Monuments and People During the Great Patriotic War: At the Crossroads of Destinies
St Petersburg University will host an academic conference titled ’Monuments and People During the Great Patriotic War: At the Crossroads of Destinies’. Marking the 80th Anniversary of Victory in 1941–1945, dedicated to the heroism of those who saved cultural and historical treasures during the Great Patriotic War and in the post-war period.
From the very first days of the war, the Soviet state faced the urgent task of protecting its cultural and historical heritage from looting and destruction. Plans were devised to preserve and evacuate cultural artefacts. Much depended on the initiative and courage of cultural institution staff, specialists, and ordinary citizens. Though the war ended, the battle to safeguard cultural heritage continued.
Despite the dire post-war conditions, the country allocated resources to restore museums, monuments, and collections. Surveys of the worst-affected areas were conducted, restoration workshops were established, and heritage protection agencies were formed.
The conference’s academic programme will examine a unique aspect of the 1941–1945 period — the intertwined fates of the nation’s historical and cultural heritage and the people who fought to preserve their homeland’s treasures.
Discussion Topics
- Monuments on the front lines
- Museum, archive, and library collections in war zones
- The evacuation of cultural artefacts
- Researchers, architects, restorers, and conservators on the front lines and in the defence of cultural heritage
- Losses and the post-war recovery of cultural treasures
The conference is organised by St Petersburg University and the Kizhi State Open-Air Museum of History, Architecture, and Ethnography.
Co-organisers include the Leningrad Region Cultural Heritage Preservation Committee and the V. S. Rakhmanov All-Russian Centre for Wooden Architecture Preservation. Partners include the Leningrad Region Museum Agency, the I. E. Grabar All-Russian Art Restoration Centre, the Russian National Library, the St Petersburg Institute of History (Russian Academy of Sciences), the State Museum of St Petersburg History, and Petrozavodsk State University.