History 23/02/20 What treasures evacuated from Moscow during the great Patriotic
during the great Patriotic war injured more than 150 Soviet museums, libraries and archives, which has irretrievably lost more than 1 million units. However, most cultural values have been able to save.
the Kremlin
Employees of the Kremlin museums about the attack of Nazi Germany learned at midday on 22 June 1941, and on 27 June the government adopted a decree on the removal of Moscow’s Diamond Fund and the Armory values. On the same day, employees of the Kremlin museums started dismantling and packing of exhibits. The speed of action was influenced by the Director of the Armory Nikolay Zakharov, who literally painted step by step the functions of each employee.
Initially, values are planned to hide on the territory of the Kremlin, however, the rapid advance of the enemy to Moscow has corrected these plans. On the night of June 31, the exhibits were sent by train to the Urals, and escorting valuable cargo did not know what is in the boxes and where they move. Among other relics, along with an impressive Arsenal to Sverdlovsk went to such rarities as the Monomakh’s Cap and the Cap arianska Mikhail Fedorovich. By 10 July 1941 in the capital of the Urals were transported almost all collection of the Armoury chamber of the Kremlin.
the Biggest problem in the transportation plan represented the sculptural composition of ivory “eagle on pine tree”, which was donated by the Japanese Meiji Emperor Nicholas II on the occasion of his coronation. In the path of the damaged tail two-meter wings of a bird, Sverdlovsk, however, quickly restored the original appearance of the sculpture. In addition to the “eagle” restorers put in order the trophies of the battle of Poltava, the clock of the XVIII century English engineer Michael Meddoksa and dress of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna. Such exhibits as the thrones, carriages, iconography because of the complexity of their RAsborki and transportation remained in Moscow.
In early March 1942, the Kremlin has undergone a massive bomb attack by German aircraft. Among other things, suffered two bronze chandelier in the Archangel Cathedral. By may of 1942, almost all the consequences of the bombing have been eliminated. However, full-scale work on the restoration of monuments on the territory of the Kremlin began only after the end of the war, as the threat of German air raids lasted until the end of 1944. Thanks quality made blackout facilities and coordinated work of fire services, a unique architectural ensemble with cathedrals, museums and cultural values could be preserved in its original form.
At the end of February 1945 all the exhibits of the Moscow Kremlin returned to their seats, and in the middle of April halls of the Armoury chamber was open for the first visitors – soldiers of the Kremlin garrison. Despite the huge interest in treasures of the Moscow Kremlin half-closed access mode canceled only in 1955.
Tretyakov gallery
on 27 June 1941, the Soviet leadership issued a secret decree to evacuate to the rear of the people and valuable property. Employees of the Tretyakov gallery immediately began to round-the-clock duty, while doing the dismantling and packing of exhibits. In no time all the paintings and sculptures were collected and prepared for removal.
Special attention was paid to the masterpieces of Repin, Polenov, Briullov, Borovikovsky, and other celebrated masters: the exhibits were rolled on a special shaft was in boxes with metal shell. Canvases of large size, such as “the appearance of Christ to the people” Ivanov did not fit in the standard cars – they had to carry on the two platforms, covered with tarpaulin.
the Committee on the arts recommended that the museums to be evacuated of value, based on priority. The first was to leave Moscow works of art of lasting value. For the Tretyakov gallery it was a painting of the XVIII–XIX centuries, anciente art, part Soviet art and works of the late XIX – early XX centuries. The gallery staff focused on the Leningrad colleagues, who in the turbulent years of the First world war already had experience with the drafting and approval of lists of works of special value for priority of evacuation.
July 4 was ready the boxes with the works of the first stage. Originally planned to transport water from Kirov to Astrakhan, but later decided to evacuate by rail. Only July 13, it became known the final destination of the train Museum valuables – Novosibirsk. In capital of Siberia the train went not only with the exhibits of the Tretyakov gallery, and Museum of fine arts A. S. Pushkin, Museum of new Western art, Museum of Oriental cultures.
In August 1941, the Germans increased the intensity of the air raids on Moscow. In these days of falling high explosive bomb severely damaged the building of the Tretyakov gallery (collapsed glass roof) and a garage was completely destroyed a two-storey residential building for the employees of the Museum. This precipitated the sending into the rear of the remaining part of the Museum exhibits. Until November 1941, in Novosibirsk took another two turns with works of art.
the Last train culture from Moscow to the capital of Siberia went in September of 1942. By the time the Novosibirsk Opera and ballet theatre has focused a lot of Museum exhibits from different cities of the country – Leningrad, Gorky, Smolensk, Kiev, Sevastopol. For Siberians until resettlement values are regularly organized exhibitions.
In the Lavrushinsky lane the exposition of the Tretyakov gallery began to return in October 1944. Art historians and restorers came to the conclusion that all exhibits are in excellent condition. May 17, 1945, the State Tretyakov gallery was reopened to visitors.
Pushkin Museum
the Museum of fine arts. Pushkin and the Tretyakov gallery as a result of German bombing lost its glass roof. Serious damage to the building was from the blast of a bomb falling nearby. However, by this time, priceless exhibits of the Museum were either evacuated or safely tucked in a special wooden structures. Because of the impossibility of transporting the monumental pieces of art, such as a copy of David were left in the capital.
Many employees of the Pushkin Museum went to the front, and the rest had to combine several positions, including firefighters and security guards. The situation has changed only in 1944, when the post of its Director was appointed by the sculptor Sergei Merkulov. Specialists involved in clearing and building security, he returned to their usual positions of guides and restorers, and in their place put the red army soldiers. Also Merkulov took care of the increase in rations to their employees. For the General public the Museum was opened only in 1946.
the Museum
Director of the state Darwin Museum Alexander Kots in the first days after the war began made a list of all exhibits are subject to mandatory evacuation. In it were found the skeletons of 2-extinct species of birds, stuffed birds, valuable skins of mammals, rare editions of the works of French naturalist Georges Louis Buffon, satin American ornithologist John James Audubon “Birds of America” (in 2012 it was sold at auction the auction house Christies for 7 million 922 thousand dollars) and more.
the boxes with the treasures of the Darwin Museum went into temporary storage under the arches of the Novodevichy convent. The rest of the Museum’s exhibits were hidden in the cellars of the Museum were covered with cardboard boxes. The Museum staff shrewdly released all floors of the building from the exhibition samples. At the end of July 1941, the Museum has landed an incendiary bomb that led to fire. The fire was quickly contained, but still suffered a stuffed boar’s head that got in the way of the projectileand.
Historical library
Not spared evacuation and storage of the State public historical library, located in Starosadskiy the alley of the capital. First, the library staff prepared to evacuate and rare books as well as collections of reference and bibliography division. In total Moscow had to leave about 40 000 books. First, the barges on the Moskva river, the Oka and the Volga precious cargo was delivered to the city of Khvalynsk, Saratov region, and Yes, after months of library property was transported to Kazakhstan.
the Second batch of books, including editions of the XV–XIX centuries, on trains headed to the Ural. Evacuated funds have found their temporary shelter in an abandoned Church of the resurrection of Sverdlovsk. Three employee history library, the Church settled in the Lodge with their families, protected here the most valuable items until the autumn of 1944, when it was decided to return the books to Moscow.
Taras Repin
Source:
© Russian Seven
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