Galina Pavlovna Cherkashina, Head of the "Riznitsa" Department of the Sergiev Posad Museum-Reserve:
"Alexandrovskaya Sloboda is our long-time partner, and we have been working productively together for several years. We are neighbors, so we selected items for the exhibition together and ultimately the four items provided became an organic part of the exhibition's concept. They not only embellished it, they provide grounds to speak about different topics. Each rarity—a goblet, a spoon, a piece of fabric, a bowl—is connected to our country's history. We specifically removed the bowl from the exposition, which we do very rarely. We lend such items only to those we love and with whom we have cooperated for a long time. Ivan the Terrible definitely touched this bowl; it is his donation to the Trinity-Sergius Monastery... I congratulate everyone on this exhibition and wish, of course, for many visitors!".
(Continuation of the report about the presentation to follow)
Press service of the Alexandrovskaya Sloboda Museum-Reserve.
