Russian Museum Research Articles

In vino veritas? My Sentimental Journey into Russian Art

Abstract The focus of this memoir is on the state of Soviet art historical studies, especially during the 1960s–70s, and on the scholars, critics and collectors who, in spite of untoward circumstances, made essential contributions to the rediscovery of the Russian avant-garde, among them Nikolai Khardzhiev. The memoir also describes what it was like to be a Western postgraduate student (with a special interest in the poetry of Aleksandr Blok and Symbolism) at Moscow State University and the conflicts between ubiquitous Party propaganda and individual academic enquiry, especially into the then mysterious areas of scholarship such as Formalism and Modernism. Mention is also made of the more guarded sources of information such as the spetsfondy at the Lenin Library and the zapasniki at the State Tretyakov Gallery and the State Russian Museum which, in those days, were difficult to access and largely unfamiliar. The memoir offers a particular appreciation of the activities of collectors Khardzhiev and Georgii Kostaki, and scholars Evgenii Kovtun, Alla Povelikhina and Dmitrii Sarab’ianov.

Collecting before and after the October Revolution: the Archive of Nadezhda Dobychina

Abstract Dobychina’s name and her Art Bureau are mentioned in the bibliography dedicated to the history of modernism thanks to the “Last Futurist Exhibition. 0,10” which was held there in December, 1915–January, 1916. However, it should be noted though that Dobychina hardly belonged to the radical avant-gardists. Her interests as a collector and a curator in the pre-revolutionary years included artists of the World of Art and the Blue Rose groups, but she also had in her possession some artworks by Natal’ia Goncharova, Mikhail Larionov, David Burliuk, Natan Al’tman, Marc Chagall, Wassily Kandinsky. The documents from the Dobychina’s archive, kept at the State Russian library, prove that she played an important role in the art field and acted as an art dealer both before and after the October revolution. In the early 1920s, she was in charge of the exhibition departments of the several institutions in Petrograd (Leningrad), from 1932 to 1934 she worked as a senior researcher at the State Russian Museum; after that she moved to Moscow, where she headed the Art Department of the Revolution Museum. Throughout these turbulent years she tried to keep her art collection. The three collection inventories, compiled in 1919, 1924 and 1930, show that some artworks constituted the collection’s integral part and not intended for selling. The most striking paintings and graphics by Mikhail Vrubel’, Valentin Serov, Viktor Borisov-Musatov, Dmitriĭ Stelletsky, Alexandre Benois, Martiros Sar’ian, apparently, belonged to Dobychina for decades and were sold mostly after her death to the famous Soviet collectors – Solomon Shuster, Aram Abramian, Aleksandr Miasnikov, and Valeriĭ Dudakov.

EEG-Characteristics of Aesthetic Perception and Evaluation of Artworks During a Museum Visit: А Neuroaesthetic Study

Twenty-eight people (30–70 years old, 12 men, 16 women, artists and non-artists) participated in a comparative neuroaesthetic study in the conditions of real-life visit to M. Vrubel mono-exhibition (Russian Museum, St. Petersburg). During the visit to the exhibition (usually lasted for around 60 min), EEG of participants was recorded. The subjects were looking at the paintings for 30 seconds to 3 min and evaluated the subjective aesthetic “attractiveness” of the paintings by a series of button presses (from 1 to 10). Were analyzed EEG spectral power in the α1 (8–10 Hz)-, α2 (10–13 Hz)-, β1 (13–18 Hz)-, β2 (13–30 Hz)-frequency bands during viewing the most famous Vrubel paintings (“Bogatyr”, “Swan Princess”, “Swan”, “Sitting Demon”, “Flying Demon”, “Pan”, etc.) and event-related EEG synchronization/desynchronization in relation to the subjective emotional and aesthetic evaluation of these paintings. Professional artists showed lower spectral power values in α1 (leads F3, C3, T4, Pz) and α2 (F3, Fz, F4, C3, Cz, C4, P3, Pz, P4)-frequency bands in frontal, central, and parietal regions. The artists were also found to have lower power values in β1,2-frequency bands in frontal (F3, F4, C3) regions and higher power values in occipital (O1, O2 – β1, β2) and posterior temporal (β2) cortical regions compared to the group of subjects with no special artistic education. Moreover, artists decision-making about the high emotional-aesthetic attractiveness of paintings was accompanied by an increase in event-related EEG synchronization for 11.5–27 Hz in frontal and central cortical areas over 580–360 ms before giving the response, compared to non-artists, whereas low emotional-aesthetic evaluation was characterized by 9–27 Hz EEG desynchronization, which started 60 ms before the giving the response and lasted up to 440 ms after it, in the posterior temporal and parietal regions. The differences in frontal cortical areas may indicate a higher engagement of the reward system during the perception of aesthetically pleasing paintings, and the differences in parietal and posterior temporal areas may indicate a continuing visual synthesis (more sustained visual attention) during the perception of subjectively less attractive paintings in artists compared to non-artists.

Comparative study of the body proportions in Elephantidae and other large herbivorous mammals.

In this study, we aimed to achieve three objectives: (1) to precisely characterize the body plans ofElephantidae and other large herbivorous mammals; (2) based on this analysis, to determine whether the body plans of the extinct woolly mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius) and steppe mammoth (M. trogontherii) differ from those of modern-day Elephantidae: the Asian elephant (Elephas maximus), the African bush (Loxodonta africana), and forest (L. cyclotis) elephants; (3) to analyze how the body plans have changed in extant perissodactyls and proboscideans compared with their Paleogene ancestors. To accomplish this, we studied mammoth skeletons from the collections of Russian museums and compared this data with a large number of skeletons of extant elephantids, odd-toed, and even-toed ungulates, as well as their extinct relatives. We showed that three genera of Elephantidae are characterized by a homogeneous body plan, which is markedly different from other large herbivores. Elephantids break the interrelationship, that exists in artiodactyls and perissodactyls, between the total length of the head and neck on one side and the limb's segments on the other. Their limbs are very tall (inferior in this regard among large ungulates only to the giraffe), and, contrary to the other large herbivorous mammals, elongated due to the length of the proximal segments. This allows them to effectively utilize the principle of inverted pendulum (straight-legged walking) in locomotion. The biggest differences in the body plan of mammoths compared with extant elephants are a markedly larger pelvis, elongated fore- and hindlimbs (due to the increased relative length of their proximal segments), and different proportions of the skull. The body plans of plesiomorphic Paleogene proboscideans and perissodactyls differed markedly from their descendants in every body part; these differences are related, on the one hand, to the allometric growth, and on the other hand, to the advancement of the locomotor apparatus in the course of their evolution. The most notable difference in the body plan between Paleogene proboscidean Moeritherium and extant Elephantidae is the ~2-fold increase in relative limb height.

THE ART COLLECTION OF PAVEL VYAZEMSKY (1820-1881): ASPECTS OF HISTORY

Among many collections that form the basis of Russian museums, the collection of diplomat and writer Prince Pavel Vyazemsky (1820-1888) is a rare illustration of the interest in the works of the early Italian Renaissance, masters of the Northern Renaissance, which is more common among European collectors. In this article, the author dwells on the history of this collection, based on archival data available at the moment. Circumstances that contributed to the splitting of the collection after the Russian Revolution of 1917 seem to be crucial in this case.

Buryat Traditional Bow in the Collection of the Russian Museum of Ethnography (According to Documents on Receipt before the 1930s)

Buryat Traditional Bow in the Collection of the Russian Museum of Ethnography (According to Documents on Receipt before the 1930s)

Выставочное пространство российских музеев как объект культуры

The article examines the exhibition space of Russian museums of the Soviet and post-Soviet periods as an object of culture. Emphasis is placed on its importance in shaping and reflecting social values, and the evolution of exhibition spaces, design elements, and the role they play in presenting, interpreting, and preserving cultural heritage are examined. The discussion covers the layout, interconnection and functionality of the various zones inside the museum. The tasks in designing architectural and artistic solutions for museum complexes are perhaps one of the most difficult in environmental design. Here it is necessary to take into account functionality, ergonomics, aesthetics, subordinating them to the general concept of the museum complex, considering the regularity of the location of objects, the movement of visitor flows, the zoning of space, taking into account the safety and preservation of cultural objects. The article highlights the design features of the museum space of the XX–XXI centuries, taking into account historical changes, political realities, stylistic trends and trends in art.

A Chinese screen in the collection of the State Hermitage Museum

The object of the study is a Chinese screen. The subject of the study is the characteristic features of the Chinese screen based on the material of the Hermitage collection. During the consideration of the topic, such issues as the degree of study of the issues under consideration, the connection of the screen with the fields of fine and decorative arts are traced and analyzed. The analysis of seven items from the collection of the State Hermitage Museum is carried out. The analysis of rare samples of the Chinese screen allows us to identify the characteristic features of this subject, the specifics of the development of the Chinese screen in the XVIII – XIX centuries, as well as to discover its relationship with the spheres of decorative, applied and fine arts of China. The author examines in detail the artistic features of the objects, their design characteristics, the use of various materials – porcelain, wood, metal, jade, the content of calligraphic inscriptions appearing on the objects in the context of the aesthetics of the epoch and socio-cultural space. The research involves the systematization of information related to collecting, studying, and describing the screen in Russian museum practice and theory. Traditional methods of art criticism and historiographical analysis are used; a combination of formal and iconological methods allows to create a reliable idea of the works of art under consideration, identify meaningful and formal features; the historical and cultural method allows to clarify the nature of the patterns of screen development. The scientific novelty of the research primarily consists in the fact that for the first time an analysis of the Chinese screen in the collection of the State Hermitage Museum is carried out, a detailed description and a comprehensive art historical analysis of a number of previously unexplored objects are given. The systematization of Russian publications devoted to the problem of the screen is carried out, in particular, offering a description and analysis of certain screens. The study clarifies and expands existing ideas about the Chinese screen, clarifies the attribution of a number of objects in the collections of the State Hermitage Museum. It is concluded that the objects presented in the Hermitage collections are of considerable variety and give an idea of the variety of techniques and materials for creating screens in China in the XVIII – XIX centuries, allow us to see the connection between the art of creating screens with the field of decorative and applied arts and painting. The screen of this period is a work of art with high artistic value. The aesthetics of the screen is connected not only with the current trends in the development of decorative, applied and fine arts, but also with the socio-cultural context.

Произведения российских уличных художников в собрании Русского музея

The institutionalization of street art goes back more than fifty years and the interest of art institutions in it is only growing. This is due to the expansion of the artistic tools of the representatives of the "street wave" and the significant contribution of the pioneers of street art to the world artistic process. Collecting and representing this trend of contemporary art has become an integral part of covering current artistic trends. The Russian Museum is the first domestic institution to present the work of American graffiti artists in its exhibition in 1995. The Russian street art scene was just emerging during this period, but already at the beginning of the 21st century works by its most prominent representatives are included in the museum’s temporary exhibitions and add to its collection. The State Russian Museum collection contains works by Russian "street wave" artists working in assorted styles and with different mediums. Consideration of works from the collection of the Russian Museum in the context of the continuation of the global process of institutionalization of street art allows us to study in more detail countless examples of museumification and representation of the work of artists with a street-art background.

About the works from the collection of architect V. A. Tauber in the department of folk art of the State Russian Museum

The existence of his personal collection is confirmed already in 1925, when he donated to the museum six boxes with disassembled parts of various copper church utensils. After the architect’s death, when being accepted for temporary storage in the Russian museum in 1944, the items were distributed among several departments. Today, some of them are in the folk art department. A variety of metal products from the collection of V. A. Tauber (candles, wedding crowns, keys, locks, candleholder, caskets called “teremki”, brackets, bratina, mace) have not previously been the subject of special research. Most of them did not have the time and place of production determined. Therefore, the author of this article focused on the issues of attribution of these products. The artistic analysis was also carried out. Numerous analogies from Russian and foreign museums were used. The items were considered as a whole collection. As a result, it is concluded that most of the items from the collection of V. A. Tauber are beautiful works of folk art, which demonstrates an infinite variety of artistic solutions. This is emphasized not only by their presence on the permanent exhibition of the department of folk art, but also by their publication in various museum books. Most of the artistic works are in the field of ecclesiastical art, so it is possible that they are related to the Museum of a dying cult.

Collection of the Chelyabinsk Regional Art Gallery of the 1930s–1940s: Documentary evidence about the fate of the first collection

The article examines the history of the collection of the Chelyabinsk Regional Art Gallery in the period from 1938 to 1947. The collection was formed in the late 1930s and early 1940s in three ways: through the acquisition of works of art from private individuals, through the city’s existing collection of paintings from traveling exhibitions, and through transfers from major art museums (in particular, from the State Russian Museum). Thus, by the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the fund of the Chelyabinsk Art Gallery consisted of works of domestic and Western European painting and graphics, objects of decorative and applied art. However, with the closure of the gallery in the summer of 1941, the collection was distributed among city institutions and by the time the museum was restored after the war, a significant part of it had been lost. The research is based on data from archival materials stored in the United State Archive of the Chelyabinsk Region (Chelyabinsk), and also proceeds from the current state of the collection of the Chelyabinsk State Museum of Fine Arts, the successor of the gallery. We analyze archival documents in order to restore the chronicle of losses and acquisitions of gallery exhibits in the 1940s. Based on the lists attached to the acts of transfer and inspection of exhibits from the 1940s, the most complete list of works of art that were owned by the Chelyabinsk Regional Art Gallery before its liquidation in the summer of 1941 was compiled. The article is accompanied by a table indicating the names of the works, their authorship and source of origin, known pre-war registration numbers of the works, and also, if available, the registration numbers of the Chelyabinsk State Museum of Fine Arts.

“Highly expressive manual on Russian history”: Branch projects of the Historical and Everyday life Department of the State Russian Museum (1925–1930)

In 1918–1934 the State Russian Museum included the Historical and Everyday life Department. It was a unique example of a museum of everyday life, the researchers studied by purposeful selection, exhibiting and actualization the collection, looking for a conceptual basis for their activities. The success of the work was proved by the network of branches that developed in 1925–1930 around the Department, which made it the largest museum of everyday life in the country. Which included the Sheremetevsky and Menshikovsky palaces, the Summer Palace and the house of Peter I, the estates Maryino and Gruzino, whose history has developed in different ways. There were also several projects supervised by the research staff of the Historical and Everyday life Department. The first project was aimed at creating a historical church museum based on the collections united by the “Old Petersburg” Society and then forming the basis of the Museum of the Obsolescent Cult that existed in 1923–1927. The second project involved the organization department of a military of everyday life in the State Russian Museum based on the collections of the Quartermaster, Suvorov, and regimental museums. There were also plans to organize a unified museum of the time of Peter the Great, which was supposed to be in the Menshikov or Summer Palaces. These projects could only be developed in the 1920s, when museums assumed the possibility of experimentation, and were driven by attempts to protect collections. The First All-Russian Museum Congress in 1930 officially completed the development of museums of everyday life in the country. In 1934, the Department of History and Everyday life became part of the State Museum of the Revolution, in 1937, of the State Museum of Ethnography, and in 1941 became the basis for the creation of the Department of the History of Russian Culture in the State Hermitage.

Становление Румянцевского музея как социального института

The Rumyantsev Museum is called the treasure of the two capitals, but with the same reason it can be considered the treasure of the country. And although the museum itself and its unified collection ceased to exist (the collection has disintegrated and is now part of the collection of the Russian Museum, the Hermitage, etc.), with its complex almost century-old existence, it contributed to the formation of the museum as a social institution. The Rumyantsev Museum was formed with the participation of the public, united around Nikolai Petrovich Rumyantsev — the Rumyantsev Circle. In the literature, the term ‘Rumyantsev Circle’ is usually understood as an informal association of scientists, historians, librarians, journalists, archaeologists and collectors. The leader and founder of the circle was Nikolai Petrovich Rumyantsev. The very concept of ‘Rumyantsev circle’ appeared in historiography in the second half of the XIX century. The period of existence of the circle is approximately from 1813 to 1826 (before the death of N. Rumyantsev). According to different data the number of the circle — more than 200 people, about 55 made its core. The approximate composition is known: 26 people were employees, 7 — professors and teachers of various educational institutions, 4 — academicians and 12 — people who were in the service of Rumyantsev. The activities of the Rumyantsev circle had not only scientific, but also social significance. Historical works and ancient sources positively influenced the self-consciousness of the progressive Russian public, including such names as A. Pushkin, D. Venevitinov, V. Odoevsky, Decembrists, etc. In particular, the work of the members of the circle was aimed at participating in various ethnographic and geographical expeditions, as well as archaeological excavations.

Japan practices in the preservation of cultural heritage. Nara Research Center

The article deals with the history, structure and methods of work of the Nara Research Center, as well as the socio-cultural context of its establishment. Compared to many countries, the experience of preserving cultural heritage in Japan began to take shape relatively recently, but over the past period, original forms of working with heritage unique to Japan have been developed, which have expanded the world experience in this area. Familiarity with the Japanese experience can be useful for the Russian museum community and can contribute to the emergence of new forms in the domestic practice of dealing with heritage. One of the striking manifestations of the organization of cultural heritage conservation in Japan is the activity of the National Research Institute in Nara. There are currently no works in the domestic literature devoted to the analysis. Since the 50s of the 20th century, the Japanese government has actively begun to work in the field of preserving and protecting universal cultural values. The Nara National Research Institute is an excellent example of a government organization that is engaged in a wide range of work to preserve the country’s cultural assets, as well as scientific education and international activities. The work of the National Research Center is a striking example of a well-functioning system for the protection of cultural property operating in Japan at the state level. The competence of the center includes not only conducting excavations, but also analyzing the extracted materials, extensive educational, educational and international security activities. The data obtained during the research is carefully structured and digitized and will be made publicly available through several public databases created for a detailed study of issues related to archeology and related sciences.

Влияние западноевропейской орнаментальной и сюжетной гравюры на декор белорусских и древнерусских изразцов конца XVI–XVII в.

The article concerns the problem of the influence of engravings on Belarusian and Old Russian tiles of 16th−17th centuries. For this purpose, some exhibits from the collection of the Russian Museum and MSUMR were analyzed. Corner tiles from Ancient Novogrudok demonstrate similarities with architectural and decorative ceramics of Lithuania and Poland, as well as interrelation with European ornamental engravings with a grotesque motif. Special attention was paid to figurative compositions. The hunting scene, presented on a square tile from Pskov in the second half of the 17th century, is placed on European and Belarusian cornice tiles, we know rare examples of Old Russian tiles with the same design. However, the sources of the composition were emblematic images and etchings. Tiles from the second half of the 17th century with a monkey and a bear from the collection of MSUMR are the result of Moscow masters’ acquaintance with European engravings from the series "Allegory of the Five Senses" and "The Seven Deadly Sins", which were not fully reproduced, as opposed to the tiles of Lithuania. Thus, Belarusian and Old Russian artists showed their originality in recreating famous rapports.

Художник Святослав Воинов: христианское искусство в эпоху модернизма

This paper explores the life and art of Svyatoslav Voinov (1890–1920), a modernist painter and a drawing artist from St. Petersburg, barely remembered today but nevertheless a remarkable example of both art and spirituality of his time. Both paintings and drawings of Voinov lay bare a distinctive character of the period when symbolism and modernism crossed ways. His art offers a glimpse on a unique creative atmosphere of the period of the Russian Revolution and the Civil War (1917–1922), the time when his most significant work was done. Voinov’s art is typical for religious currents in the Russian art of early 20th century. It is closely linked to their preceding formative period but was also influenced by the modernist discovery of the aesthetic value of Russian icons. Voinov’s art is rooted in a complex synthesis of tradi-tional icon-painting and symbolism grafted with newer expressionistic and futuristic trends, such a synthesis being typical for quite a few Russian artists of the period. What makes Voinov and his art unique is that he aspired to cross the boundaries of purely secular spirituality and offered an original and effective example of how modern visuality can work together with ancient tradition of icon painting. Voinov transcends the contours of narrative formulas of religious themes and boldly moves towards the theology in paint. The drawings and compo-sitional sketches of Svyatoslav Voinov were examined by the author in the collections of the State Russian Museum (St. Petersburg, Russia). Some of the drawings are published here for the first time.

ВЫСТАВОЧНЫЙ ПРОЕКТ «КОЧЕВЬЕ» АЛЕКСЕЯ ДМИТРИЕВА И ПРОФЕССИОНАЛЬНАЯ ПОДГОТОВКА СТУДЕНТОВ-МУЗЕОЛОГОВ В ГОСУДАРСТВЕННОМ ХУДОЖЕСТВЕННОМ МУЗЕЕ АЛТАЙСКОГО КРАЯ

The publication introduces the author's exhibition project "Nomad" by artist Alexey Dmitriev at the State Art Museum of the Altai Krai (Barnaul, Russia). The exposition solution of the exhibition was spatial and was in tune with the current trends in the exhibition activities of leading Russian museums, which in their practice turn to such a phenomenon as museum scenography, creating dramatic images in the museum space, filling the exhibits with a variety of situational meanings. A seminar was held within the framework of the exhibition, which examined the relationship of theater with the art of the book, identified the possibilities of "theatricalization" in the construction of an exposition museum space. The main audience of the seminar were students of the Novoaltaisk State Art College, studying in the specialty "Graphic Design" and students of the Museum of the Altai State Institute of Culture, for whom the museum has been operating a basic professional department for the seventh year, in which they acquire initial professional experience in their chosen field of study.

Solidarity in the Museum: Practices of Representation of Social Problems in Russian Institutions of Contemporary Art

In 2021, 95.5 million people visited Russian museums, and this is sufficient reason to consider the role of museums more than just the collection, storage and demonstration of heritage. Are museums a space of solidarity — do they represent social problems, do they articulate social interests, commonalities and differences of groups? It is especially important to apply this to the institutions of contemporary art in Russia, which over the past 30 years have found their audience and confirmed the reputation of independence, rejection of the canons, and problematization of everyday life. Using the example of two private metropolitan and one well-known state non-capital museum, the author analyzed the content of expositions for 2020-2021 using two methods. The theoretical framework of the study is social constructionism and post-structuralism. The purpose of the article is to characterize the forms and degree of criticality of artistic expression on the example of contemporary art institutions. The author's typology of models for the representation of social problems by museums is used — classical, critical and participatory. Based on empirical data on the expositions of three museums of contemporary art, a conclusion is made about the poorly realized potential of museums of contemporary art as an institution of solidarity — it has clearly not developed. The data demonstrate quantitative differentiation in the representation of critical statements at exhibitions of various institutions — from a third to a half of the exhibitions do not have a critical orientation, do not involve the viewer in the discussion of social problems. The initial nature of the study indicates the need to supplement the methodology with expert assessments, substantiate the measuring model for studying the sphere of culture in general and the museum in particular as an institution of solidarity.

Заключительные «Исторические письма» В.И. Ламанского (предисловие к публикации)

The article introduces the publication of the fragments of the sixth “Historical Letter on the Attitude of the Russian People to their Tribesmen” and the conclusion prepared by Vladimir Ivanovich Lamansky, a Slavophile and professor at St. Petersburg University. It is noted that other works of the scientist, on which he worked in the following years, remained unfinished. The facts allowing to indicate the date of writing the “Historical Letters” are given: 1859–1862, work interrupted by Lamansky's trip abroad (1862–1864). It is suggested that the “Historical Letters” were a continuation of the research direction outlined by Lamansky in his master's thesis “On the Slavs in Asia Minor, Africa and Spain” (1859), i.e. they were the result of his archival and desk work. The trip to the Slavic lands enriched the scholar with real knowledge of the Slavic peoples, their history and current situation, which made many of the arguments in the “Historical Letters” irrelevant. There are two subjects that Lamansky touched upon in his “last” letters, and which were further developed in his research and work. Firstly, these are the works in the field of national ethnography: his long-term leadership of the ethnographic department of the Russian Geographical Society, the organisation of the Slavic Congress and the Ethnographic Exhibition in 1867, the publication of the ethnographic journal “Zhivaya starina” (1890), the project of the of the ethnographic department of the Russian Museum (1899). Lamansky's statements on ethnography as fatherland studies or ethnology are presented, revealing his understanding of ethnographic science. Secondly, this is a historiosophical interpretation of the Oriental Question, considering it as an episode of interaction between two civilisations: the Greco-Slavic and the Romano-Germanic. The incompleteness of the “Historical Letters” is pointed out, which is reflected in the gaps in their publication.

15th Congress of the International Association of Teachers of Russian Language and Literature in Saint Petersburg: <i>Russian Language and Literature in the Changing World</i>

This September saw hundreds of delegates come to Saint Petersburg to participate in the Congress on Russian Language and Literature in the Changing World organized by the International Association of Teachers of Russian Language and Literature (IATRLL). The Congress gathered participants from 63 countries, from Armenia, Serbia, and Hungary to Kenya, China, Mexico, and Peru. This vast geography is no wonder: the Congress has been held for decades, with experts in the fields of linguistics and literature, interpreters, translators, and teachers gathering every five years to discuss Russian literature studies and key issues of the Russian language functioning and teaching. The first Congress was held in Moscow and over the years it was hosted by Warsaw, Bratislava, Shanghai, Astana, etc. On September 13, 2023 (declared the Year of the Russian language as the language of Interethnic communication by the Council of the CIS Heads of State), its 15th jubilee conference opening took place in the Hermitage. V. V. Putin, A. D. Beglov, S. V. Lavrov, V. A. Sadovnichiy, Ye. A. Primakov, V. A. Nikonov, and other officials greeted the participants. Russian cosmonauts send their greetings from the International Space Station, in their video they acknowledged the Russian language to be the language of friendship and cooperation of international space programs. In his speech, IATRILL President V. I. Tolstoy stressed the importance or promoting the Russian language. The plenary session included reports by N. M. Kropachev (The Russian Language as the Official Language of Russia), T. V. Chernigovskaya (Language and Brain in the 21st Century), Ye. G. Vodolazkin (Petersburg. Reality of the Myth). The next day there were thirteen thematic sessions and panel discussions held. N. D. Afanasyeva, M. V. Belyakov, and N. Yu. Yarygina from MGIMO University presented their reports on teaching the Russian language to foreigners. Participants of the Congress enjoyed an immersive social program that included visits to the best Russian museums. They also had a unique opportunity to see an exhibition dedicated to the distinguished Russian linguist V. G. Kostomarov with his unique pictures, documents, and personal items brought from Moscow museums. The President of the Indian Association of Teachers of the Russian Language and Literature Charanjit Singh and the Head of the Russian Language Department of the Dakar University in Senegal Manetu Ndiaye addressed the Congress at the closing Ceremony in the Tauride Palace. The next Congress is to take place in 2027 in China.