From Private Collection to National Heritage

Our volumteer attended a lecture at the Tretyakov picture gallery and shares her impressions:

The Tretyakov merchant family collected Russian art. Their mission was to promote Russian painters and their work. In the late nineteenth century, they donated their collection to Moscow and took part in running the gallery. After the 1917 Revolution and the nationalization of all their property, the Tretyakovs remained an integral part of the Tretyakov Gallery. It is worth mentioning that the Soviet government took special care of the Tretyakovs’ brainchild, which later turned into a large museum complex. Some members of the family preferred to leave the country, while others stayed or even decided to return. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, the State Tretyakov Gallery remains the most famous and popular museum in Moscow (Picture 1 shows the gallery's entrance).

The administration, patrons, employees of the gallery, and enthusiasts not only replenish the collection and organize numerous exhibitions, but also study the Tretyakov family history and educate visitors about the lives of the gallery's founders and their descendants. A number of lectures about Pavel Tretyakov and his family members take place in one of the gallery's halls (Picture 2)..

One of the lectures is dedicated to Pavel Tretyakov’s younger daughters—Lubov and Maria (Pictures 3 and 4 show them as children). Their lives were closely connected with art, the gallery, and extensive travels. Both of Lubov’s husbands were painters, so she acted as their manager and muse. Maria translated the gallery’s catalog into different languages and also focused on photography. She accompanied her husband on his expeditions and captured local beauty. After the Revolution, they fled to Europe. In 2020, their archives were returned to Russia and now belong to the museum’s collection.

Some items from the archives are sure to draw the attention of photography lovers. Maria, an amateur photographer and an avid traveler, showed her friends and family a sort of photographic slide. She possessed a slide projector prototype (Picture 5) that cost a fortune at the time and is priceless now. The same could be said about her “slides,” which depict scenes of daily life from the early twentieth century in the Russian Empire and other countries (Pictures 6 and 7). These objects allow descendants to feel the rhythm and atmosphere of that era.

The main message of the lecture is this: besides the dry content of textbooks, history has something else to offer. A more attractive side of history lies in art objects, personal letters, photos, and family stories. These objects contribute to the preservation of historical memory just as effectively as other methods.

#BeautifulRussia@TCofRus

December 1, 1896: The Birth of Marshal Georgy Zhukov

On December 1, 1896, the outstanding military commander Georgy Konstantinovich Zhukov was born. Zhukov was a true natural talent, possessing all the essential qualities of a great military leader—first and foremost, a vast knowledge of military science.

Marshal K.K. Rokossovsky recalled his classmate from the Higher Cavalry School: "Zhukov, like no one else, devoted himself entirely to the study of military science. Even then, the mission and his duty were above all else for him."

Zhukov's major military career began in 1939 in Mongolia, where he orchestrated the encirclement and annihilation of the Japanese Kwantung Army at the Battle of Khalkhin Gol. During the Great Patriotic War, Georgy Zhukov became one of the most prominent figures among Soviet commanders, renowned for his unbreakable will in achieving objectives, resolute execution of operational and strategic decisions, ability to motivate his subordinates to their fullest potential.

Marshal A.M. Vasilevsky wrote of him: "Zhukov resolved issues boldly and assumed full responsibility for the conduct of combat operations."

One of the largest and most complex military operations successfully led by Zhukov was the capture of Berlin. This was followed on May 7, 1945, by the final order Yosef Stalin gave Zhukov during the war: his appointment as the representative of the Supreme High Command at the signing of the German Instrument of Surrender.

Georgy Zhukov did everything in his power to achieve Victory and was rightly chosen to review the 1945 Victory Parade, which was commanded by his fellow marshal, K.K. Rokossovsky.

G.K. Zhukov remains in history as the "Marshal of Victory."

#ThisDayInHistory@TCofRus