The Alexander Solzhenitsyn House of Russian Abroad is a unique complex that combines the functions of a museum, archive, library, research, information and publishing and cultural and educational center. His main activity is devoted to the historical phenomenon of the Russian diaspora and strengthening ties with compatriots outside of Russia.
By status and in essence, the House is a museum-archive of foreign Russia. Household items, works of art, documents, manuscripts, book collections, photographs, films have a memorial meaning, they are a valuable source of information and knowledge about the history and life of emigration, and to a large extent about the pre-revolutionary and post-revolutionary periods of the country. The museum collection contains over 18 thousand items. The funds of the House grow and are formed due to the numerous gifts of Russian people scattered all over the world.
Like the archive museum, the House's library collection is a significant historical and cultural value. It has over 75 thousand items, a significant part of which are emigration publications, representing an array of publishing products from the Russian diaspora, especially books, almanacs, and magazines.
On May 28, 2019, the Museum of Russian Diaspora was opened in a new four-story building with a permanent exhibition " Russian Abroad. Ways and Destinies. This is the first museum project in Russia dedicated to the history of the Russian emigration and the richest cultural heritage our compatriots abroad. Through vivid phenomena, stories and destinies of individuals, the visitor will be able to comprehend the phenomenon as a whole, put together a complex picture of the Russian diaspora and understand its main mission: “We are not in exile, we are in a message” (Zinaida Gippius).
The history of the Russian diaspora is represented in the museum primarily by the post-revolutionary wave of Russian emigration. It was the “first wave” that became the largest and most complete in the history of the 20th century, it is from it that the drama of the forced expulsion of millions of compatriots from their homeland and the heroic story of the re-creation of Russia outside of Russia originate. How did our compatriots comprehend tectonic faults in world history? How did they preserve their national, spiritual and cultural identity? How did Russian emigrants build a dialogue among themselves and with other countries? What contribution did foreign Russia V world culture? The Museum of Russian Diaspora is called upon to answer these and many other questions.
The most important component of the activities of the House of Russian Diaspora is research work aimed at studying the historical fate and diverse heritage of the Russian world abroad, and above all, the post-October emigration. The structure of the House includes the film studio and cinema club "Russian Way", the publishing house "Russian Way", as well as the Memorial Museum-Apartment of A.I. Solzhenitsyn, located at the historical address in Moscow: st. Tverskaya, 12 building 8, where A.I. Solzhenitsyn with his family before expulsion from the USSR.
Annually in the House of Russian Diaspora is awarded Literary Prize Alexandra Solzhenitsyn
He examined the new building on Nizhnyaya Radishchevskaya Street.
“I hope that by the centenary of Alexander Isaevich, this house will open its doors to visitors, unique expositions will be created, and, of course, it will become a new center of attraction for both Muscovites and guests of the capital, and our compatriots living abroad,” Sergei Sobyanin noted.
Construction of a new building of the House of Russian Diaspora named after A.I. Solzhenitsyn began by decision of the Moscow Government in November 2015 and completed in December 2017. It is located at the address: Nizhnyaya Radishchevskaya street, house 2, building 3.
The area of the four-story building is 5.5 thousand square meters. The reconstructed part occupies 725 "squares". In addition to premises for permanent exhibition, the building provides halls for temporary exhibitions, a conference hall for 190 seats, restoration workshops, as well as technical and utility rooms. There is a storage facility and a parking lot for 11 cars, which occupy underground floors.
“The House of the Russian Diaspora in Moscow has acquired a beautiful modern building in which it is possible to set up expositions, show both Muscovites and the whole world the huge wealth that the House has collected, thousands of unique documents and exhibits,” Sergey Sobyanin emphasized.
Museum of Russian Emigration
The Museum of Russian Emigration will open in the building. The exposition on the ground floor will consist of the sections "People of the Russian emigration", "The revived word of the Russian emigration", "The contribution of the Russian emigration to world science and culture" and others. The second floor will house the exhibitions "First Wave Emigration", "Exiles", "Dreams of Russia" and many others. The section "City" will tell about the capitals of Russian emigration, and "Russian Environment" - about education, culture, literature, press and charity.
Above, on the third floor, it is planned to place a foyer-living room, a conference hall, exhibition podiums with glass showcases, a cafe. And on the fourth there will be a lecture hall for 80 seats. It is planned to hold temporary exhibitions along the perimeter of the hall, as well as to place a cafe.
It is expected that 300 people will visit the museum daily.
“We have received a wonderful gift. In terms of its technical equipment, this is one of the best museum buildings not only in Russia, but also in Europe. And according to the collection, as Sergei Semenovich said, we have thousands and thousands of unique materials that we received from many countries of the world, ”said Viktor Moskvin, director of the Alexander Solzhenitsyn House of Russian Abroad.
House of Russian Diaspora
House of Russian Diaspora named after A.I. Solzhenitsyn is a unique complex that combines the functions of a museum, archive, library, research, information and publishing and cultural and educational center. Its main tasks are the formation and preservation of the fund of monuments of the spiritual and material culture Russian emigration.
There is no other similar institution in our country or in other states. In 2009, Viktor Moskvin, director of the House of Russian Diaspora, was awarded the Government Prize Russian Federation for creating this unique museum.
“There was no such museum before. It is at the same time a museum, an archive, a library, and a scientific center. Therefore, our name - the House of Russian Abroad - means that this is a home for millions of our compatriots who live abroad, and there are more than 30 million of them, ”explained Viktor Moskvin.
The total area of the premises of the House of Russian Diaspora is 12.7 thousand square meters. This includes the main building (6.97 thousand square meters), the Memorial Museum-Apartment of A.I. Solzhenitsyn (247 square meters), a new and reconstructed building of the Museum of Russian Emigration (5.5 thousand square meters). Exposition and exhibition areas occupy 1.45 thousand "squares".
The funds of the House of Russian Diaspora include over 25 thousand items. These are household items, works of art, documents, manuscripts, books, photographs, films and much more. Most of them are the most valuable sources of knowledge about the life of emigrants.
The archival collection contains thousands of cases dedicated to the fate of people who left their mark on the history of Russia. Among them are philosophers Nikolai Berdyaev and Semyon Frank, military leaders Anton Denikin, Pyotr Wrangel, representatives of the Romanov dynasty. A special set of sources are materials on the history of Russian culture in exile. These are the memorial collections of Ivan Shmelev, Marina Tsvetaeva, Dmitry Merezhkovsky, Vasily Aksenov, as well as outstanding Russian artists abroad Alexander Arnshtam, Alexander Alekseev, Sergei Gollerbakh, Yulia Reitlinger and others.
The library collection includes more than 130 thousand copies of printed books and other types of publications.
The chronological framework of the collections of the House of Russian Diaspora covers the period from the 16th century to the present day. Funds continue to supplement. They are available to both researchers and visitors to the public library.
Funds are mainly replenished through numerous gifts from Russian people living all over the world. Nearly three thousand people became donors of the House of Russian Diaspora. They donated their personal archives, documents and objects to the museum.
In 2017, the House of Russian Abroad held 287 events attended by 33,000 people. The most significant of them were the conferences “Personality and creativity of A.I. Solzhenitsyn in contemporary art and literature”, “A century and a half of mercy. Russian empire”, “1917 in the history and fate of the Russian abroad”, “Russian emigration in France and medieval culture Europe: creative meeting, research, translations”, as well as the exhibitions “Russian masters of applied graphics in Lebanon: Korolev, Pliss, Porada”, “Red Cross of the Russian Diaspora”, “Game in a foreign field. Russian Athletes in Emigration” and “Russian Montparnasse”.
Moscow Solzhenitsyn
In 2008, a street in the Tagansky district of Moscow was named after Alexander Solzhenitsyn. It runs from Taganskaya to Andronievskaya Square. Until 1919, the street was called Bolshaya Alekseevskaya, and from 1924 to 2008 - Bolshaya Kommunisticheskaya.
It is planned to erect a monument to the writer on Alexander Solzhenitsyn Street. It is being developed by a team of authors led by folk artist Russian sculptor Andrei Kovalchuk.
On December 11, 2017, a memorial plaque was installed on the house at the address: Tverskaya Street, house 12, building 8. The writer lived and worked in this house for more than 10 years - in 1970-1974 and from 1994 to 2002. A museum-apartment of Alexander Solzhenitsyn is now being built at the same address. Its architectural appearance - layout, floor, doors, windows, window sills, stucco molding on the ceiling and household lighting - is recreated for the period of 1974, the year the writer was expelled from the USSR.
Alexander Isaevich Solzhenitsyn is a famous Russian writer, playwright, poet, public and political figure. He lived and worked in Russia, Switzerland and the USA. In Russia, he was not published for a long time, his books were banned. And only after the collapse of the USSR, his most famous book, The Gulag Archipelago, became available. For many years he opposed communism, the policy of the USSR, which is why he was ranked among the dissidents.
A. Solzhenitsyn was the main founder of the House of Russian Abroad, which is engaged in the study of the life and activities of Russian people abroad, the collection, preservation, processing of archival documents, the analysis and increase in magazine and book funds, education. In 1990 it was organized book exhibition, where the famous Russian foreign publishing house "YMCA-Press" was presented. For the first time in the years of Soviet power, it became possible to openly buy books by previously banned writers, poets, philosophers, theologians and politicians. This was the reason for the huge popularity of the exhibition and the subsequent opening of the YMCA-Press branch in Moscow. As a result of the increase in the area of activity, it became necessary to organize a Moscow center.
IN currently in the House of Russian Diaspora there are areas of literature on religion and philosophy, the history of folk and political movements, the emigration of the military, the study of modern religious and public organizations, changes in the economy, the study of the media.
A group of well-known scientists and researchers of Russian culture abroad work in the House of Russian Abroad, seminars, forums and conferences are held, exhibitions and expositions are organized. The center has a library that allows you to get information from the fund free of charge using the latest information retrieval systems.
Working mode:
- Monday-Friday - from 12.00 to 19.00;
- the last Wednesday of each month is a sanitary day;
- Saturday, Sunday - day off.
Russia is rich in talents, but in the 20th century the “treasury” of the country gradually emptied. Thousands of talented writers and poets, scientists, artists left for foreign lands. And do not forget about your own. One of the evidence of the all-forgiving love of these people for the Motherland is the will to leave some of their belongings, documents in their beloved and native country.
Many facts from the life of talented emigrants are distorted. All this is understandable, since Soviet time many of those who left for other countries were considered "enemies of the people", real traitors. And the museum. Solzhenitsyn allows you to take a fresh look at the talented compatriots who were once in disgrace. Visitors during the tour will be able to find out what love and loyalty to the motherland are far from it.
The House of the Russian Diaspora was not always called that way. In the period from 1995 to 2009, he was the Library-Foundation "Russian Abroad". And the name of one of the founders of the fund received in 2009.
First of all, this is not so much a museum as an archive, which stores historical documentation, letters and drafts, as well as excerpts from the personal diaries of talented compatriots. In addition, the House is also Research Center, which is equipped with a rich science Library. Anyone can come here to learn more and make an objective impression. And, of course, this is a museum.
Moreover, in the territory museum complex there is a publishing house, a cinema club is open. And yet - it has its own small, but its own film studio.
The Museum of Moscow will be convenient to visit, including for people with handicapped. Internet class, lecture hall, cafe-bar add comfort.
Bibliographic reviews, conferences, literary evenings. Today, the House of Russian Abroad hospitably opens its doors to all writers, public figures and politicians who have decided to organize meetings.
What can be seen in the Museum of Moscow?
The complex offers visitors to get acquainted with an extensive exposition. It includes both old photographs and films. In the halls, the life of Russian emigrants is conveyed with excellent accuracy. Already here it is clear that everyone was an individual person with their own tastes, interests and preferences. So, someone tried to reproduce the flavor of their native land in the house. At the same time, some tried not to move too far away from the realities of the reality of the country in which they lived. It turned out a unique mixture of cultures, created a completely unique atmosphere.
The real treasure of the Moscow Museum is the masterpieces created by composers and artists who were in exile. Visitors will be able to get acquainted with the works of Benois, Ryabushinsky, Korovin, Remizov.
The medals that were awarded in the movement of the Whites, the outfits and fabrics of those times, the death masks of celebrities and other exhibits make an amazing impression.
Of particular interest is the luxurious library of books in Russian written in exile. Some of the publications have survived to this day in a single copy. And in Europe and America, even magazines and newspapers, almanacs were published - some of them will also appear to the inquisitive gaze of a traveler who decides to visit museums in Moscow, including this House. Where all the books are like pages through which our compatriots tried to communicate, even mentally and through the centuries, with like-minded people.
Visiting the museum will be useful not only for those who study Russian culture. This excursion will be useful and simply not indifferent to our history, literature, painting, etc.