Films about the holy places of Russia and memories of eyewitnesses about the siege of Leningrad available on the Presidential Library's portal

The Presidential Library's portal broadcasts films and video lectures prepared by the Presidential Library, as well as films from leading domestic film and TV studios. Their display is timed to coincide with memorable and significant dates and major events in the Presidential Library.

On January 19, the feast of Epiphany, a number of video materials related to the topic of Orthodoxy will be shown on the library's portal. Thus, thanks to the video recording of the informational and methodological webinar “Holy Places of Russia”, one has an opportunity to learn about guides to churches and monasteries, about temples, the lives of abbots, church periodicals, collections about the most revered icons and other materials housed in the electronic collections of the Presidential Library. During the webinar, Priest Alexander Tikhomirov talks about  pilgrimage that can affect a person’s life. 

The Presidential Library also offers to take a film trip through the regions of Russia and visit famous Orthodox churches. Thus, without leaving home, thanks to broadcasts on the library's portal, one will be able to go to Vologda and visit the famous Ferapontov Mother of God Nativity Monastery, founded in the 15th century and painted by an artel of artists led by the famous master Dionysius. It is also possible to visit the Pskov land and learn about the oldest monument of Christian culture - the Transfiguration Cathedral of the Mirozh Monastery, the paintings of which were created by Byzantine masters. Not far from Veliky Novgorod, behind the walls of the Yuriev Monastery, rises the majestic St. George's Cathedral, a monument of ancient Russian architecture of the 12th century. Archaeological excavations are being carried out inside this cathedral, which have provided rich material for historians and philologists to study the ancient Russian language and writing. Also on Novgorod land one will be able to learn about the restoration of the Church of the Savior on Kovalev - a masterpiece of world art of the 14th century, built on the eve of the Battle of Kulikovo, the Church of the Assumption on Volotovo Field, the Church of St. Nicholas on Lipna, the Church of the Savior on Nereditsa. In addition, films about the history of the Kirillo-Belozersky Monastery in Vologda Region and the ancient churches of Staraya Ladoga are timed to coincide with the Epiphany holiday on the Presidential Library's portal.

On January 22, on the 584th anniversary of the birth of the Grand Prince of Moscow Ivan III, as part of the video lecture of the Presidential Library Knowledge of Russia, lectures will be broadcast about the era of the reign of the “Sovereign of All Rus'” and the “collector of Russian lands”, about his relationship with aristocracy, and about how Ivan III appears in the chronicles created by his contemporaries.

January 27 marks the 80th anniversary of the complete liberation of Leningrad from the Nazi siege. A number of documentaries, video lectures and eyewitness accounts of the siege are dedicated to this event on the Presidential Library's portal.

The chronicle and documentary film “The Blockade”, created by director Sergei Loznitsa, is based on archival materials from the Film Foundation of the St. Petersburg Documentary Film Studio, as well as fragments from the films “Leningrad in the Struggle”, “900 Unforgettable Days”, “The Feat of Leningrad”, “The People's Verdict”. 

Alexey Oliferuk’s film “Siege Frescoes” is dedicated to little-studied pages of the life of a besieged city. The TV project was created over several years based on recordings of numerous interviews with direct witnesses of the siege and participants in the defense of Leningrad. The authors focused on the everyday life of Leningraders. The work of shops, hospitals, orphanages and factories is presented through the eyes of former artisans, nurses, nurses, and veterans of local air defense.

Hero of the Soviet Union, Marshal Leonid Aleksandrovich Govorov, was often called “our Leningrad marshal”. From June 1942 until the end of the war, he was the commander of the troops of the Leningrad Front, leading the operations to break through and then completely lift the siege of Leningrad. This legendary man participated in the Civil, Soviet-Finnish and Great Patriotic Wars, rising from a junior mortar battery officer to Marshal of the Soviet Union. Filming of the film “Marshal of Victory Govorov” directed by Vyacheslav Serkez took place in places associated with Govorov’s life, in the village of Butyrki in Kirov Region, in Elabuga, Simferopol, Vyborg, Moscow and other cities.

From the video “Siege tram: in the struggle for the life of the city” which will also be broadcast on the library's portal, one can learn about the work of electric transport in Leningrad during the siege; about how the memory of employees who worked in the difficult conditions of a besieged city is preserved, about the development of the Leningrad tram in the 1930s. 

The feat of Leningrad is shown in the video lecture “About War and Victory in the Language of Books”, prepared on the works of Olga Bergholz and the authors of the “Siege Book” Daniil Granin and Ales Adamovich, as well as the video lecture “Siege Tram: in the struggle for the life of the city”. 

Without leaving home, one can visit the virtual exhibition of the Presidential Library “The Siege: Chronicle of Life”, which presents unique documents: diaries, letters from the front, posters, books, film and photo chronicles of the siege.

Users are also given the opportunity to meet Ninel Viktorovna Krasnolutskaya, Lyudmila Aleksandrovna Fedorova and Zinaida Arkadyevna Fedyushina, who as children survived the terrible days of the siege in a besieged city. Video interviews with them will be broadcast online.

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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