An exhibition “Between Europe and Asia. Traditional culture of the peoples of the Volga and Urals “(from the collection of the Russian Ethnographic Museum).

The Volga region and the Urals are a special historical and cultural region located geographically at the junction of Europe and Asia. The historical ties of the Finno-Ugric, Turkic and Slavic peoples led to the formation of common elements in their economic activity, material and spiritual culture without losing their ethnic identity. A region has developed, inhabited by various peoples, with deeply specific cultures and languages, and, at the same time, linked by the commonality of the historical path traversed.

Within the framework of a single exhibition space, more than 260 monuments are presented, as well as photographs taken from the negatives of the REM photo library, which reflect the traditional culture and life of the peoples inhabiting the Volga and Ural regions. Most of the exhibits on display date back to the end of the 19th – first third of the 20th century.

At the exhibition one  can get acquainted with the traditional costumes of Russians, Tatars, Mordovians, Udmurts, Chuvash. Cultural and everyday features of ethnic groups are revealed through thematic complexes of ethnographic monuments: “Traditional crafts”, “Men’s world: hunting and fishing tools”, “Traditional toys”, “Headdresses”.

The exhibition will delight not only fans of antiquity and folk culture, but also lovers of beauty. Some of its sections reveal the most significant manifestations of decorative and applied art of the peoples of the region: embroidery, carved wood, patterned leather; jewelry made by women from scrap materials; and jewelry by professional artisans. The imagination of a modern person amazes with the variety of materials, technologies and artistic techniques used by folk craftsmen to create products for various purposes, and the perfection they achieved at the same time.

The exhibition will run from 6.07 to 25.09.2021.