The exhibition in the Presidential Library tells about the graduates of St. Petersburg State University who glorified Russian culture

On April 5, 2024 at 14:00 the grand opening of the exhibition “People of Art – University Graduates” takes place in the Presidential Library. The exhibition is dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the foundation of St. Petersburg State University, the very first university in Russia.

The joint exhibition of the Presidential Library and St. Petersburg State University tells about the student years and the work of famous artists who studied at the university. Among them are Antioch Cantemir, Ivan Turgenev, Nikolai Chernyshevsky, Alexander Blok, Olga Bergholz, Vasily Polenov, Alexander Benois, Nicholas Roerich, Sergei Diaghilev, Igor Stravinsky and many other writers and poets, artists and musicians, theater and cinema figures. The achievements of the graduates have forever inscribed St. Petersburg University in world culture.

The exhibition is based on archival documents, letters, book editions of the 18th–20th centuries, illustrations and photographs from the collections of the Gorky Scientific Library of St. Petersburg University and the Presidential Library.

In the first exhibition hall, visitors can see rare editions of the works of one of the first students of the university, poet and outstanding statesman Antioch Cantemir, letters of Ivan Turgenev, his drawings in which the writer depicted the heroes of his novels, photographs signed by him for actress Maria Savina. Separate sections of the exhibition are dedicated to the author of the fairy tale “The Little Humpbacked Horse” Pyotr Ershov, the poet Alexander Blok, the founder of the historiographical novel genre Dmitry Merezhkovsky, the master of the Soviet historical novel Yuri Tynyanov, the poetess Olga Bergholz and other university graduates who connected their lives with literature.

Plasma panels show the quotes from former students who made a great contribution to the development of Russian culture. Words dedicated to the alma mater help to understand how the students felt about their educational institution, what mark the years of study left on their lives.

The second exhibition hall features exhibits telling about famous musicians and theater figures who studied at the university: composers Igor Stravinsky and Nikolai Cherepnin, director of the Chamber Theater Alexander Tairov, director Alexander Bryantsev and others.

Much attention is paid to the leading artistic association of the Silver Age, “World of Art”. At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, it was created by former students, graduates of the Faculty of Law, who later became famous artists: Alexander Benois, Ivan Bilibin, Mikhail Vrubel, Nicholas Roerich and others. A number of exhibits in the exhibition are associated with each of them.

The exhibition “People of Art - University Graduates” in the Presidential Library s available until May 14, 2024. To visit the exhibition one must pre-register by phone (812) 334-25-14 or send an email to excursion@prlib.ru.

Accreditation of media representatives is until 13:00 April 4, 2024. 

Please forward applications for accreditation following the attached form marked Media Accreditation at media@prlib.ru, hudjakova@prlib.ru Alexandra Khudyakova, tel.: (812) 305-16-21, ext. 167; mob. +7 (981) 788-28-08.

The letter should contain the full name, date and place of birth, passport data (series, number, place of registration), a list of carry-on equipment, contact phone numbers, the name of the media.

We draw the attention of the media representatives that it is necessary to forward applications for accreditation and arrive at the event in advance.

Entrance to the Presidential Library is carried out only by prior registration and upon showing a passport: for media representatives - through entrance № 2, participants and guests of the event - through entrance № 1.

In order to reduce the risks of the spread of a new coronavirus infection (COVID-19), the use of personal protective equipment during the event is mandatory for all attendees.