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An online lecture with Dr. Susan Smith-Peter
The lecture will discuss how Mikhail Lomonosov, the 18th century polymath and poet, turned into a culture hero. A culture hero personifies the transition from one era to another, in this case from old Russia to new Petrine Russia. While this made Lomonosov a central figure in Russian culture, his importance to Russian history has not always been clear. Making things more difficult is Lomonosov’s connection to Peter III, the unlucky and deposed spouse of Catherine the Great. While Catherine dismissed Peter as disloyal to Russia and lazy, new work shows that he was highly involved in governance and had a tight-knit circle around him. Lomonosov was part of that circle.
Already in the 18th century, former members of that circle reshaped Lomonosov’s memory after his death so that it became apolitical and linked to poetry and physics. This has meant that Lomonosov’s work on geography has not been seen as central to his life and legacy, even though his influence on the provinces was considerable. Lomonosov did reshape Russia’s approach to geography by introducing the idea of economic geography. By moving beyond the tropes of the culture hero, we can begin to see the outlines of an important figure in mid-eighteenth century Russia who has not yet been fully appreciated.
An online lecture with Liliya Dashevski
What did children play with in nineteenth-century Russia? Many of us might immediately think of the matreshka—the iconic Russian nesting doll. But surprisingly, matreshkas were not actually traditional folk toys at all. They were invented at the very end of the nineteenth century to look traditional.
So if Russian children were not playing with matreshkas, what were they playing with?
This talk examines the rich and often underexplored world of children’s toys and games from both peasant and elite households, from handmade wooden figures to imported European dolls, board games, and paper theatres. It shows that Russian play culture was not simply “traditional” or “European,” but a blend of both. Russian childhood was shaped by a vernacular craft tradition shared across social classes and by a Europeanized model adapted to elite educational goals. Looking at toys allows us to rethink how Russians imagined childhood, culture, and identity in a period of profound social change.
A conversation with Serhii Plokhy, renowned historian at Harvard University and author of several books on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This conversation will explore Professor Plokhy's new book, David and Goliath: Commentaries on the Russo-Ukrainian War, and the historiographical questions in involved in understanding the origins of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The Museum of Russian Art presents an exhibition of forty paintings featuring cats and dogs, on loan from The Raymond and Susan Johnson Collection of 20th Century Russian art and other private American collections. Thirteen of these have never been shown before and will be displayed in an American museum for the first time.
Painted by both renowned and lesser recognized artists of the Soviet era, these masterful works depict domesticated animals and their various interactions with humans. In world art, portrayals of pets have historically been endowed with rich symbolism: dogs could be symbols of loyalty, status, or vigilance, while cats are often associated with domesticity, but, on some occasions, the otherworldly, the ominous, and the mystical.
Soviet art metabolizes age-old traditions and brings new and additional meanings into the mix. As behooves Soviet cats and dogs in a Proletarian State, these amiable creatures are portrayed contributing to the communal life of a socialist collective. We see dogs resting by a dog sled, pulling ice from a frozen river, or tending cattle. Children’s pets teach their little masters to be caregivers, and cats become friends of retired collective farmers giving them consolation in their advanced age.
Also included in this exhibition are Soviet-era porcelain figurines from TMORA collection. These rare sculptural pieces were produced at various Soviet porcelain factories, including the famed Lomonosov (formerly Imperial) Porcelain Factory in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg).
The Museum gives its thanks to the outstanding collectors with a keen eye for quality who generously share their art through gifts and loans. We are especially grateful to those whose contributions made this exhibition possible: Susan and Ray Johnson, Rose Brady, Duane Engstrom, and Loren Bough.
Learn Russian with The Museum of Russian Art! Spring session classes begin Monday, March 23, and run for 10 consecutive weeks. Classes for all adult learners take place on Zoom, taught by experienced teachers who are native speakers of Russian. Language learning boosts memory retention, supports cognitive function, and improves concentration and listening skills. Nourish your mind and join us in class!
The Russian Cultural Garden is excited to invite you to its first-ever Ivan Kupala celebration — a vibrant summer festival of Slavic traditions, sun, and nature. The program includes a market and traditional cuisine, contests for children and adults, a folklore performance, and special surprises.
Hundreds of thousands of satisfied language learners have experienced the wonder of speaking a new language through our fun and natural immersion environment.
A showcase of fifteen historical photographs from the period of the Cold War.
A selection of over 60 works by Armenian artists from the Norton and Nancy Dodge Collection of Nonconformist Art from the Soviet Union
An exhibit featuring remarkable stories told by the artifacts in the Russian History Museum’s collection.
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