Pages of Russian history available in films and video lectures on the Presidential Library's portal

Where was Rachmaninoff born and what should schoolchildren read? When did the double-headed eagle appear on the coat of arms of Russia and how did Eisenstein create his film masterpiece about Alexander Nevsky? Films, video lectures and webinars talk about this and more in the TV Channel section on the Presidential Library's portal from April 1 to April 14.

The brilliant pianist, composer and conductor Sergei Rachmaninoff was born on April 1, 1873, but exactly where - opinions differ about this in various sources. Both Novgorod and Tambov Region are called the composer’s birthplace. A video lecture by local historian Valery Demidov “Where was S. V. Rachmaninoff born?” will help you understand this issue.

On April 2, on International Children’s Book Day, thanks to the broadcast of the Presidential Library’s webinar “The Golden Age of Childhood”, it will be possible to learn about unique materials from the library’s collections - “The ABC in Pictures” by A. Benois, letter books and textbooks, catalogs (for example, “What to Read for Children up to 15 years?”), children's books and magazines of the second half of the 19th century.

The film “The Drawing Teacher: The Story of a Magazine” prepared by specialists from the Presidential Library, will tell about the life and career of our contemporary, publisher of the all-Russian magazine for children about art “Vvedenskaya Storona” artist and teacher from Staraya Russa, Nikolai Lokotkov. It will be possible to “meet” Nikolai Mikhailovich at an open lesson for children, which took place in the Presidential Library as part of the video lecture Knowledge of Russia.

On the day of the 782nd anniversary of the battle on Lake Peipsi of the Russian army led by Alexander Nevsky with the knights of the Livonian Order, April 5, it will be possible to watch a video recording of the lecture “Battle of the Ice: a view from the East and West” and learn different points of view on the historical event. On the same day, the video lecture “Alexander Nevsky by S. M. Eisenstein: the creation of a film masterpiece” and the Presidential Library film “Alexander Nevsky - the heavenly patron of St. Petersburg” will be shown.

On April 8, 1944, the Crimean offensive operation began, the results of which were the complete defeat of the enemy and the liberation of the peninsula. On this day, films from the series “The Great Patriotic War. The Battle of the Black Sea” of the historical channel “365 Days of TV”: “Amphibious Landings”, “Coastal Batteries”, “Battle for Tonnage”, “Military Doctors”, “Destroyer Leaders” will be shown. 

On April 11, 1857, Russian Emperor Alexander II approved the state emblem of Russia - the double-headed eagle. The screening of the film trilogy “State Symbols of Russia” is timed to coincide with this date, as well as video lectures by the executive secretary of the Heraldic Council under the President of the Russian Federation Gleb Kalashnikov “Heraldry in the modern world” and “State Emblem”.

Marking World Aviation and Cosmonautics Day, April 12, the Presidential Library's portal will show fragments of unique newsreels depicting Yuri Gagarin before launch aboard the Vostok-1 spacecraft, as well as documentaries “Space Tanker”, “Ascension”, “Space pilots”, “Cosmonautics in the USSR”.

A video recording of an informational and methodological webinar about Nikolai Przhevalsky, whose birthday is also celebrated on April 12, introduces monographs, dissertations and archival materials devoted to the research of Przhevalsky and other geographers and travelers in Central Asia.

Especially for students video lectures are shown on the Presidential Library’s portal the topics of which supplement the school curriculum. The subject of the video lecture Knowledge of Russia reflects the main directions in the formation of the Presidential Library's collections: the history of the Russian state and law, the Russian language as the state language of the Russian Federation. Lectures to the audience are traditionally given by authoritative specialists from scientific and educational institutions of St. Petersburg, Moscow and other cities of Russia.

Films and video lectures prepared by the Presidential Library, as well as films of leading national film and TV studios are broadcast around the clock on the Presidential Library’s portal in the TV Channel section. Here, in the TV Channel section, the schedule of broadcasts for the coming days is also available.

Please note that the Live Broadcasts section provides the library's events with the program included.

We are always glad to see you on our portal!