Exhibition 'Peoples of Crimea'

About exhibition

The exhibition presents the multinational culture of Crimea — a region with a rich history and extensive cultural heritage. Its main aim is to reflect the regional culture of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, formed through a synthesis of the traditions of Greek, Turkic, Armenian, Germanic, Romance and Slavic peoples who settled in the area at different times. For the first time in the practice of ethnographic display, the exhibition identifies and represents features that characterize Crimea in civilizational terms. The overarching theme of interethnic interaction is revealed in dialectical connection with the cultural distinctiveness of the peoples for whom Crimea became their native land. The cultural monuments of Crimea’s multiethnic population are an important part of the shared historical heritage of the peoples of Russia. The exhibition displays more than 250 objects of traditional culture from the collections of the Russian Museum of Ethnography. These include costume ensembles of Crimean Tatars, Krymchaks, Greeks, Bulgarians, Russians and Ukrainians; examples of hammered-copper work, jewelry, shoemaking and pottery crafts; richly decorated household textiles — towels, bedspreads and pillowcases; and cult objects reflecting the uniquely complex religious landscape of Crimea.