The exhibition “History of Tatarstan from ancient times to the present day” united two millennia

September  03, 2020

The long-awaited exposition “History of Tatarstan from ancient times to the present day” has finally opened in the National Museum of Tatarstan. The exhibition will become permanent for the next 10 years at least. The museum management decided to arrange not one large presentation of the exhibition, but several at once, but small ones. Scientists, representatives of the museum community and other specialists will visit the National Museum on different days. But the journalists were invited first. Realnoe Vremya’s reportage about how the creators of the exposition tried to surprise the guests.

One exhibition – two events

The exhibition became a kind of declaration of love for the native republic. The second big event was the 125th anniversary of the museum itself, which turned out to be a quarter of a century older than the TASSR. It was not possible to celebrate the anniversary because of the quarantine; moreover, the museum forum scheduled for April 2021 is also in question today. Thus, the opening of the large-scale exposition became a double celebration and an “advance payment” for the upcoming events.

It should be noted that the new permanent exhibition is located on both floors of the museum. In total, it occupies 14 halls with a total area of ​​more than 3 thousand square meters. m, in which it is possible to trace the evolutionary processes of the ancient population of the region, the stages of the formation and development of the Tatar people, the most important historical milestones in the context of all-Russian history up to the present day.

Each hall is a story about a certain era, an important event: the adoption of Islam by the Volga Bulgaria, the coming of Orthodoxy to the Tatar land, the years of war, enlightenment, the flourishing of science and culture. There are halls that tell about one side or another of the life of the people – construction, military art, friendship and cooperation with neighboring peoples, and receiving distinguished guests. Even looking thoughtfully at the exhibits, it is difficult to imagine what a titanic work and how many people it cost to create such a truly delightful exhibition, which can be bypassed both in a couple of hours and in a week – only the baggage of impressions and knowledge will be different.

Visit the Syuyumbike gardens

The entire first floor of the National Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan will now tell about the history of the region until the second half of the 16th century. There is also a Turkic yurt, Imenkovskaya hut, and even “Syuyumbike Gardens”. All exhibits are interactive. You can climb into the yurt and take a closer look at how a museum employee, dressed in accordance with the time of the beginning of the century, is rubbing something in a pot, in the hut there are still sculptures of the spouses engaged in everyday life, and a beautiful Kazan khansha in her chambers is sorting through the jewels, taking them out of the chest. You can join her, sitting down on a soft sofa, and listen to what the servant is reading for her letter. Taking pictures – it is allowed, as well as touching, to distract the participants of the mise-en-scenes and the museum curators with questions.

At the stands dedicated to the crafts that developed in the Volga Bulgaria, you can see weapons, dishes, ornaments – all made of iron. So, for example, the attention is drawn to the Caroline sword, darkened and eaten by time, made of iron with forging and silvering. It was found in Western Europe at the beginning of the 20th century. Busts made of gypsum in 1947-1949 based on the remains of the inhabitants of Bulgaria say that the peoples did not live in isolation, but actively migrated, traded: not only the broad-cheeked Bulgarin with elongated eyes, but also the Chinese woman and the Armenian …

The love of the Bulgars for the construction and decoration of premises is evidenced by the massive details of the portal of the Cathedral Mosque in Bolgar, as well as tiles with the remains of bright glaze.

In front of the stairs to the second floor, there is a “Craft Posad” – small shops where you can see how craftsmen and needlewomen are engaged in different crafts. You can use them to make a talisman jewelry yourself or something else at master classes.

Were there Bulgar women warriors?

The second floor of the museum begins in the middle of the 16th century with a story about the Kazansky Krai  after joining the Russian state. The participants of the excursion were incredibly lucky – in the hall with the weapons of that time there was a whole performance with the equipment of a soldier and parting words, it was organized by  head of the department of scientific reconstruction Vyacheslav Khabarov. He handed the defender of the city a cannon, a musket and a terrifying berdiche, which is convenient to lean on when shooting, if you do not use it for its intended purpose. When asked how the legendary Bulgarian women warriors dressed, and whether there were any at all, he replied:

– No, these are only beautiful legends, there is no scientific confirmation of this. However, the steppe people of the Savromats really lived on our territory before our era. They really had Amazons. In addition, in the Alekseevsky district near Bilyar, the Tigan burial ground was found, where the Ugric tribes, the nomadic ancestors of the modern Hungarians, buried their soldiers. Among them was indeed found a woman’s “outfit” – a combat belt, a saber and a full set of jewelry.

There is also a hall that tells about Orthodox subjects of the Middle Ages. The multi-kilogram chains that the martyrs and holy fools  in Christ voluntarily put on themselves cause bewilderment and fear, there is also a monastic attire, icons from the workshop at the convent of the Kazan Icon of the Virgin, as well as the most valuable Ephraim Gospel of 1606.

From carriage to pocket laboratory

A completely different picture appears in the halls of the 18th-19th centuries. Items related to Catherine the Great’s visit to Kazan deserve special attention. In particular, one of the pearls of the National Museum of Tatarstan is a carriage created especially for the empress, for her movement around the city and the surrounding area. Its size and luxury are, of course, amazing. There is also a reconstruction of a room of that time, with cozy ottomans and desks, and glass stands and showcases are filled with exquisite gizmos: porcelain dishes and figurines, crystal glasses, silver and bronze candelabra with gilding. Each epoch and event is preceded by short stories-performances of museum staff in costumes of the same time.

The 19th century is the era of the Enlightenment. In the halls there are photographs and personal belongings of professors of Kazan University, there is also a crystal seal of Shigabutdin Mardzhani. Books, an interesting case “Professor Flavitsky’s pocket laboratory for the study of solids.” Behind these halls are the fruits of science and education – a printing press, a horse-drawn tram, a model of a steamer and the first telephone with a telephone “book”, which had become quite voluminous by 1914.

The halls associated with the years of the Great Patriotic War cause delight and awe. The famous Po-2 seems to be just a toy – it’s hard to believe that so many feats were performed on it. Photos, letters of those years are accompanied by the soulful singing.

How and what were Shakirov and Avzalova singing about

The halls of modern history are dedicated to the technical progress, oil found in Tatarstan, art – personal belongings of famous artists are placed here – for example, concert costumes of Ilgam Shakirov and Alfiya Avzalova, writers and composers. The last hall contains the brands of Tatarstan. According to  Director General of the National Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan Gulchak Nazipova, four more halls are under renovation:

– A lot of high-quality and popular goods are produced in our republic. We intend to place these brands in the halls that have not yet been opened. This year is rich in anniversaries, and for obvious reasons we had to postpone the celebration of our 125th anniversary. We celebrate it together with the 100th anniversary of the formation of the TASSR. Just today we received a personal congratulation from  Director of the State Hermitage, Mikhail Piotrovsky, and this is worth a lot. Our long-term work has been appreciated by the professional community.

Note also that not all halls are occupied by a permanent exhibition. As before, individual rooms will continue to host temporary exhibitions, master classes and other invariably entertaining events.

Anna Tarletskaya

realnoevremya.ru