The Presidential Library illustrates the history of Russia online

The National Unity Day and the opening of Russia’s first passenger railway, the 1917 revolution and the birthday of Fyodor Dostoevsky - these and other memorable dates are timed to show films, video lectures and webinars in the TV Channel section on the Presidential Library’s portal from November 1-15.

In accordance with the broadcast program on National Unity Day, November 4, users will be able to watch a video recording of an open lesson by the winner of the All-Russian contest “Teacher of the Year in Russia - 2018” Alikhan Dinaev, which illustrates the history and significance of the Russian national holiday.

Without leaving home, one can virtually visit the Presidential Library’s exhibition “The Time of Troubles and Its Images in Russian Science and Culture”. The exhibits on display tell about the events and figures of that period, as well as how they were assessed in different historical eras.

The documentary film trilogy “State Symbols of Russia” is dedicated to the history of the creation and development of the country’s state symbols. The first part of the film “Coat of Arms of Russia” introduces the history of the formation of the heraldic sign from Ancient Rus' to modern Russia, the second part “Flag of Russia” talks about the formation of state flags from the 13th to the 20th centuries, the third part “Anthem of Russia” tells the story of the three-hundred-year history of the tradition of singing anthems .

One has an opportunity to learn about the history of the Russian national flag and symbols of presidential power by watching video lectures by Gleb Kalashnikov, executive secretary of the Heraldic Council under the President of the Russian Federation.

Thanks to a documentary film shot by library staff as part of the “Presidential Chronicle” project, viewers will be able to visit the personal library of the head of state - the Library of the Administrative Directorate of the President of the Russian Federation. 

On November 6, films from the series “Patrons of Russia” from the collection of documentaries of the Russian History Channel will be shown on the library portal. Users will learn about the life and work of Kozma Soldatenkov, a famous book publisher and owner of an art gallery; about the Demidovs - Russian breeders and landowners and their role in the development of Moscow University; as well as about the charitable activities of representatives of the Morozov, Tretyakov, Ryabushinsky, Mamontov and others dynasties.

One of the most important events for the history of our country, the revolution of 1917, will be discussed at the Presidential Library webinar “100 years of the October Revolution”. Within its framework, all events are presented in chronological order, starting with the July unrest in Petrograd and ending with the uprising itself, its results and world reaction. Users of the portal will get acquainted with the works, speeches and memoirs of the main inspirers and figures of the revolution, archival files from the collections of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR, minutes of meetings of the Petrograd Military Revolutionary Committee, visual and photographic materials stored in the collections of the Presidential Library.

The portal will also show four documentaries and historical films by the famous journalist Innokenty Ivanov. The film “Winter Palace”, in the context of the revolutionary events of 1917, tells about the life of Nicholas II and his family in the imperial residence, the history of the palace during the First World War, the work of the Provisional Government, the storming of the Winter Palace during the October Revolution. The film “Mariinsky Palace” tells the story of the activities of the State Council, which met in the palace from 1885 to 1917, then of the Provisional Government, and the All-Russian Commission for Elections to the Constituent Assembly. The film “Kshesinskaya’s Mansion” tells how the fate of the famous ballerina developed after the revolutionary events and the history of her mansion, which, as Petrograd newspapers wrote, in 1917 began to be called “the main headquarters of the Leninists.” Another film is dedicated to the events of the early 20th century that took place in the Tauride Palace, the historical residence of Prince Grigory Potemkin-Tavrichesky. Since 1906, the State Duma worked here, after the February Revolution of 1917 the Provisional Government was located, and after the October Revolution - the Petrograd Council of Workers' Deputies.

The video tour of the Presidential Library “To arrange so that everything becomes new...” will help to learn about other places in Petrograd where the key revolutionary events of 1917 took place.

The 202nd anniversary of the birth of Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky, which is celebrated on November 11, is timed to show video lectures by Konstantin Barsht, Doctor of Philology, professor, leading researcher at the Institute of Russian Literature of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Pushkin House). They are dedicated to unknown pages of the history of the creation of the classics of Russian literature of the novels “The Poor Folk”, “Crime and Punishment”, “The Brothers Karamazov””, “The Idiot”, “Demons”. Candidate of Philological Sciences Dmitry Bogach will talk about religious views, values of life and family in Dostoevsky’s worldview experience in video lectures.

The users can also see the film “Dostoevsky’s Own Nest” which tells about the life of Fyodor Mikhailovich in Staraya Russa and the works he created here.

On November 11, 1837, the grand opening of Russia's first passenger railway took place in St. Petersburg, connecting St. Petersburg with Tsarskoe Selo and Pavlovsk. The video lecture “A Train Rushing in an Open Field” will introduce portal users to the history of the beginning of railway construction in Russia.

On the same day, the premiere of the film “From Horse Tram to a Drone” prepared by the Presidential Library will take place. The two-part documentary is dedicated to the history of the St. Petersburg tram.

As part of the educational project of the Presidential Library's video lecture Knowledge of Russia”from November 1-15 it will also be possible to learn about the beginning of book printing in Russia, the ancient metallurgy of Western Siberia, the map of China sent to Peter I by the Kang-Xi Emperor and its role in the history of Russian and European cartography, and much more.

Especially for students of grades 6-11, video lectures are shown on the Presidential Library’s portal from 08:30 to 16:00 Moscow time, the topics of which reveal and 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.

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