11/26/08The History Museum Is Renovated in Suzdal
 The work on the reconstruction of the History Exhibition located in the Archbishop’s Chambers at the Kremlin in Suzdal was finished at the end of the last year. One of the basic exhibitions of the unique town was first opened in the 1970s. Its content and artistic form corresponded to the spirit of the age.
There is no stagnation in the science of history. Our attitude towards the past has changed in many respects nowadays. New historical documents unknown before were introduced due to the scientific research. The collection of the Vladimir and Suzdal Museum-Reserve was enriched with interesting exhibits in the recent decades. The creation of the restoration center with up-to-date equipment in Suzdal enlarged the possibilities of restoration.
The level of the exhibition’s design has changed. Specialists have absolutely new materials, modern artificial lighting and exhibition equipment at their disposal. Staffers from the Vladimir and Suzdal branches of the Museum-Reserve created the History Exhibition in the association with Leonty Ozernikov, a well-known Moscow artist.
A special color scheme and individual combination of the equipment were designed for each show-room and fit well the architectural space of the old building. The project made it possible to make a special stress on the most significant exhibits, to strengthen their emotional perception.
The most important pages in the history of Suzdal from the earliest times to the present are represented in nine show-rooms of the exhibition which was built according to the chronological principle. The period when the Suzdal land flourished at the late 12th – early 13th century, the period of the Mongol-Tatar invasion, the formation of the Suzdal and Nizhny-Novgorod Principality, the destruction of Suzdal in the Time of Troubles in the early 17th century, the upsurge of Suzdal’s economy in the 17th – 18th centuries, its gradual transformation into the out of the way provincial town in the 19th century… The history of the foundation and development of Suzdal’s monasteries occupies a significant place in the exhibition.
The formation of the unique architectural ensemble of the town of Suzdal is a theme, which unites all the aspects of the exhibition: the flourishing state of white-stone architecture during the pre-Mongol period, the creation of cloisters’ ensembles and the intensive construction on the territory of the settlement where craftsmen and tradesmen lived. Much attention is given to the famous persons in Russian history and culture, whose lives were connected with Suzdal. Among them there are Prince Yuri Dolgoruky, who made Suzdal the capital of the principality; Prince Dmitry Pozharsky, the leader of the volunteer troops which liberated Moscow from the foreign conquerors in the Time of Troubles; Metropolitan Hilarion, who embellished the Suzdal land with many splendid churches; Dmitry Vinogradov, the inventor of Russian porcelain, and others.
Numerous authentic exhibits give the possibility to get to know what Suzdal looked like in different periods of its history, acquaint visitors with the town’s spiritual life, occupations and the way of life of townspeople.
The completing part of the exhibition is dedicated to Suzdal today. The world-wide fame, millions of visitors, restored monuments of architecture and first-class museums could not save the town from the disease, which is now typical of almost all the Russian cities. This disease is an aggressive construction in historical places, destruction of unique architectural and topographical urban environment. The museum-town of Suzdal has come under a real threat of becoming the second ‘Rublyovka’.
The Vladimir and Suzdal Museum-Reserve is seriously worried with the fact that Suzdal might become another ‘lost old city’. History Museum in Suzdal is a hymn to the native town. All of us must bear in mind that it is necessary to treat sacred things with the greatest care.
There is no other town like Suzdal in Russia!
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