The role of museums in the modern world is exceptional. The museum today is a space where a person realizes the peculiarities of the current moment in the context of history, where he is presented with true values that have passed approbation not only by the expert community, but also by the time where he begins to understand his own cultural identity. Therefore, despite the economic insolvency of museums in all countries that exist on state subsidies, the civil society is so interested in their development. The best museums in the world become symbols of their cities and even countries, such as the British Museum, Louvre, Prado, Guggenheim, Hermitage …
Architectural museums have a special, strategically important role, as they work with heritage that forms reference points for the cultural self-determination of people and for creating images of the identity of their countries. This is extremely important for national self-esteem, for the development of a feeling of attachment to one's land. It is no coincidence that outstanding monuments are called land stamps, the land is marked with works of architecture. They become a kind of beacons reminding a person of the uniqueness of his homeland, of the continuity of its development. From this point of view, the architectural heritage carries the genetic code of the culture.
Russia is a country of great architectural heritage; it has every reason to be proud of not only endless territory and priceless natural resources. Russian architectural monuments - whether they are ancient Russian churches, or post-war skyscrapers, or a small structure of two cylinders with strange honeycomb windows - bear the image of a cultural and enlightened state. Russian and, in particular, Soviet architects are no less significant in world culture than Russian writers and poets, artists and scientists. It is no coincidence that in the 1920s the whole world recognized the innovative architecture of the young Land of Soviets, which was then experiencing the devastation of war communism, as the vanguard of the world architectural movement.
We surveyed 100 people between the ages of 18 and 25 who enter the Lenin Library, the results of which are discouraging. To the question: what Russian architects do you know? - only 8 people named Vasily Bazhenov, about 10 - Matvey Kazakov and only one named Konstantin Melnikov. According to the results of a similar survey of members of the Russian Academy of Architecture and Construction Sciences, Konstantin Stepanovich Melnikov was named the number one architect of the 20th century in the USSR and Russia! In Europe, in particular in France, Melnikov is known and revered more than French architects. Ivan Leonidov, who occupies one of the leading places in the world history of 20th century architecture, was not mentioned by any of the respondents. Among the students of Moscow State University, at best, one in a hundred knows that its main building was built by the architect Rudnev. Meanwhile, more than 30 respondents named Gaudí when asked which of the foreign architects you know. It turns out that Antonio Gaudi is an absolute leader in the hearts and minds of young Russians visiting the Lenin Library.
The survey conducted does not claim to be scientifically accurate and consistent with research methods. However, it speaks volumes. The main and most obvious conclusion is that the educational system in the country ignores the history of architecture. This fact is an undeniable and very annoying omission. After all, it is through architecture that the image of time is transmitted, it is not by chance that they say that “architecture is a chronicle in stone”.
Alas, over the long years lost for general architectural education, at least at the level of educational program, the Russian population has lost the ability to assess the role and significance of architectural monuments in their lives. When there is a discussion about the preservation or demolition of certain buildings, not all of its participants fully understand the essence of what is happening. Often, an unenlightened and unprepared public becomes a victim of PR manipulations.
In such conditions, the State Museum of Architecture, whose activities are addressed to the entire Russian community, is trying to fill the apparent deficit of architectural education in the country with its educational programs designed for different age groups, excursions, lectures, popular science publications and films. The museum has a year-round lecture hall, a constantly expanding excursion program, and a children's school. Today, hard work is underway to create a permanent exhibition, an important part of which will be the "virtual corridor of time" presenting the history of Russian and Soviet architecture from the 10th to the 21st century.
The creation of an interactive installation in the dividing corridor of the front suite of the museum complex became possible thanks to the launch of the Virtual Museum of Architecture (VMA), created by the forces and materials of the Museum of Architecture on the initiative and with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. The site of the virtual museum - vma.muar.ru - provides a unique opportunity for the widest audience to get acquainted with the history of Russian architecture, which unfolds on specific projects and buildings in photography and on museum materials.
For the first time on such a scale, the museum opens and displays its collection materials. Photos, drawings, measurements, engravings, models, digitized in high quality, add up to a chronological scale dividing the history of Russian architecture into periods illustrated with annotated materials from museum collections. An accessible and fascinating resource allows you to rediscover and understand in a new way the iconic buildings of your era, to realize the obvious connection between the history of Russian architecture and the development of statehood in the country. The Virtual Museum of Architecture is the only resource that gives an idea of what the Russian national landscape is.
Interactive 3D-models will allow site visitors to see non-preserved or project structures from different angles, walk and fly around them, and get background information. The site now offers virtual tours of the unbuilt Grand Kremlin Palace by architect Vasily Bazhenov and the Kremlin monasteries destroyed in Soviet times (Chudov and Voznesensky), as well as various versions of the Palace of the Soviets project developed by prominent architects of the 20th century.
The site of the Virtual Museum of Architecture is a unique platform on which the achievements of Russian architecture are popularly explained and perfectly visualized, presenting the main stages of its evolution. Every Internet user from any city in Russia and the world can now not only get acquainted with the history of Russian architecture, but also create their own collections of objects and images, sorting them by author, style, time, city or street. The Virtual Museum of Architecture is becoming a unique resource for studying the history of Russian architecture - progressive, mobile and accessible.
