For several years now, an exhibition about the history of Russia at VDNH has attracted thousands of tourists annually. In fact, this is a whole system of multimedia parks in which Russian history is presented in all details, from ancient times to modern times. In this article, information about the features of the exhibition, the mode of operation, the reviews that visitors leave.
How it all began
The idea to tell the history of Russia at VDNH was born back in 2013. It all started with the Romanov exhibition, which opened in the Central Manege. Currently, all this has already turned into a real historical park at VDNKh "Russia is my history."
The very first exhibition was prepared at the initiative of the Patriarchal Council for Culture, which was created under the metropolitan government. Professional historians worked on the project. Among them, employees of such educational institutions:
- Moscow State University.
- Institute of Russian History.
- Russian State University for the Humanities.
The attention of visitors was attracted through the use of a large number of unique materials that the organization provided:
- Archive of the Ministry of Defense.
- State Archive of the Russian Federation.
- Central Archive of the FSB.
- Russian State Archive of Socio-Political History.
- State Central Museum of Modern History.
Artists, designers, cinematographers, computer graphics specialists took part in the work on the exposition, which made the exhibition as visual as possible.
The success was tremendous. For three weeks of work, about 300 thousand people visited it. After that, the Romanovs exposition was presented in Tyumen, St. Petersburg, Livadia, Krasnodar.
Subsequent exposure
The following year, it was decided to develop this project. In 2014, the Central Exhibition Hall "Manege" premiered the second exhibition under the name "Rurikovich".
In the first week of her work, the exhibition was visited by 60 thousand people.
On the Day of Russian Unity in 2015, a large-scale exhibition was dedicated to the period in Russian history after the October Revolution and until the end of World War II.
The total attendance of these exhibitions during this time amounted to three million people. The final chronology was the exposition dedicated to the period from 1945 to 2016. She also went to the Manege.
Finally, at the end of 2017, an exhibition was opened under the name "Russia Aiming for the Future." A lot of visitors came to it (an average of 11 thousand daily).
Transfer to VDNH
It was decided to combine the compositions of past years. So there was a historical exhibition at the Exhibition of Economic Achievements "Russia - My History". Initially, exhibits dedicated to the Rurikovich, Romanovs, and also the period from 1917 to 1945 were placed here. The project opened in the 57th pavilion of VDNH.
In 2016, it was decided to build similar interactive museums across the country. There should have been 18 of them in total. Already in 2017, it was possible to implement the projects of 15 regional parks “Russia - My History”. In each of them, in addition to the main part, an important local history component was presented.
In 2018, three multimedia parks were opened. In September, at the joint meeting of the project leaders, which was held in Stavropol on the basis of the “Russia is my history” complex, an association of the same name was created, which initiated the All-Russian forum “History of Russia: a look at the past using the technologies of the future”.
The forum was attended by about 100 people. These were representatives from each of the regional historical parks, as well as specialists from the federal project. Forum participants unanimously supported the idea of creating an association. After signing the protocol, its charter was adopted. The head of the association was Metropolitan Pskov and Porkhov, head of the Patriarchal Council for Culture Tikhon.
Exposure Features
Each exposition of the multimedia historical park "Russia is my history" at VDNH is interesting in its own way. The Rurikovich exhibition is filled with materials from key events that had a decisive influence on the formation of statehood at that time, as well as on all aspects of the country's public life.
The baptism of Russia, the founding of ancient cities, the 200-year-old Tatar-Mongol yoke and the struggle against it, the confrontation with foreign invaders, the transformation of Moscow into one of the European centers of political and public life are widely covered. The result of all this was the creation of an original and strong Russian state.
Visitors can follow the history of ancient trade routes, the development of legendary battles, learn little-known facts of the period of the Mongol invasion and times of fragmentation.
One of the most popular exhibitions of the museum "Russia is my history" in Moscow at the Exhibition of Economic Achievements - "Romanovs". Here is a detailed account of the most important events that our country has experienced during the three centuries of rule of this dynasty. This is reunification with Ukraine, the development of the Far East and Siberia, the founding of St. Petersburg, victory in the war with Napoleon, joining the empire of the southern regions, the abolition of serfdom. All this accompanied an incredible scientific, technical, cultural and industrial upsurge.
The organizers of the exhibition on the history of Russia in Moscow at VDNKh argue that the main task for them is to express their well-deserved gratitude to the members of this royal family. It was separately noted that the Romanovs were unfairly blackened and slandered, especially during the Soviet era. Because of this, the attitude of many people towards them is still ambiguous. But it is worth recognizing that many Romanovs sincerely worked for the good of Russia, contributing to the growth of its greatness.
It tells in detail about the history of Russia at VDNH during the period of great upheaval. A separate exposition is dedicated to the first events of the twentieth century, when two revolutions occurred in Russia, the Great Patriotic War, and many other public disasters. The creators of the exposition are trying to find answers to the question of what are the true causes of what happened, who is behind all this. It is important for them to assess the real extent of achievements and losses incurred, as well as to understand how close to reality the stereotypes of this era are among the older and younger generations.
Finally, the last one at the moment was the exhibition "Russia - My History: 1914-2017". It tells about a dramatic period in which many visitors directly participated, as these are events of the very recent past. By visiting this exhibition, you can try to understand what the Soviet Union was, what the consequences for our compatriots and the whole world were the collapse of this great country, how perestroika can be assessed in a few decades.
Historical park in Moscow
In addition to the capital, existing historical parks are open in another 18 regions of the Russian Federation. But it is the park in Moscow that attracts the most visitors annually.
The pavilion on the history of Russia in Moscow at VDNH began to work at the very end of 2015. It united several exhibitions at once, which before that were successfully held in the Manege. The 57th pavilion at VDNH still attracts a large number of visitors every year.
The modern multimedia platform is equipped immediately on two tiers with the latest technology. At the same time, the total area of the exhibition on the history of Russia at the Exhibition of Economic Achievements is about 28 thousand square meters. The activity of the historical park is focused on cooperation with educational institutions of the capital and the Moscow region.
It is important that the scope for cooperation with the capital's Department of Education, as well as with the Ministry of Education, is constantly expanding. The founders of the project managed to calculate that about 38 thousand schoolchildren had already visited it. The vast majority of minors were here for free or on discounted tickets, since the project is educational.
Another important result in the work was the fact that this large-scale exposition was included in the list of rating cultural objects of the capital's department of education, which was compiled by officials in the framework of the program "Museums, parks, estates."
Today, on the territory of this unique park, youth clubs operate, founded by students of historical faculties of universities in Moscow and the Moscow Region, organized discussion forums and scientific and practical conferences, meetings of the Society of Russian Literature, intellectual olympiads. Also, here are held meetings of the youth historical forum "My History", meetings of activists of patriotic and volunteer organizations, the Enlightenment publishing house, as well as leading universities in Moscow, are actively working.
It has been established that the level of traffic to the site of the historical park and such popular cultural institutions as, for example, the State Hermitage, is comparable.
Great interest in the project is shown by analytical programs that appear on federal channels of domestic television. Among them are “News of the Week” and “Besogon” (channel “Russia”).
In terms of media coverage, one of the most productive events in which this project took part was the New Year's program at VDNH, Total Dictation, Day of Career Orientation and Career, the exhibition "Russia Aiming for the Future", events within the framework of the All-Russian project "Night in the museum ", the start of thematic compositions in the metro. It was here that a meeting of the initiative group was held, which nominated Vladimir Putin for the presidency of the Russian Federation for the next term.
2018 played a big role in the development of the park. A large-scale reconstruction was carried out here, the result of which was the updating of existing exhibitions and the opening of a new one dedicated to the last decades of Russian history. Large-scale updating of the exhibits was carried out for the first time, it touched on the most popular topics related to each historical period.
Currently, the complex has four expositions. The exhibition, which tells about the post-war history of the country, opened only in December 2018.
Reviews
Since the opening, the attention of experts and the media has been riveted to this project. Enthusiastic reviews were received from most visitors and educators. The history of Russia at VDNH appeared before them in a new light. The creators of the project managed to focus on many features of various events that few people had thought about before.
A large number of publications on the exhibition "Russia - My History" at VDNH regularly appear in the media. Reviews about the project are very diverse. It is noteworthy that not all of them are positive. There is a place for constructive criticism.
For example, in November 2017, the Bloomberg news agency from the United States published information that Gazprom was planning to allocate 26 billion rubles for charity. Following this, the Dozhd opposition television channel reported that most of this money would be spent on creating this network of historical and patriotic centers throughout the country. Immediately this information was reprinted and replicated by dozens of other publications.
At the same time, the creators of historical parks said that this information is not true. If Gazprom had decided to finance the entire construction of a network of regional parks, it would be about 360 million rubles, which is by no means the majority of the 26 billion that the company as a whole intends to go to charity. After that, the discussion was quickly enough terminated.
Next month, the exhibition was again at the center of an unpleasant incident, which was widely covered in the media. Representatives of the “Free Historical Society” addressed an open letter to the head of the Ministry of Education, Olga Vasilyeva, criticizing this project rather harshly. They seriously questioned the competence of the authors of multimedia exhibitions, as well as the very contents of the historical exposition, having discovered many flaws and shortcomings in it. It was in this case about very specific facts.
The creators of the project responded in detail to each of the claims made, insisting on their insolvency. As a result, a press conference was even organized, at which the initiators of the project once again sorted out before the journalists all the shortcomings that the members of the Free Historical Society had pointed out, giving comments on every moment that caused bewilderment.
Schedule
The exhibition at VDNH is open six days a week. Day off only on Monday. From Tuesday to Sunday, an exhibition on the history of Russia in the 57th pavilion at the Exhibition of Economic Achievements is open. Opening hours are from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.
It should be emphasized that at the box office ticket sales end one hour before the official closing, that is, at 20:00.
How to get there
The multimedia historical park is located at 119 Mira Avenue, Building 57. The exhibition organizers emphasize that due to its good location you can get here through the main avenue. From the arch of the main entrance you need to follow to the Vostok Rocket monument. You can also use other entrances to the All-Russian Exhibition Center (Ostankinsky, Khovansky, Sovkhozny, Likhoborsky). Directly next to the rocket you will be able to find Pavilion No. 57, which houses the goal of your trip is a historical park.
By public transport, the easiest way is by metro. You will need to get off at the VDNH station from the first carriage, and then head towards the exhibition center.
There are also options to get to the historic park by land transport. There go:
- Trolleybuses No. 14, 48, 76.
- Buses Nos. 33, 76, 56, 93, 154, 136, 195, 172, 244, 239, 803.
- Trams nos. 11, 17.
- You can also take the monorail to a stop called the Exhibition Center.
Walking distance is easiest to get from the VDNKh metro station. As already noted, you need to go along the central alley to the rocket for about half an hour. The pavilion will be located on the right hand of the Vostok Rocket monument.
Moreover, now from the metro station "VDNH" it is no longer necessary to cover a considerable distance on foot. An attractive alternative is minibus taxi number 533, which runs from the metro station to the historic park. The minibus stop is 100 meters from exit No. 1 from the VDNH metro station. Transport runs regularly with a frequency of 5-10 minutes. The path to the pavilion will take you in this case about a quarter of an hour. You should leave at the stop called "Historical Park" Russia - My History ".
Another option is to take a minibus No. 533 at the Botanichesky Sad metro station. It will turn out even faster. Minibus stops at the exit number 1 from the station, direction - Serebryakova passage. In this case, going to the pavilion will be even closer: only about 10 minutes. To get to the historical park, you will need to get off at the “Wedding Palace” stop.
Ticket price
Ticket prices for "Russia is my story" at VDNH are different. It depends on the category of visitors. An adult can see the Rurikovich or Romanov exhibition for 500 rubles. If you go to the exposition devoted to the XX century on the same day, then the entrance will be free. It is advantageous to purchase tickets through the site. In this case, their cost will be only 250 rubles.
For preferential categories of visitors, the cost of visiting one exhibition is 300 rubles. This includes students and senior citizens.
All children under the age of 18 are entitled to free admission, as well as the following categories of citizens:
- Veterans of World War II.
- Large families.
- Heroes of the Russian Federation and Heroes of the Soviet Union.
- Disabled disabled people of the first and second groups.
- Veterans of hostilities, as well as persons equated to them.
- Disabled childhood with persons accompanying them.
- Orphans and children left without parental care.
- Military servicemen.
- Disabled children.
- Citizens in the care of the state.
Excursions and quests
To make the visit to the exhibition even more informative, the organizers regularly arrange quests and conduct excursions.
You can visit one of the exhibitions with the right to participate in the game for 400 rubles. When buying through the site, the cost is reduced exactly two times. At the same time, there is the service “Historical Peregrine Falcon” (you participate in the game under the reduced program for 250 rubles).
Tours are held by appointment at each exhibition separately. The cost of a ticket for one person for a group visit will be 500 rubles, for groups of students - 300 rubles. An individual program tour costs 3,000 rubles.