Exhibition dedicated to the 40th anniversary of the Alexander Blok Museum-Apartment

November 25, 2020 marks the 40th anniversary of the opening of the A. A. Blok Apartment Museum. The age of the museum became equal to the life of the poet on earth. “Our city has been waiting for the appearance of the Alexander Blok Museum for almost 60 years. The memory of the poet needed a shelter. For many years, people came to the house in which the poet lived and died, looked at his windows, climbed the stairs to the doors of his apartment. In the 1960s it became an urban tradition ”(N. K. Tsendrovskaya, one of the founders of the museum).

For many years there was a struggle for the museum, prominent cultural figures signed letters, which spoke of the need to open Blok museums in Leningrad and Shakhmatovo. The inspiration and engine of this business was the literary critic, editor-in-chief of the Progress-Pleiada publishing house S. S. Lesnevsky.

In 1977, the State Museum of the History of Leningrad acquired a unique collection of autographs, books, photographs, memorial things of Alexander Blok, carefully selected by the Moscow collector-researcher N.P. Ilyin. This collection became the basis of the museum, opened for the 100th anniversary of the great poet. The furniture and all personal belongings that were in the poet's apartment were kept in the Pushkin House for many years, and in 1980 many of them took their places in the museum's exposition. In 1983-1985, literary critic, writer, editor of the "Poet's Library" VN Orlov, who made a lot of efforts to open the Blok museum, donated his library and collection of works of fine art to the poet's house. These three large collections now form the basis of the A. A. Blok Museum-Apartment, based on the principles of memoriality, authenticity and historicity.

The exhibition presents documents related to the preparation for the opening of the first museum in the city dedicated to the Silver Age, scientific information from employees, and a description of the collections. A special place is occupied by an invitation card for the opening of the museum, presented by one of the visitors. People literally poured into the museum: long lines lined up at the entrance, excursions were constantly conducted.

The first employees of the museum were graduates of the philological faculty of Leningrad State University. Many of them are students of the creator of the science of symbolism, Professor D.E.Maksimov, who saw research and educational activities as the most important areas of the museum's work. Conferences and evenings held in the museum brought back the half-forgotten names of the Silver Age poets and philosophers. Photos from these evenings, taken by F.R.Lurie and combined into original thematic albums, can be seen at the exhibition.

Outstanding literary critics and artists performed at the museum. Posters, invitations, programs, photographs remind about the outstanding events of museum life: conferences, concerts, exhibitions, lectures.

Among the expensive items are books with donative inscriptions donated to the museum by the “knights of the Silver Age”: S.S. Lesnevsky, D.E. Maksimov, V.N. Orlov, as well as collections dedicated to their memory, among the authors of which are museum staff A.A. Block.

The exhibition features a book of reviews of honorary visitors of the museum. It contains the warm words of the composer G. Sviridov, Ph.D., member of the British Academy Avril Payman and artist Kirill Sokolov, professors of Oxford and Michigan University, professor, Chinese translator of the poem "Twelve" B. Baoquan, poet Alexander Gorodnitsky and many others. “The heart experiences great joy from the consciousness that the doors of the Blok House have opened again in the city on the Neva, into which you can enter and touch the poet's world with your soul ... We have experienced such a feeling, leaving this house, and leaving it, we hope to come here again and again. Members of the Writers' Union of the USSR. September 10, 1982 ".

In subsequent years, the museum hosted exhibitions dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the Italian travel of the poet, "Towers" by V. Ivanov, publishing house "Alkonost", Vl. Orlov, the poem "The Twelve", the publishing house "World Literature" ... Many of them are reminded of the invitation cards made by the artist A. Menus, the author of the museum's literary exposition and many exhibitions.

At the exhibition you can see video recordings of stories by N. K. Tsendrovskaya, Yu. E. Galanina, I. M. Olshanskaya, L. A. Ilyunina about the history of the museum, about the restoration of Blok's apartment, about traditions, people and memorable events.

The photographs show the faces of the first employees, the founders of the museum and those who are trying to continue their work and not only keep a living memory, but create the museum as a house in which it is interesting and warm, to which one wants to return.