July 21, 2020

Exploring Russian Museums ~ Virtually


Exploring Russian Museums ~ Virtually
The Hermitage is just one of the museums offering online exhibits. Image by Sasha Petite via Wikimedia Commons

With the novel coronavirus pandemic still raging, many museums remain closed or mostly closed to in-person visits. But you can still enjoy much of what these venerated institutions have to offer, just in a new format. Many museums are turning to online exhibitions so that virtual visitors can peruse their collections.

One such museum in the US is the Zimmerli Art Museum, at Rutgers University. Zimmerli has launched a new eMuseum, which allows visitors to scan their collections online. Their electronic collections hold more than 7,000 pieces of art and textual information on about 18,000 additional works. New images are being uploaded weekly. Notably, their collections include a large selection of Russian Art and Soviet Nonconformist Art.

Another online museum offering – albeit temporary – is St. Petersburg's Manege Central Exhibition Hall. They have a new exhibit called As They See Us: A Portrait of Russia by the Magnum Agency. This photo series includes 265 images by 39 photographers from 1947-2020. The end of the exhibit features a new project by Nanna Heitmann: Just Stand and Look, which is dedicated to doctors and patients of Hospital 52 in Moscow.

Meanwhile, one of Russia’s most famous museums, the Hermitage, is slowly starting to reopen. For those who prefer to stay at home, however, the Hermitage offers an online viewing option, where you can view thousands of images from their exhibits.

Other museums offering online exhibits include the Tretyakov Gallery, The Museum of Russian Art, The Virtual Russian Museum, and The State Russian Museum.

You Might Also Like

Looking After the Treasure
  • July 01, 1996

Looking After the Treasure

Last year's controversial exhibitions at St. Petersburg's Hermitage museum gave attendance a new boost, and fueld hope for expansion and upgrade plans. Lisa Dickey takes a look at what's in store for Russia's greatest art museum.
Treasure on the Onega
  • January 01, 1999

Treasure on the Onega

Kargopol is one of the richest settlements in the Russian North. William Brumfield takes us on a visit.
17 Petersburg Places
  • September 01, 2017

17 Petersburg Places

Revolutions, including that Great October one, are not a popular topic in Russia today. Nonetheless, we take a photo feature look at how 1917 shaped Russia’s northern capital.
  • July 01, 2020

"Painting Jesus Isn't Dangerous"

Moscow is seeing religious symbolism crop up in unexpected places. It’s not the first time, but there is something different about what is going on now.
Treasures a la Russe
  • July 01, 2017

Treasures a la Russe

In a Washington DC suburb, a retired diplomat and self-professed Russophile has collected a treasure-trove of pre-revolutionary Russian delights.
The Museum of Freedom
  • July 01, 2017

The Museum of Freedom

On St. Petersburg’s Revolution Highway there is a museum devoted to collecting and preserving the elusive and controversial art forms of graffiti and street art.
The Museum of Abandoned Secrets
  • November 01, 2012

The Museum of Abandoned Secrets

Where we interview Nina Shevchuk-Murray, translator of this new book by Oksana Zabuzhko, which is an expansive piece of historical fiction that encompasses much of Ukrainian history, particularly during WWII.
Like this post? Get a weekly email digest + member-only deals

Some of Our Books

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

93 Untranslatable Russian Words

Every language has concepts, ideas, words and idioms that are nearly impossible to translate into another language. This book looks at nearly 100 such Russian words and offers paths to their understanding and translation by way of examples from literature and everyday life. Difficult to translate words and concepts are introduced with dictionary definitions, then elucidated with citations from literature, speech and prose, helping the student of Russian comprehend the word/concept in context.
A Taste of Chekhov

A Taste of Chekhov

This compact volume is an introduction to the works of Chekhov the master storyteller, via nine stories spanning the last twenty years of his life.
The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

The Little Humpbacked Horse (bilingual)

A beloved Russian classic about a resourceful Russian peasant, Vanya, and his miracle-working horse, who together undergo various trials, exploits and adventures at the whim of a laughable tsar, told in rich, narrative poetry.
Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

Maria's War: A Soldier's Autobiography

This astonishingly gripping autobiography by the founder of the Russian Women’s Death Battallion in World War I is an eye-opening documentary of life before, during and after the Bolshevik Revolution.
Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod: A Novel in Many Voices

Stargorod is a mid-sized provincial city that exists only in Russian metaphorical space. It has its roots in Gogol, and Ilf and Petrov, and is a place far from Moscow, but close to Russian hearts. It is a place of mystery and normality, of provincial innocence and Black Earth wisdom. Strange, inexplicable things happen in Stargorod. So do good things. And bad things. A lot like life everywhere, one might say. Only with a heavy dose of vodka, longing and mystery.
Murder at the Dacha

Murder at the Dacha

Senior Lieutenant Pavel Matyushkin has a problem. Several, actually. Not the least of them is the fact that a powerful Soviet boss has been murdered, and Matyushkin's surly commander has given him an unreasonably short time frame to close the case.
Okudzhava Bilingual

Okudzhava Bilingual

Poems, songs and autobiographical sketches by Bulat Okudzhava, the king of the Russian bards. 
Turgenev Bilingual

Turgenev Bilingual

A sampling of Ivan Turgenev's masterful short stories, plays, novellas and novels. Bilingual, with English and accented Russian texts running side by side on adjoining pages.
The Little Golden Calf

The Little Golden Calf

Our edition of The Little Golden Calf, one of the greatest Russian satires ever, is the first new translation of this classic novel in nearly fifty years. It is also the first unabridged, uncensored English translation ever, and is 100% true to the original 1931 serial publication in the Russian journal 30 Dnei. Anne O. Fisher’s translation is copiously annotated, and includes an introduction by Alexandra Ilf, the daughter of one of the book’s two co-authors.
A Taste of Russia

A Taste of Russia

The definitive modern cookbook on Russian cuisine has been totally updated and redesigned in a 30th Anniversary Edition. Layering superbly researched recipes with informative essays on the dishes' rich historical and cultural context, A Taste of Russia includes over 200 recipes on everything from borshch to blini, from Salmon Coulibiac to Beef Stew with Rum, from Marinated Mushrooms to Walnut-honey Filled Pies. A Taste of Russia shows off the best that Russian cooking has to offer. Full of great quotes from Russian literature about Russian food and designed in a convenient wide format that stays open during use.

About Us

Russian Life is a publication of a 30-year-young, award-winning publishing house that creates a bimonthly magazine, books, maps, and other products for Russophiles the world over.

Latest Posts

Our Contacts

Russian Life
73 Main Street, Suite 402
Montpelier VT 05602

802-223-4955