The Museum of Contemporary Russian History will join in the work of instilling national pride.

VELIKANOVA

Irina Yakovlevna

Deputy of the Moscow City Duma

(convocations 2005–2009, 2009–2014)

Each person has his own path in life. Of course, as a student at Leningrad University, working as a primary school teacher, I had no idea that I would ever get involved in politics. After working at school, I came to journalism, first as a reporter, then as a political observer at Obshchaya Gazeta. In the State Duma of the third convocation, she headed the press service of the Fatherland - All Russia faction, then the faction apparatus "UNITED RUSSIA" in the Moscow City Duma. In general, I have the opportunity to judge the work of a deputy from different angles. And the understanding that I myself can really help people, realize the accumulated life and professional experience by becoming a deputy of the city parliament, came to me at the stage of active work in the Moscow branch of the party "UNITED RUSSIA"– and it was my party colleagues who twice nominated me as a candidate in the Duma elections.

I was first elected as a deputy of the Moscow City Duma in 2005. It may sound pretentious, but I really feel that it is a great honor and a huge responsibility. The Moscow City Duma is a special place. This is the legislative assembly of the capital of the Russian Federation, operating in accordance with clear regulations that take into account all the subtleties of parliamentary activity. In my opinion, the distinctive features of the atmosphere prevailing in the Moscow City Duma are correctness and mutual respect both among the deputy corps and among the employees of the Duma Apparatus.

Deputy activity is multifaceted. This is not only lawmaking, but also working with voters’ appeals. At the same time, it is obvious to me that if a person turns to me for help, then he has already gone through many levels and is waiting for a specific decision or at least participation from me. Therefore, for me there are no “just requests”; they are all important and you need to go through everything in order to understand and, if possible, help. Sometimes, to solve a problem, it is enough to simply draw the official’s attention to one or another point of the law. Sometimes you need to “unravel” the situation, carefully study a pile of documents, find inconsistencies and point out them. There are also unusual cases. I never promise more than I can deliver. There are also failures, especially in solving the housing issue. And on other problems, we have to deal not only with obstacles from federal legislation, but often also with the dishonest attitude of officials towards the matter. It is their indifference that “kills” people the most. Probably, if you collected all the invisible tears that people shed after visiting bureaucratic offices, you would get a whole sea.

Here is just one true story from life.

Almost 100 families living in the Southern and South-Eastern districts were threatened with eviction from apartments that they received under a sublease agreement under the capital’s housing program for doctors. In this way, doctors were recruited to work in hospitals and clinics in Moscow in areas of mass construction in the period 1997–2004. According to the doctors, when concluding the contracts, they were promised that after the expiration of the ten-year work period and the sublease period, this housing would be assigned to them under social tenancy agreements.

The ten-year period had expired, but people were refused to enter into social tenancy agreements for the premises they occupied, and were offered to enter into service tenancy agreements. But such an agreement provides only for the temporary residence of workers for the period of employment without registration at the place of residence. Those who refused to enter into this agreement found themselves on the verge of eviction by court decisions. This situation arose as a result of changes made to the Housing Code of the Russian Federation. From March 1, 2005, residential premises for social rent can be provided only to citizens who are registered with housing, and in accordance with the priority, based on the date of registration.

But the whole paradox is that medical workers and their families vacated their previous housing, were deregistered there and were permanently registered in the living space provided under sublease. That is, they lost their rights to their previous housing. Moreover, some families of doctors were removed from the queue to improve their living conditions, while others were denied entry to the queue, despite the fact that, in accordance with the current legislation, they could have been on the city’s waiting list. What legal grounds there were at that time for making such decisions is still unclear, because the space was provided under sublease, that is, temporarily, for a certain period.

To systematically solve this problem, I initiated consideration of this issue at a meeting of the Moscow City Duma commissions, as a result of which a letter was sent to the Mayor of Moscow from two Duma commissions outlining the existing situation and proposals for resolving it. Sergei Semenovich Sobyanin made a cardinal and only correct decision - to re-register the occupied housing for medical workers under a social rental agreement with the introduction of appropriate changes to the resolution of the Moscow Government regulating legal relations for the further use of residential premises owned by the city of Moscow and previously provided to citizens under a sublease agreement or in as service residential premises.

It must be said that each deputy coordinates certain areas of activity of the Moscow City Duma. From the very beginning, through the party, I was entrusted with leading work in the field of youth policy in the Duma. And to this day this is one of the main directions of my activity. And I'm very happy about it. I am interested in communicating with young people, who are the “mirror” of all the changes and changes taking place in Russian society.

And to be honest, the most striking moments during my work as a deputy of the Moscow City Duma are associated precisely with young people. Firstly, I was lucky enough to stand at the origins of the Youth Chamber under the Moscow City Duma - a youth consultative and advisory body, to be the editor of the Moscow City Duma resolution on its creation, to develop the very principles and mechanisms of its formation and activities. In 2006, the youth parliamentary movement in Russia was just emerging, and the idea of creating a similar youth structure under the Moscow City Duma was received by my colleagues with great interest, although ambiguously. The process of preparing the resolution of the Moscow City Duma on the creation of the chamber lasted 9 months. Deputies joke that the Youth Chamber was conceived together and given birth like a child. There were comments from the State Legal Department of the Duma and the city prosecutor's office. During the consideration of the draft resolution, deputies made about 80 amendments, as a result even the name of the future youth body changed (at first it was supposed to be called the Youth Duma), and the initially proposed principle of forming the chamber also changed significantly. In general, the work was done on a grand scale, with brainstorming and excitement. But for the first time in the history of Moscow, young people have a real opportunity to take part in improving Moscow legislation and to be heard by government authorities.

The Chamber is already 7 years old, its composition has changed several times, but I remember all the guys who have ever worked here. It is very important for me that many of them have now achieved noticeable professional success, occupy responsible positions in government bodies at various levels, among them is my colleague - a deputy of the Moscow parliament, and a deputy prefect, and deputy heads of government, heads of municipalities, specialists of various industry departments of the city of Moscow. However, the main goal of creating the chamber is still not career growth, but the emergence of a real opportunity for young people to take part in city governance, gain an active life position, and a sense of social responsibility.

I am also glad that over these years the youth parliamentary movement in Moscow has “found its feet”, strengthened and received its further development: in essence, a bicameral youth parliament, a center for youth parliamentarism, has been created, and a congress of young parliamentarians of the city of Moscow is held annually. By the way, I was greatly impressed by the moment when, at the second congress (2008), for technical reasons, the running line with the words of the Russian anthem was interrupted on the screen, but the audience, almost three thousand people, most of whom were young people, continued to sing without music and without a prompter. And this means that, despite the forecasts of pessimists, we have cool young people with a normally developed sense of patriotism.

I will remember with the kindest feelings the moments of direct communication with the guys. Fortunately, there are a lot of them. For example, I and several of my fellow deputies participated in raids by our guys - members of the Youth Chamber at the Moscow City Duma - together with representatives of trade unions and the public on the dormitories of the capital's universities to check their use for their intended purpose, that is, for the accommodation of students and graduate students of these universities. The raids caused quite a stir in the good sense of the word. Their result was the release of several hostels from guest workers and the adoption by the Moscow City Duma of an official appeal addressed to the Minister of Science and Education of the Russian Federation.

Every year, members of the Moscow Youth Parliament go to educational seminars in one of the vacation homes near Moscow. And we, deputies of the Moscow City Duma, with great interest and pleasure come to the children there as lecturers, telling them about the legislative process, about the work of government bodies in the city of Moscow. Lively and informal communication, questions and answers, youthful enthusiasm and creativity - all these are not only memories, but also a powerful emotional “charge of youth”.

And I’m also very glad that I kept the word that I gave to the guys at the beginning of our common journey - to achieve the creation of a youth parliamentary center in Moscow. Two years ago on the street. Kakhovka, 21, a multifunctional youth center was opened, which became not only a real “home” for the youth parliamentary get-together, but also a center of attraction for all youth of the South-Western district of the capital.

One ancient thinker said that only those who find joy in doing their duty live freely. The duty of a deputy is to serve Moscow and Muscovites. All these 8 years I have tried to fulfill my duty as a Moscow deputy honestly. Work brought me joy. Well, the right to evaluate my work belongs only to Muscovites.

The leadership of the State Central Museum of Contemporary History of Russia has changed. Irina Velikanova, a deputy of the Moscow City Duma from United Russia, has been appointed to replace Sergei Arkhangelov, who has managed the museum for the last five years. The former director of the museum, now the first deputy director, told Lenta.ru about the causes and consequences of the changes.

"Lenta.ru": How would you comment on the reshuffle?

S. Arkhangelov: There is a founder of our museum - the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, it decides everything. The motivation is well-reasoned: the museum’s activities need to be developed in modern political realities. Since this is a museum modern history, it is necessary to update the activities of the museum. We, like no other historical museum, carry out this work: if you visit our permanent exhibition, you will see that even the events of the 1990s are shown here from all sides.

Today there was a presentation of Irina Yakovlevna Velikanova, which was performed by the Minister of Culture Vladimir Rostislavovich Medinsky. Together with the staff, we assured each other and the Minister himself that we would work together. Naturally, Irina Yakovlevna needs support in her activities and professional assistants. This is our management and I, as First Deputy General Director.

What qualitative changes await the museum?

Today Velikanova and I had our first acquaintance with each other, and she got acquainted with the team. And naturally, we are still dealing with legal issues. You must first draw up papers, seals, and decide on the right to sign in legal, financial and statutory documents. So it’s too early to talk about any quality. Give us some time so that, having completed all the necessary formalities, we can tackle the key issues.

So you haven’t discussed the direction of future activities yet?

No. But Vladimir Rostislavovich outlined the situation and outlined the priorities for us - I have already told you about this. The main thing is that Irina Yakovlevna and I and the Ministry of Culture have a mutual desire to continue this work effectively.

Were you ready for big changes in the museum, including personnel changes?

Naturally, even before this, the minister himself outlined the need for modernization in the near future. We have already been preparing a new development concept. It’s just that now this task will come first. For example, Irina Yakovlevna proposed making an exposition on Crimea in connection with recent events. We have already discussed this topic with our colleagues and decided that it is necessary to specify this task. We haven’t had time to talk about larger plans yet.

Photo: press service of the Russian Ministry of Culture

As Lenta.ru learned, the motto of the Museum of Contemporary Russian History under the direction of Irina Velikanova will be the slogan “You Create History.” The draft of the new museum concept states:

“The museum should become not just a central repository of modern Russian history and a scientific research center, but also a new space of urban life, attractive, interesting and convenient to visit, providing the opportunity to receive education through entertainment, turning visiting the museum into a form of leisure. At the same time, the museum must correspond to the current socio-political agenda of the country, that is, promptly respond to major events.”

The new leadership will work on the image of an open cultural institution whose mission is “to awaken historical responsibility, patriotism and national pride through the study of modern history.”

Like other museums that have undergone modernization in recent times, multimedia technologies will be actively introduced into the former Museum of the Revolution. Irina Velikanova intends to update museum collections, which have been inaccessible to visitors for a long time, and rework the exhibition policy. It is also planned to create a public discussion platform on the basis of the museum.

Reference

The State Central Museum of Contemporary History of Russia (until 1998 - the Museum of the Revolution) is located in the building of the former English Club on Tverskaya Street. It was organized in 1922, when the exhibition “Red Moscow” was transformed into the Historical and Revolutionary Museum. The museum's collection includes archives of the 1917 revolution, monuments of military history and socialist construction, gifts to leaders - in total about 1 million 300 thousand exhibits. In 1969, it was the first among the country's museums to receive the status of a scientific research institution, and during Perestroika, it was one of the first in the country to open its special depository for wide use, 70 thousand documentary monuments from which entered scientific circulation.

The State Central Museum of Contemporary History of Russia changed its name in 1998 - before that it had been the Museum of the Revolution for eighty years. In 2014, its director became Irina Velikanova, which decisively declared the expansion of the museum concept. In an interview with Pravmir, she talks about Is the museum a place for discussion? and how to show the country's recent history.

IRINA YAKOVLEVNA, WHAT IS HAPPENING TO THE MUSEUM OF MODERN HISTORY TODAY? YOU BECAME A DIRECTOR TWO YEARS AGO AND THEN YOU SAID THAT THE MAIN TASK OF THE MUSEUM IS TO RESPOND TO ALL THE EVENTS THAT ARE HAPPENING IN MODERN RUSSIA.

We are currently undergoing renovation work, which coincides with the preparation of an exhibition on the modern history of Russia, covering the period from 1985 to the present day. I admit that this is a very painstaking project for the entire museum team; a lot of effort has been invested into it.

THE STEP FOR THE CLASSICAL UNIVERSITY TEXTBOOK IS “UNTIL THE LAST CHANGE OF GOVERNMENT,” AND TEACHERS DO NOT REALLY LIKE TO TOUCH THE EVENTS OF THE LAST TWENTY YEARS, CONSIDERING THIS NOT SO MUCH HISTORY, AS POLITICAL SCIENCE. YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT A VERY DISCUSSIONAL TIME, ATTITUDE TO WHICH IS STILL CHANGING. HOW ARE YOU GOING TO ENSURE IMPARTIALITY SO THAT THIS IS NOT A PROPAGANDA EXHIBITION, BUT A MUSEUM EXHIBITION?

You absolutely correctly said: modern history is always the most problematic and controversial historical period, primarily because he extremely politicized, all events took place within the memory of a living generation, and everyone has their own point of view on them. At the same time, the newest period of our history is practically not represented in museum exhibitions. I would like to remind you that one of the main directions of museum work is the acquisition of funds. It seems like a boring museum business. But even how exactly the fund is staffed can already be called politics.

A simple example from life. A miners' rally is taking place on Gorbaty Bridge, and an opposition rally is taking place on Bolotnaya. Should the museum collect some kind of items related to these rallies? It should, of course, this is part of our history, which will be studied by subsequent generations. What about the rally in support of Putin, in which I myself participated? Undoubtedly! The main thing is that there is no one-sidedness.

SHOULD THERE BE PUBLICATIONS FROM THE PRESS NEAR PHOTOS OR ARTIFACTS FROM THIS RALLY, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT PEOPLE WERE BROUGHT TO THIS RALLY BY BUSES ACCORDING TO DISCHARGES?

There are a variety of publications in the press, including those that, as it later turns out, had nothing to do with reality. A museum exhibition should be based on verified sources and authentic documents. As an eyewitness, I can say that I did not see anyone being forcibly brought by bus to Poklonnaya Hill. It’s another matter if the buses were organized by trade unions at enterprises, if the trade unions decided to support the president - I don’t see anything wrong with that.

You understand, we live in the 21st century, it is impossible to impose any ideology on people and force them to do something with open social networks, it is simply impossible. But if my team expresses a desire to go and support the president, I, for example, will do everything to help him with this. Just like when our museum took part in the “Immortal Regiment” campaign.

- “IMMORTAL REGIMENT” IS NOT A POLITICAL ACTION.

Certainly. But there were also attempts to say that the portraits were ordered and not real.

- RETURNING TO THE EXHIBITION - WILL YOU SHOW BOTH THE SWAMP AND THE WORSHIP?

And not only them. We take a long history; a lot has really happened since 1985. And impartial documents are evidence of this history. Why will the exhibition have a huge multimedia component? Because we attracted a lot of original documents, found them in the archives, from our fellow journalists. For example, unique evidence has been preserved of how the Union collapsed, what letters the leaders of future independent states wrote to each other, and how all this was welcomed in the West. But we do not consider it our task to give any assessments.

- BUT WITH A CERTAIN FORMATION OF AN EXPOSITION, EVALUATION IS IMPLIED.

A thoughtful visitor will have the opportunity to get acquainted with the documents of that time and, perhaps, make some conclusions and assessments. Although, generally speaking, history does not need our assessments - we need to navigate the past to understand the present.

If you want to, for us this is a specific mission. What is the modern history of Russia? Both historians and political scientists argue about this. We have the State Historical Museum. We cooperate with its director, Alexey Konstantinovich Levykin, and are grateful to him for his help. But once in a conversation he told me: “You know, we will never be competitors, because even our funds are compiled according to different principles”. This is true. We still end up with a political museum, because initially it was the Museum of the Revolution and collected everything related to the history of the revolutionary movement in Russia.

THERE ARE DIFFERENT APPROACHES IN THE WORLD TO HOW TO SHOW MODERN HISTORY. IN RUSSIA, THOSE WHO ARE WORKING IN THE LAST CENTURY CAN BE COUNT ON YOUR FINGERS. THE SAKHAROV MUSEUM, THE MEMORIAL, THE RECENTLY OPENED YELTSIN CENTER, TOOK A COURSE FOR VERY TECHNOLOGICAL FILLING. HOW DO YOU EVALUATE WHAT IS HAPPENING WITH OUR REPRESENTATION OF MODERN HISTORY?

- “Yeltsin Center” is truly the most technologically advanced museum in the country today; enormous amounts of money have been invested in its creation. Modern beautiful building, interesting design solutions. In my opinion, there is a minus: the history of the Yeltsin period is shown rather one-sidedly. But, probably, a museum entirely dedicated to the first Russian president cannot be anything else.

If we are talking about a state museum, then it is necessary to give the most objective picture possible. What is, for example, perestroika? On the one hand, the “Iron Curtain” falls and people gain unlimited freedom. You can say whatever you want. Dissidents are returning. I remember this time very well, because there really was a feeling that now a new life would begin, completely different, in a free country.

But, unfortunately, all this was accompanied by a severe social and economic crisis and ultimately ended in the collapse of the state, accompanied by bloody conflicts. We all remember empty counters, cards, huge queues. In fact, the state eliminated itself - and banditry and totalitarian sects began to flourish; predatory privatization took place, for which no one was ready. As a result, we received a monstrous drop in the standard of living of the majority of the population, the collapse of strategically important enterprises, science, education, healthcare, and a loss of position in the international arena. Of course, we will show all this in the new exhibition.

- THE MUSEUM COMPLEX INCLUDES AND"FRESH" AND "UNDERGROUND PRINTING HOUSE"", AND MUSEUM-APARTMENT KRZHIZHANOVSKI . WHY DO PEOPLE GO TO THE MUSEUM OF A REVOLUTIONARY FIGURE TODAY? WHY DOES A MODERN SCHOOLCHILDER DO THIS?

First of all, it depends on the history teacher. The school teacher is now generally at the forefront of the fight against various kinds of falsifications of national history.

Krzhizhanovsky is an outstanding personality. Our country would not have achieved many outstanding achievements if not for his GOELRO plan for the electrification of the country. The Krzhizhanovsky Memorial Apartment is an iconic place; the interiors of the early 20th century are perfectly preserved there; it is not for nothing that the apartment is in great demand among filmmakers. After all, things are as much evidence of an era as documents. In Krzhizhanovsky’s apartment you can see how the life of a major Soviet economic figure was organized. Believe me, it's incredibly interesting.

We will also modernize this branch. Now the entire mansion has been transferred to the management of the museum - we plan to place open storage of museum funds in it. By the way, this is an important part of the new concept of our museum - the maximum removal of funds from closed storerooms, ensuring free access to them for visitors.

- DO YOU WORK WITH EXTERNAL CURATORS? EVEN BEFORE YOU ARRIVED, THERE WAS A LOUD STORY WITH AN EXHIBITION ON THE EVENTS OF 1993 UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF ILYA BUDRAITSKIS AND VLADIMIR POTAPOV. ARE ANY SEPARATE EXHIBITION PROJECTS PLANNED?

There are stock exhibitions, and there are exhibitions that we do together with some organizations, including with the Russian Orthodox Church. For example, we had a wonderful exhibition dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the birth of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna- “White Angel” - we did it together with the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent.

We involve a lot of external specialists to create exhibitions, but the main driving force is the museum staff. We recently held an exhibition about the liberation of Ukrainian territory during the Great Patriotic War. Part of the exposition talked about the activities of Ukrainian nationalist organizations - OUN-UPA and others. This exhibition is our response to attempts to glorify Bandera, Shukhevych and their accomplices. We worked together with the archive of the FSB of Russia, with the RGASPI, with other archives, which presented a lot of convincing documents showing what really happened in Ukraine at the end of the war.

Our museum cooperates with the State Tretyakov Gallery, “ROSIZO” - paintings from our collection have been at all recent exhibitions, including the “Romantic Realism” in Manege and the “Always Modern” exhibition that just opened at VDNKh. We never refuse when our exhibits are requested for other exhibitions, including foreign ones. The museum actively cooperates with the historical park “My History” at VDNH; its exhibitions also include works from our collections.

- MANY, INCLUDING GIM DIRECTOR ALEXEY LEVIKIN, EVALUATE HIM CRITICALLY.

This multimedia project to popularize Russian history in general. I believe that in this regard it is unique. If we are talking about young people, about people who are not very well versed in Russian history, then this exhibition is just for them: there is a lot of The main milestones in the development of the Russian state are described in a simple and accessible way. And this is very important. And if a person wants to find out something in more detail, to see authentic exhibits and documents, he can go to the State Historical Museum or to us.

It is very important that such historical parks open in different regions of the Federation. After all, Moscow is not all of Russia. We need to educate people. There must be - I will not be afraid of this word - promotion of reliable historical knowledge. This should be part of government policy.

- HOW SHOULD THIS BE IMPLEMENTED?

Through exhibition projects. Through educational magazines. Through an extensive network of popular science lectures, which is what the Knowledge Society will now do, through educational publishing projects. For example, we also have our own popular science historical magazine, “Living History.”

DO YOU THINK IT IS POSSIBLE TO BUILD SOME SINGLE HISTORICAL LINE TO PROMOTE IT? IN ANY HISTORICAL TOPIC, EVEN NOT ACUTE OR PAINFUL, THERE ARE ALWAYS DIFFERENT OPINIONS THAT ARE BASED ON DIFFERENT SOURCES. A LOT OF SOURCES CONTRADICT EACH OTHER.

What I mean is that the study of history requires a calm and balanced approach to assessing the past, based on an analysis of verified facts and documents, and not on myths. That's why I emphasized the word reliable . Now archives are being opened - of course, with the exception of materials that are related to issues of state security, and although there are still quite a lot of them, there are nevertheless opportunities for this.

Many sources on World War II have been discovered. So, last year at our museum there was a presentation of the electronic archive of documents of the State Defense Committee of the USSR, in whose hands all power was concentrated during the war. And these are almost all the resolutions and orders issued during the period of the State Defense Committee’s activities, posted in the public domain.

RESEARCHERS OFTEN COMPLAIN THAT THERE ARE A LOT OF SECRET DOCUMENTS. FORMER DIRECTOR OF THE STATE ARCHIVES SERGEY MIRONENKO DID NOT EVALUATE TOO WELL THE DEGREE OF OPENNESS OF THE RUSSIAN ARCHIVES.

At our round table, which took place immediately after the presentation of that very electronic archive of the State Defense Committee, Sergei Vladimirovich, on the contrary, spoke about openness. Yes, we probably really set ourselves ambitious and bold goals, but there is no other way. Because there is nothing worse than when you are caught in a lie, when a person comes to the exhibition and says: “You guys are playing a trick here”.

YOUR BRANCH IS THE KATYN EXPOSITION, FOR WHICH THERE ARE ENOUGH DOCUMENTS OPEN, BUT FROM TIME TO TIME THEY SAY THAT “IT’S NOT ALL SO UNIQUE.”

The position of the state is clearly defined. The President has repeatedly spoken out on this issue, but for us this topic has been exhausted. Another thing is that when talking about Katyn, it is necessary to remember that there is a mass grave there for our repressed citizens. Very little is said about this. This is such a place, of course... it feels like the forest is just ringing. It's really hard to be there because you realize that no matter where you step - there are remains everywhere...

I believe that recently there has been a certain bias towards perpetuating the memory of Polish officers. We must not forget that tens of thousands of Soviet people lie there, and their memory must be adequately represented. A new museum and exhibition center will be created in Katyn: despite the crisis, money has already been allocated for it.

- DO YOU COOPERATE WITH POLISH COLLEAGUES ON THIS REGARD?

Certainly. And, of course, we take care of Polish graves. Therefore I believe that, when today in Poland they try to demolish monuments to our soldiers, it is simply undignified. I do not equate the government with the people here: many Poles who come to Katyn to bow to their relatives understand everything perfectly and are very grateful to Russia for the fact that we treat their memory so carefully. We must understand that this is our common history and our common pain; there were victims of totalitarianism on both sides.

WHEN YOU TOOK THE POST OF DIRECTOR OF THE MUSEUM, YOU SAID THAT THERE WOULD ALSO BE A DISCUSSION GROUND HERE. DID IT TAKE PLACE?

Not just a discussion platform. The point is that now the Museum of Contemporary History of Russia is not only a place where historical relics are stored and exhibited. Gradually he becomes a kind museum and public center, where there is a free historical lecture hall, the popular science historical magazine that I mentioned is published, and the discussion platform “Tverskaya - XXI” operates. The latter has already been attended by leaders of political factions, heads of higher educational institutions, and prominent economists: for example, Sergei Glazyev took part in one of the discussions.

- ARE THERE ANY RESTRICTIONS WITH THIS?

No. Neither in the composition of the participants, nor in the composition of the spectators who come to us.

- I ASK, OF COURSE, ABOUT THE PARTICIPANTS IN THE DISCUSSION. GLAZYEV CAME - WILL YOU INVITE KUDRINA TO HIM AS A PAIR?

Of course, what kind of discussion platform is this if everyone takes the same position? There always has to be a clash, otherwise it's not fun. For example, Glazyev discussed with Vladimir Aleksandrovich Mau - this is natural, since they are in different positions. Or, for example, Veronika Krasheninnikova argued with Fyodor Lukyanov regarding the legacy of the Cold War. I'm not even talking about the leaders of political factions: Vladimir Zhirinovsky argued first with representatives of A Just Russia, and then with everyone in general.

- HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE COMING TO THE MUSEUM NOW? I UNDERSTAND THAT DUE TO THE REDUCTION OF EXPOSURE AND RENOVATIONS...

No, this is a normal question. In the first quarter of this year, despite the renovation, 10 thousand more came in than in the same period last year. - 63 thousand people. We conducted 500 more excursions. Very I hope that public interest in museums and national history is truly a trend.

- DO YOU DIGITIZE YOUR FUNDS? WILL YOU POST IT?

This is a colossal work, because our fund contains more than a million exhibits. But it is actively underway: for example, on our website today there is already a virtual museum, which is based on already digitized exhibits. Moreover, the project itself is interactive: here you can play a quest and take part in a historical quiz. In addition, we cooperate with the State Public Scientific and Technical Library, which gave us its program for cataloging library collections, which number more than 1,000,000 books.

- WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF THE MUSEUM NOW, WHAT ARE THE LONG-TERM TASKS?

This is called “start and finish”, there is a lot to do. We want to make our museum the most modern. After the renovation, the first part of the exhibition will be opened, which begins with the reforms of Alexander II. There are thoughts on how to make this interesting and multimedia. Our museum, as I already said, has a huge number of exhibits, and it is important to display each of them. We have very good guides, but we need to make sure that when a person comes to the museum, he can walk through it on his own and figure everything out. Now this is difficult, the exhibition is “silent”, and in order to enjoy the museum, you need to know the history well. We we want to make our exposition a real bestseller.

Palace of Counts Razumovsky , a majestic building with columns, slightly “recessed” deep into Tverskaya Street, Muscovites of the 19th century knew very well - one of the first men’s clubs in Russia met in it, Moscow English Club. “The balconies, lions on the gates,” which Pushkin, one of the regular visitors to this establishment, wrote about in “Eugene Onegin,” have survived to this day, but the club itself did not survive the October Revolution. The Moscow police were stationed in the building.

On March 21, 1917, journalist V.P. Kranichfeld, who served as director of the museum of the All-Russian Union of Cities, approached the authorities with a proposal to create a Museum of the Revolution. It is interesting that the “Society of the Museum of the Revolution” included many prominent figures of that time, including Ivan Bunin, Valery Bryusov, historian Yuri Gauthier.

The first exhibition of the new museum opened in 1922 in the building of the former English Club . The main task of the museum was considered to reflect the history of the revolutionary liberation movement in Russia from the 17th century to the victory of the October Revolution. Since 1947, the museum began to deal with the history of Soviet society as a whole, with special attention to the history of the three Russian revolutions.

In the 1960s, the museum's exhibition expanded: the museum was now interested in the period from the 1890s to the present.

In 1998 the museum received its current name - “State Central Museum of Contemporary History of Russia.”

Deputy Chairman of the Moscow City Duma Commission on Sports and Youth Affairs Irina Velikanova: “We need a new law on youth”

In 2004, Moscow was one of the first to adopt the Law “On Youth”. And recently, the capital’s authorities have made a number of fundamental decisions that raise the level of implementation of youth policy in the city to new heights. Funding for events and, in general, for the entire system of working with youth has increased significantly. But life does not stand still. And today the question has arisen about the need to develop a draft new law “On Youth”, which would reflect the real situation in the country and in the capital.
link: http://www.izvestia.ru/news/ 334044

A year with Sobyanin, a year without Luzhkov. How are you living, Moscow?

Today we changed the topic of our program, because the mayor of our city reported on his work over the past year to the deputies of the city parliament. Therefore, we considered it necessary to discuss this topic, and not just discuss it, but draw a line, bring out the dry residue. Indeed, this is what Sergei Sobyanin’s team was able to do, collaborating with deputies of the Moscow City Duma? What events do Muscovites remember? And we outlined the theme of today’s program as follows: “A year with Sobyanin, a year without Luzhkov. How are you living, Moscow?

Therefore, for your letters and calls, I will remind you of our means of communication. Point one is an Internet portal, finam.fm, for your letters, comments, questions. In addition, there is a live web broadcast, radio stations are slowly but surely being televised, so there is an option - both listen and watch. Those who watch the webcast can already see my guests. And our multi-channel telephone, its number is 65-10-996 (Moscow code - 495). Well, people who do not live in the capital, but visit Moscow, can also participate - accordingly, they probably also have their own opinion about the changes that have taken place. And so you can also speak out. Use the phone, use the website.

And I am pleased to introduce you to my guests who agreed to come to our live broadcast studio today. I’ll start with the only lady in our men’s company, this is Irina Velikanova, deputy of the Moscow City Duma, member of the United Russia faction. Irina, good evening.
Read in full: http://finam.fm/archive-view/ 4897/

Irina Velikanova: The child must be protected from violence!

Issues of preventing child abuse became a topic of discussion at the Moscow Department of Family and Youth Policy

A tragedy in a child's life is always a disaster. Whether he will be able to survive without becoming a moral cripple is a matter of time, conditions, the indifference and sympathy of those around him. The worst thing is that fatal events in the fate of a child often occur not by chance, but because of cruelty, thoughtlessness or criminal non-intervention of those who should protect his safety.
link: http://moskva.bezformata.ru/listnews/dolzhen-bit-zashishen-ot-nasiliya/2669349/

Moscow City Duma deputy Irina Velikanova: “If young people are not instilled with democratic ideals from childhood, then the future of the ideals themselves may be in big question.”

Nowadays, youth chambers at local legislative assemblies are being actively created in the constituent entities of the federation. Moscow is no exception. What young people will do, what issues they will be able to influence, and what powers they will receive—Moscow City Duma deputy Irina Velikanova told Moscow correspondent Alexander Pavlov about this. — Now in all subjects of the federation youth chambers are being created at local legislative assemblies. This is a huge step forward. From the screen with the bright “Youth Policy” logo, behind which there was nothing, we move on to real affairs. Adult politicians have finally realized that all the problems of young people must be solved by asking them what they think about it.
link: http://www.izvestia.ru/news/ 314222

Interview

What are the city authorities doing for the “next” generation? A deputy of the Moscow City Duma, a member of the United Russia faction, deputy chairman of two commissions at once: on education and youth policy and on physical culture and sports, curator of the Moscow Youth Parliamentarism project - Irina VELIKANOVA, spoke about this in an interview with MK.
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Irina Velikanova has been appointed new director of the Museum of Contemporary History of Russia

The new director was introduced to the museum staff by the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Medinsky. Sergei Arkhangelov, who left the position of museum director due to the expiration of his employment contract, became the first deputy director in charge of scientific and museum activities.

“On the agenda is our common, joint work with Irina Yakovlevna, we will resolve all the nuances in a working manner. There are duties that only the general director can perform, and there is work that can be entrusted to the first deputy. Now we are just defining the range of tasks. The main thing is that we have the same view on the further development of the museum. We see it not only as a museum site itself, but also as a socio-political place where significant public events should be held,” said Sergei Arkhangelov.

“Irina Yakovlevna Velikanova is a person well known in Moscow, knows the system of work of the Moscow Government. A humanist by profession, a person who is close and understands the modern history of Russia,” said Vladimir Medinsky. The minister expressed hope that the joint leadership of Irina Velikanova and Sergei Arkhangelov will allow the museum to reach qualitatively new indicators - in terms of attendance, in intensifying museum activities, in developing new territories and premises, as well as in salaries. “The Ministry of Culture will help in every possible way, as we do every time with such changes in cultural institutions,” assured Vladimir Medinsky.

Irina Velikanova, in a conversation with colleagues, called one of her main tasks to return to the Museum of Contemporary Russian History the glory that the Central Museum of the USSR Revolution once had.

“Of course, this is one of the largest repositories of our historical heritage, and I understand perfectly well that the main function of the museum is to preserve heritage. At the same time, the Museum of Contemporary History must respond vividly to all the events that are taking place in modern Russia,” said Irina Velikanova, addressing the museum staff. “I think that together we can make it more interesting, more modern, and more accessible to all our citizens.”

The new director added that she intends to create a board of trustees for the museum, which will help it grow and develop. “It will include people who want to contribute to the new life of the Museum of Contemporary History, so that for guests of the capital our museum will become a mandatory point of the excursion program,” said Irina Velikanova.

Biographical information:

Irina Velikanova was born in 1964 in the city of Tikhvin, Leningrad Region. In 1986, she graduated with honors from Leningrad State University named after A.A. Zhdanov with a degree in journalism. Candidate of Political Sciences. In 2014, she was awarded the honorary badge “For services to the development of legislation and parliamentarism.”

She worked as a primary school teacher in St. Petersburg, a correspondent and columnist for a number of newspapers in St. Petersburg and Moscow, and a press secretary for the chairman of the supervisory board of Svetoservice JSC (Moscow). Since 2005 - deputy of the Moscow City Duma.