From Renaissance palaces to the Soviet architecture: a lecture "Palaces of Russia" was held at the National Centre RUSSIA
A cycle of educational lectures on architecture at the National Centre RUSSIA goes on. Now it is called "Symbols of Time," and will include talks about fine art, sculpture, photography, fashion and the role of the curator in modern culture.
At the lecture "Palaces of Russia", which was delivered on June 25, participants discussed the formation and development of the Russian palace architecture — from the royal chambers to the State Kremlin Palace. The audience got familiar with the architects who created the ceremonial appearance of royal residences, palace ensembles and palace-and-park ensembles, learned about the mutual influence of our country and other countries, and about innovative solutions that were born at those times.
The experts talked about the unique engineering solutions of Peterhof, the mystical Engineering Castle, and the Winter Palace, where the country's history was made. They also touched upon the Soviet period, when the Palace of Soviets project was created.
The lecture was moderated by an art critic and architectural historian Elizaveta Likhacheva, and a speaker was Kirill Posternak, art critic and senior researcher at the Shchusev Museum of Architecture.
"Of course, we couldn't ignore the most striking monuments of the palace architecture in Russia. These include the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, ensembles in Peterhof and Tsarskoye Selo. But our topic was much broader — it was important to consider palaces not only as residences of a reigning monarch, but also as large-scale buildings, in the broadest sense of the word -- the outstanding ones," Kirill Posternak noted.
In his opinion, people need to know how the man-made landscape has evolved over the centuries.
"Today was the eighth lecture of our cycle. We talked about palaces, and how they were born, what they are, what they are needed for, and how this typology and ideas about it have changed in the 21st century. We began our story not from Russia, but from Italy, from the Palazzo Medici-Ricardi. It is an outstanding architectural monument, and a classic example of Renaissance civic architecture in Florence and beyond. We ended up with Soviet palaces," said Elizaveta Likhacheva.
According to Kirill Posternak, the lecture covered a wide panorama of the architectural parade, and the audience understood its origins, which lie both in the Ancient Russia and in Western Europe.
The event's participants viewed such buildings as the Lefortovo Palace, the The Grand Menshikov palace in Oranienbaum near St. Petersburg, the Constantine Palace near St. Petersburg, the Terem Palace on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin, the Grand Tsarskoselsky (Catherine) Palace, and others.
You can attend the events of the educational program free of charge by pre-registration on the website of the National Centre RUSSIA russia.ru . Up-to-date information is available in the "Events" section.
You can learn more about the Russian architecture from the cycle of educational lectures of the National Centre RUSSIA. Seven videos are available for viewing: "Engineering Russia", "Business Russia, "Sporting Russia", "Expositional Russia", "Academic Russia", "Industrial Russia", "the Russian Architecture in the World Context".
An exposition "the Birth of Scale" at the National Centre RUSSIA presents realized architectural projects, as well as ideas remaining at the conceptual level. The exposition consists of both the National Centre RUSSIA own materials and exhibits provided by museums and private collections from all over the country.
Partners of "the Birth of Scale" exposition: DOM.RF, Ministry of Construction of Russia, Gazprom, the Shchusev Museum of Architecture, the Russian State Archive of Literature and Art, Yakov Chernikhov Architectural Foundation, the HSE School of Design
Event photobank
On June 25, 2025, the event brought together representatives of: federal authorities, the country's leading higher education institutions, and experts in the field of design and architecture.
During the event, which was organized together with the Russian Foreign Ministry, key areas of development of the Russian economy were presented.
On June 25, Slavic peoples around the world celebrate the Day of Friendship and Unity, a holiday that reminds us of the centuries-old culture, spiritual values and common roots.
