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

Marooned in Moscow
May 01, 2011

Marooned in Moscow

This gripping autobiography plays out against the backdrop of Russia's bloody Civil War, and was one of the first Western eyewitness accounts of life in post-revolutionary Russia. Marooned in Moscow provides a fascinating account of one woman's entry into war-torn Russia in early 1920, first-person impressions of many in the top Soviet leadership, and accounts of the author's increasingly dangerous work as a journalist and spy, to say nothing of her work on behalf of prisoners, her two arrests, and her eventual ten-month-long imprisonment, including in the infamous Lubyanka prison. It is a veritable encyclopedia of life in Russia in the early 1920s.

A Taste of Russia
November 01, 2012

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.

Murder and the Muse
December 12, 2016

Murder and the Muse

KGB Chief Andropov has tapped Matyushkin to solve a brazen jewel heist from Picasso’s wife at the posh Metropole Hotel. But when the case bleeds over into murder, machinations, and international intrigue, not everyone is eager to see where the clues might lead.

The Little Humpbacked Horse
November 03, 2014

The Little Humpbacked Horse

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.

The Moscow Eccentric
December 01, 2016

The Moscow Eccentric

Advance reviewers are calling this new translation "a coup" and "a remarkable achievement." This rediscovered gem of a novel by one of Russia's finest writers explores some of the thorniest issues of the early twentieth century.

Frogs Who Begged...
November 01, 2010

Frogs Who Begged...

The fables of Ivan Krylov are rich fonts of Russian cultural wisdom and experience – reading and understanding them is vital to grasping the Russian worldview. This new edition of 62 of Krylov’s tales presents them side-by-side in English and Russian. The wonderfully lyrical translations by Lydia Razran Stone are accompanied by original, whimsical color illustrations by Katya Korobkina.

The Samovar Murders
November 01, 2019

The Samovar Murders

The murder of a poet is always more than a murder. When a famous writer is brutally stabbed on the campus of Moscow’s Lumumba University, the son of a recently deposed African president confesses, and the case assumes political implications that no one wants any part of.

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas
October 01, 2013

The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas

This exciting new trilogy by a Russian author – who has been compared to Orhan Pamuk and Umberto Eco – vividly recreates a lost world, yet its passions and characters are entirely relevant to the present day. Full of mystery, memorable characters, and non-stop adventure, The Pet Hawk of the House of Abbas is a must read for lovers of historical fiction and international thrillers.

 
93 Untranslatable Russian Words
December 01, 2008

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.

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