MUSEUM. MONUMENT. HERITAGE 1 (17) / 2025
From the Editorial Board — 5 (Rus.)
A Problem in Focus: Museums and Museum Workers during the Great Patriotic War
Petrov P.V. Martin Mikhailovich Rebane (1889–1973):
The Path from the Red Commander to the Director of the Museum — 7 (Rus.)
Petrov, Pavel Vladimirovich — Doctor of Historical Sciences, Head of the Department of
Museum Research, Peterhof State Museum-Reserve, Peterhof, St. Petersburg, Russia, peterhof_petrov@mail.ru
The article examines the life and work of the former director of the Peterhof and Oranienbaum palace-museums and parks, Martin Mikhailovich Rebane, which for a long time remained in the shadow of historians’ attention. Rebane’s biography was full of frequent moves and changes of jobs. Having gone through two wars — the First World War and the Civil War in the period from 1914 to 1920, he became a party worker for a long time. But then in his life there were two jobs that became the most important for him, which he remembered until the end of his days. These were the work of the director of the Oranienbaum palace-museum and park on the eve of the Great
Patriotic War and work in the combined museums of Peterhof and Oranienbaum at the initial stage of the war, in June-December 1941. It was here that Martin Mikhailovich’s organizational skills and experience in museum work were fully demonstrated, which helped save the most valuable part of the collections of the suburban palace-museums. It was then that about 13 thousand items from the collections of the Peterhof and Oranienbaum museums were sent to the rear of the country, to the cities of Gorky, Sarapul and Leningrad. During the siege of Leningrad, M.M. Rebane
was sent to evacuation, and after the end of the war he continued to work in party positions. But he still ended his working career in the museum, already in his native Estonian SSR. Summing up the life of Martin Mikhailovich Rebane, it should be said that the most important thing in his life was the rescue of museum valuables from the palaces of Peterhof and Oranienbaum.
Key words: commander, propaganda, party work, bureau, committee, museum, subject, evacuation.
Zaitseva T.V. Manuscript of the Story «The Museum’s Curator» by B.L. Brodyansky:The Image of the Curators of Suburban Palace-Museums in Blocked Leningrad — 19 (Rus.)
Zaitseva, Tatyana Vladimirovna — a student of the bachelor program “Museology and
conservation of cultural and natural heritage sites”, Saint-Petersburg State University, Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation, st106913@student.spbu.ru
The scientific supervisor — O.A. Lyubeznikov, Candidate of Science in History, Associate Professor of the Department of museum work and protection of monuments at the Saint Petersburg State University.
The publication introduces for the first time into scientific circulation the story from the
siege period by the writer and journalist B.L. Brodyansky, which is preserved in the Central State Archive of Literature and Art in St. Petersburg. The Siege of Leningrad is one of the most difficult and tragic chapters in the city’s history, and the efforts of museum staff to preserve cultural values hold a special place within it. B.L. Brodyansky’s story illustrates that the heroism of museum custodians was recognized even during the war years. It recounts the challenging daily lives of museum staff working in the United Museum Economy during the siege of Leningrad. The particular value of this story, written during the war, lies in the fact that the details described align with the memories and diaries of the museum staff themselves. Key words: Leningrad, blockade, United Museum Economy, M.A. Tikhomirova, B.L. Brodyansky, museum staff, St. Isaac’s Cathedral.
Porisenko I.V. N.V. Uspensky’s Activities for the Preservation
of Monuments of Memorial Plastics of Leningrad Necropolises in 1941–1945:
Based on the Materials of the Petersburg Archives — 30 (Rus.)
Porisenko, Ivan Vladimirovich — Bachelor of Museology, 1st year Master’s student of
the Department of Museum Studies and Monument Protection, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia, st094529@student.spbu.ru
The scientific supervisor — O.A. Lyubeznikov, Candidate of Science in History, Associate Professor of the Department of museum work and protection of monuments at the Saint Petersburg State University.
This article, based on materials from two St. Petersburg archival repositories, examines
the preservation and protection of monuments in museum necropolises on the grounds of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra. The staff of the Leningrad Museum of Urban Sculpture, particularly N.V. Uspensky, the founder and first curator of the Lazarevskoye Cemetery Museum, made an immeasurable contribution to preserving the cultural image of Leningrad during the Great Patriotic War and the siege of the city. Protecting and protecting monuments in museum necropolises during the siege and bombing of the city was a new undertaking for the museum staff. This article attempts to highlight the most detailed milestones in N.V. Uspensky’s work from 1941 to 1945. Key words: Necropolis, Alexander Nevsky Lavra, museum-cemetery, N.V. Uspensky,
concealment of monuments, protection of artistic gravestones, the Great Patriotic War, the Siege of Leningrad.
Kirpichnikova M.V. The Guardians of the Gatchina Palace-Museum
in the Fight for its Recovery (1944–1951) — 37 (Rus.)
Kirpichnikova, Marija Viktorovna — PhD, scientific Secretary The St.-Petersburg Cultural Institution «Gatchina Palace & Estate museum». Gatchina, Russia, kirpichnikova@gatchinapalace.ru
The article examines the period of post-war conservation of the Gatchina Palace Museum, and tells about the employees who returned to restore the ensemble. It also describes how cultural treasures were plundered by German troops, and who was primarily responsible for this. The article reveals the tragedy of the museum in 1951, when the building was transferred to the military department. It also describes how the memory of the employees who fought to preserve the museum within the walls of the Gatchina Palace is maintained. Key words: Gatchina Palace Museum, conservation, restoration, Balaeva, Makarov, Velichko.
Museum
Solomakha E.Yu. The Hermitage. Memory of the Blockade — 50 (Rus.)
Solomakha, Elena Yu. — Deputy Head of the Scientific Archive of Manuscripts and the
Documentary Fund, the State Hermitage Museum, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, solomakha@hermitage.ru
The article describes a project dedicated to the history of the State Hermitage Museum
during the Great Patriotic War. The city authorities first thought about the importance of
preserving the memory of this time during the blockade, sending artists to the museum to capture the halls of the besieged Hermitage for posterity. Currently, the museum has prepared a multifaceted project, including a special section on the website, a virtual tour of the halls of the besieged Hermitage, 3D models of bomb shelters and shell hits in the buildings of the Winter Palace and the Small Hermitage, the creation of a memorial and exhibition project in two basements under the New Hermitage, the opening of an exhibition dedicated to the history of the Hermitage collections in Sverdlovsk in the center Hermitage-Ural in Yekaterinburg, the publication of a collection of documents on the evacuation of museum collections to the Urals, as well as exhibitions and publications on the history of the museum during the Great Patriotic War. In addition, a completely new experience in the history of the Hermitage was a joint project carried out jointly with the Baltic House Theater Festival to create the play “Living Pictures of the Blockade”, the script of which is based on memories, diaries and letters from
the keepers of the Hermitage about the blockade. Key words: The State Hermitage Museum, the Siege of Leningrad, the Great Patriotic
War, museum.
Goncharenko S.N. The Soviet-Finnish War of 1939–1940
in the Exhibitions of Historical Museums of Russia and Finland — 61 (Rus.)
Goncharenko, Sophia Nikolaevna — MA in Museology, Saint-Petersburg State University graduate, Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation, sofiya.goncharenko.2014@mail.ru
The paper is devoted to a comparative analysis of the representation of memory of the
Soviet-Finnish War of 1939–1940 in the museums of Russia and Finland. Exploring how national historical narratives are formed and transmitted through institutions of memory remains highly relevant in the context of a dialogue about the difficult heritage of the 20th century. The study revealed significant differences in approaches to covering the conflict. In the Russian museum space, a military-technical and fragmentary approach dominates, integrating the war into the pre-war context of the Great Patriotic War and presenting it as a necessary security measure. At the same time, Finnish museums construct a heroic-patriotic narrative, where the war, unrelated to the complex panorama of the international situation of the 1930s, appears as a central event in national history that united the nation in the face of danger. Key words: Soviet-Finnish War, Winter War, Kuusinen, Mannerheim, museums, exposition.
Petukhova A.A. I.E. Repin’s Artistic Legacy in the Cultural Policy of Soviet Russia and the Penaty Estate before, during and after the Great Patriotic War — 72 (Rus.)
Petukhova, Anastasia Alexandrovna — a student of the bachelor program “Museology and conservation of cultural and natural heritage sites”, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russian Federation, st108777@student.spbu.ru
The scientific supervisor — O.A. Lyubeznikov, Candidate of Science in History, Associate Professor of the Department of museum work and protection of monuments at the Saint Petersburg State University.
This publication is a result of researching the artistic heritage of Ilya Yefimovich Repin
(1844–1930) in the cultural policy of Soviet Russia in the 1930–1960s, as well as the fate of his estate “Penaty” before the Great Patriotic war, during it, and in its aftermath. The article examines the process of adapting Repin’s works, the standard of realism in art, to a new ideological system in which his works were used to form the cultural identity of the new Soviet society. Special attention is paid to the process of museumification of the Penaty estate, which has become a significant memorial object reflecting the artist’s life and work, as well as his philosophy. The article analyzes the destruction inflicted on the estate during the Great Patriotic War and the efforts made to restore it after the war. The scientific novelty of the article lies in the first-time analysis of the impact made by shifts in the image of I.E. Repin during the Soviet period on the transformation of the “Penates” into a memorial space in the context of the new Soviet culture, as well as in the conditions of wartime and the period of large-scale work on the restoration of lost and destroyed monuments of cultural heritage. Key words: Ilya Yefimovich Repin, artistic heritage, cultural policy of Soviet Russia, museum-estate “Penaty”, museumification, the Great Patriotic War, restoration, memorial museum.
Monument
Mityukova E.V. The Brest Fortress: We keep the History for the Future Generations — 84 (Rus.)
Mityukova, Elena Vladimirovna — Deputy Director for Research of the Brest Hero Fortress Memorial Complex, Brest, Republic of Belarus, brest-fortress@brest-fortress.by
The article is devoted to the history of the creation of the Brest Hero Fortress Memorial
Complex and its role in the study and popularization of the history of the Great Patriotic War using the example of the events in the Brest Fortress in June-July 1941. The ideological concept of the main facilities of the Memorial Complex is revealed. Attention is paid to modern approaches in preserving and presenting the unique heritage of the Brest Fortress as a fortification and a memorable place — a place of battles, memory and burial of remains. The characteristics of museum expositions, their thematic structure, and their architectural and artistic features are given. On the eve of the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory, attention is paid to immortalizing the feat of defenders of the Brest Fortress, awarding the Brest Fortress the title of “Hero Fortress” (1965), current areas of activity, work within the framework of the Project of the Union state of Russia and Belarus on major repairs, restoration and museumification of the fortress buildings, prospects for inclusion the Brest Fortress Memorial Complex in the
UNESCO World Heritage List.
Key words: the Brest Hero Fortress Memorial Complex, museumification, fortifications,
defenders of the Brest Fortress, historical and cultural heritage, UNESCO.
Fedorov D.S. The Museobus is a Museum, but It’s Bus — 94 (Rus.)
Fedorov, Dmitry Stanislavovich — a leading Russian journalist and researcher of automotive history, an employee of the Leningrad History of Motor Transport Research Center, the State Unitary Enterprise “Passazhiravtotrans”, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, fedorov17@mail.ru
An attempt to increase the coverage of the youth audience with patriotic themes led to
the creation of a unique mobile museum project, “Museobus”. The choice of the theme of the mobile exhibition — the feat of civilian specialists on the “Road of Life” — is also intended to shed light on this aspect of the legendary ice route that has not been sufficiently studied, and to increase the prestige of working professions in the eyes of the younger generation. The «Museobus» was created as a project implemented with a grant from the President of the Russian Federation to the «Glavlenretrotsrans». The basis was a 15-meter three-axle «Volzhanin 6270.06 CityRitm–15» city bus, which had been decommissioned from passenger service and had a long, low-floor interior that was almost perfect for conversion into a museum. The «Glavlenretrotrans» staff has compiled and implemented a project to convert a bus into a museum called “The Road of Life — The Road of Labor.” During the search, they have found authentic items belonging to the evacuees, car parts recovered from the bottom of Lake Ladoga,
and authentic driver’s tools. The documentary component of the exhibition includes both
copies of authentic documents and various statistics presented in tables on the walls. A unique feature of the Museum Bus is the interactive stand “GAZ-AA Cab”, which allows visitors to imagine themselves in the driver’s seat of the truck.
Key words: museum bus, mobile exhibition, Road of Life, GAZ-AA, feat, blockade, ice
route.
Heritage
Lyubeznikov O.A. The Siege Topography of Leningrad University:
Experience of Reconstruction — 103 (Rus.)
Lyubeznikov, Oleg Anatolievich — Candidate of Science in History, Associate Professor,
Saint-Petersburg State University, Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation, o.lyubeznikov@spbu.ru
The article, prepared as part of a special project of the Museum and Architecture Clinic
of St. Petersburg State University, analyzes the history of the space of Leningrad State University during the years of the city’s siege during the Great Patriotic War. The author aims to correlate the buildings, premises and locations of the university mentioned in sources and research literature, which were significant for its teachers, students and staff during the siege of Leningrad, with the modern architectural and spatial environment of St. Petersburg State University.
Key words: Leningrad University, LSU, blockade, Great Patriotic War, Saint Petersburg
State University, SPbSU.
Nikonova A.A., Savelieva A.G. Front-Line Generation:
Archival Materials by Surgeon V.N. Gorokhova — 110 (Rus.)
Nikonova, Antonina Aleksandrovna — PhD in Philosophy, Senior Lecturer, Department of Museum Studies and Monument Protection, Institute of Philosophy, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russia, a.nikonova@spbu.ru
Savelieva Anna Gennadievna — Chief Curator, State Memorial Museum of the Defense
and Siege of Leningrad (Russia, St. Petersburg), anna7ismir@yandex.ru
The article is devoted to the study of the memoirs of the surgeon V.N. Gorokhova-Danilova, who was the head of the 7th Surgical Department of the E.G. No. 1012 Hospital, located in the building of Leningrad State University (5 Mendeleevskaya Line). The typewritten text of V.N. Gorokhova’s memoirs has been preserved in three copies and has some textual and temporal differences. In addition to the memoirs, the archives of the State Museum of the Defense of the Siege of Leningrad contain personal letters, photographs, and drawings of the wounded, while the archives of the Museum of the History of St. Petersburg contain medical records and case histories of patients. All of these documents require further research. This article marks the beginning of the research process for these unique historical sources.
Key words: blockade, individual memory, front-line generation, war, evacuation hospital, surgeon, wounded, medical assistance, victory.
Balakireva T.A. On the Issue of Preserving Literary Heritage during the Great Patriotic War: The Case Study of A.R. Belyaev’s Creative Work — 119 (Rus.)
Balakireva, Tatiana Andreevna — Master of Cultural Studies, Head of the Department of
Educational Programs in Philosophy, Directorate of Educational Programs, St. Petersburg State University, St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, t.balakireva@spbu.ru
The article aims to highlight the issue of preserving literary heritage during challenging
historical periods, using the example of the creative work of Soviet science fiction writer A.R. Belyaev, whose final years coincided with the onset of the Great Patriotic War and the occupation of the city of Pushkin by German forces. Prior to examining Belyaev’s biography, the study conducts a literature review on the literary activities of Soviet writers during the Great Patriotic War. During this period, writers either participated in military operations, worked in the rear, or were evacuated. The article provides insights into the activities of writers who remained in besieged Leningrad. It also explores A.T. Tvardovsky’s approach to preserving his personal archive. Subsequently, a detailed account of the final period of A.R. Belyaev’s life is presented. A concise analysis of the author’s oeuvre is offered, conditionally divided into two categories: works addressing philosophical themes and works focusing on pioneers and trailblazers. The article concludes by summarizing its findings and outlining prospects for the establishment of a literary museum dedicated to A.R. Belyaev’s biography and creative legacy.
Key words: Alexander Romanovich Belyaev; science fiction; literary museum; museology; Great Patriotic War; Literary Creativity During the Great Patriotic War.
Family memories of the Great Patriotic War
Kuptsova E.D. Great-Grandfather’s Last Letters:
The History of the Great Patriotic War reflected in the Family Archive — 127 (Rus.)
Kuptsova, Ekaterina Dmitrievna — a student of the bachelor program “Museology and
conservation of cultural and natural heritage sites”, Saint-Petersburg State University, Saint-Petersburg, Russian Federation, st107608@student.spbu.ru
The scientific supervisor — O.A. Lyubeznikov, Candidate of Science in History, Associate Professor of the Department of museum work and protection of monuments at the Saint-Petersburg State University.
Based on the analysis of the personal correspondence of the author’s great-grandfather, the front-line soldier Dmitry Yemelyanovich Kuptsov, who served as a military telephone operator on the Leningrad Front during the Great Patriotic War, the work examines the relationship between personal and collective memory, reveals the features of everyday life, emotional state and everyday life of a Soviet person during the war. The impact of the war on different social groups (fighters, workers, women, children, and evacuees) is traced through the fate of members of the same family. Dmitry Kuptsov’s letters are becoming a valuable micro-historical source that complements the general knowledge about the perception of war by man and forms a link between personal history and the history of the whole country.
Key words: The Great Patriotic War, the history of everyday life, microhistory, front-line
letters, family archive, the siege of Leningrad.
Grekova A.N. To Live and to Remember — 143 (Rus.)
Grekova, Anastasia Nikolaevna — 1st year master’s student at Saint Petersburg State University (SPbU) in the field of «Visual Technologies in Museums», St. Petersburg, Russian Federation, st102388@student.spbu.ru
Academic supervisor — candidate of philosophical sciences, senior lecturer of the Department of Museum and Monument Protection of SPbSU A.A. Nikonova.
In this article on the basis of documentary sources the wartime events that happened to the members of my family and influenced their fates are considered in the context of the general history of the country during the Great Patriotic War. Special attention is paid to the personal stories of ancestors who made a significant contribution to the victory over fascism. Numerous documents from the archives of the Ministry of Defense, civil registries, family archives, photographs, eyewitness information that confirm the military path of the author’s family members are collected. In the list of war participants seventeen people from four branches of the author’s family tree, there are those who died. In order not to distort the history of the family is not enough only memories, you need documentary evidence. The task to collect them was not easy and stretched for a dozen years. There are in the family and labor feats, but this article is aimed at preserving the memory of those family members who fought for the freedom
and independence of the Motherland during the Great Patriotic War. Key words: Great Patriotic War, family tree, history, memory, heritage.
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