Director of the Pushkin State Museum told the guests of the RUSSIA EXPO about the history of the World’s Fair
On June 9,
a lecture "World's Fair (EXPO)" was held at the RUSSIA EXPO. During
the event, Director of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts Elizaveta
Likhacheva spoke about the history of the international exhibition, noted the
role of Russia in its creation and development. The event was held in Pavilion
No. 75.
In particular, speaking about the reasons for
the Soviet Union's success in international expositions, the speaker noted that
our country has always had much to show and much to be proud of.
"Contrary
to the myth of Russia's backwardness, this backwardness in terms of industrial
production growth was quickly overcome. If you look carefully at the history of
our country, you will notice that there is a leapfrog growth of industrial
production by the end of the XIX century. In the 1930s of the XX century, there
was Stalin's industrialization. We always had something to show. We
participated in exhibitions because we always had something to be proud of,”
said Elizaveta Likhacheva.
Speaking
about the possibilities of further cultural work after the RUSSIA EXPO, the
Director of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts emphasized that it is
necessary for the younger generation to have an opportunity to see Russia.
"This is the value of the RUSSIA EXPO.
Sometimes people don't even know where to go because they know nothing about
the regions they could theoretically visit. You can't look for something you
know nothing about. Everybody knows that you can go to Crimea. Or, for example,
if you want to go skiing - you can go to Krasnaya Polyana. Apart from Krasnaya
Polyana, there is Sheregesh, Manzherok, the Far East, Kamchatka. There are ski
resorts everywhere. No one knows anything about them, except for a rather
narrow layer of people who live nearby. The fact that people get to know their
country, to see what Russia is really like, is extremely important. Russia is
not political power, Russia is not regions, Russia is not only history, Russia
is people who live in it now. And the shaping of the country is happening now.
And the RUSSIA EXPO is one of the instruments of its shaping. It is very
important," said Elizaveta Likhacheva.
On June 4,
Natalia Virtuozova, Director General of the RUSSIA EXPO, presented the concept
of the National Centre of the same name. Its creation in Moscow with branches
in the regions was one of the instructions of President Vladimir Putin.
According to the document, the centre will appear “in order to preserve the
legacy of the International RUSSIA EXPO and to demonstrate the achievements of
the Russian Federation in various sectors of the economy”.
