Young guide shares about expositions at the National Centre RUSSIA on Children's Radio
Maria Stepanova, a participant in the "Young Tour Guides School of Russia" project, invited everyone to the "Book of Fairy Tales" exposition. Live on the federal radio station, she spoke about the features of the exposition, meeting pilot-cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin, the national embroidery of Mordovia, and much more.
"The 'Book of Fairy Tales' exposition consists of portals, each representing the stands of eight regions of Russia. The entire exposition is one big fairy tale. But besides familiar characters like Baba Yaga and the Learned Cat from Alexander Pushkin's work, there are many other national tales that are interesting to discover," Maria Stepanova told the host, Uncle Sasha.
According to Yevgenia Sirota, Head of the Excursion Organisation Department at the National Centre RUSSIA, and Head of the "Young Tour Guides School of Russia" project, more than 40,000 guests have visited the exposition since its opening.
"Both individuals and groups book visits to the expositions. Families come, as do work collectives, foreign delegations, participants in the Moscow Longevity project, and many others. The 'Book of Fairy Tales' display is running until 1 March. But don't be upset. There are many new and interesting expositions ahead. One of them will be dedicated to geography. We also plan to create an exposition dedicated to theatre figures. Furthermore, the National Centre RUSSIA regularly hosts cultural and educational events and concert programmes. So, I recommend keeping an eye on the event updates on the website of the National Centre, so you don't miss anything interesting," said Yevgenia Sirota.
The "Book of Fairy Tales" exposition immerses children in an atmosphere of kindness and magic, and reminds adults of their childhood. The lead guide at the National Centre RUSSIA, Olga Dodonova, explained that fairy tales preserve the folk wisdom of generations, which is why it is so important to introduce children to them.
"The famous folklorist Vladimir Propp analysed many fairy tales and concluded that, despite external differences in plot, Russian fairy tales share a single structure. The protagonist's path involves overcoming trials. By going through them, they become better and receive a well-deserved reward, that very feast for the whole world, which is a symbol of the victory of good over evil. <…>. At the same time, the regions represented at the 'Book of Fairy Tales' introduce visitors to their own legends and myths," explained Olga Dodonova.
The exposition introduces to the visitors not only folklore, but also cultural features of the regions. Ten-year-old Masha explained that two sub-ethnic groups live in Mordovia – the Moksha and the Erzya. Their languages are similar but have differences. Besides, Mordovia, according to the girl, is very proud of its embroidery. "Embroidery is one of the main national symbols of Mordovian culture. Each pattern has its own meaning. For example, the eight-pointed star signifies the sun, the zigzag symbolises water, and the square is a symbol of fertility," explained the young guide.
She added that she had helped conduct a tour of the "Journey Across Russia" exposition for pilot-cosmonaut and Hero of Russia, Fyodor Yurchikhin. Maria told the guest that she regularly goes to see her grandmother in the Perm region. Once she visited the place where, in 1965, the "Voskhod-2" spacecraft with cosmonauts Alexei Leonov and Pavel Belyayev onboard landed: "There is now a memorial stele there. I told Fyodor Yurchikhin about this."
As a reminder, all expositions and events at the National Centre RUSSIA are free to attend. Some events require registration in advance on the website russia.ru. Follow the schedule updates in the "Events" section and on our social networks.
The attendees will focus on love for the Motherland, courage, and fortitude embodied in books.
On 17 February, we mark the 120th birth anniversary of Agnya Barto, the foremost children's poet, whose lines accompany a person in Russia almost from the first days of life.
The Days of the Republic of Mordovia will be held at the National Centre RUSSIA from 17 to 22 February.
