Not accustomed to public fame, they are just doing their job in any circumstances. Thus, the scientific employee and head of the Department of arms Historical Museum Maria M. Denisova (1887-1961) recalled that during the war, drove through Moscow to the Museum of the trophies, frightening the police. Once she was apprehended by the patrol to find that wrapped up in a handkerchief the tired woman carries on a sled gun. Maria M. dragged him to the Museum through Moscow from Khimki. Maybe I’m wrong, but somehow I think that caught her somewhere on the outskirts of the native Museum, near the Kremlin.
But today the story of the life of museums during the war attracts more and more interest. And to the 75-anniversary of the victory of the museums decided to talk about my military past. We will focus on special projects for three museums, which have opened some of its archives during the war, laying them on the websites of the satellites.
On the website of the Historical Museum, created for the 75th anniversary of Victory of six sections telling about the evacuation of the main part of exhibits of the Museum’s life in Moscow, about how he saved St. Basil’s Cathedral, a branch of the GIM during the war, the story of the Museum staff and some of their letters. But one section simply titled “the Taman sarcophagus”.
What attitude to war is a five-ton sarcophagus, discovered during the excavations in 1916 on the Taman Peninsula near Anapa, at first glance, not very clear. The sarcophagus, created in IV-III centuries BC in one of the Greek cities of Asia Minor, by 1941, survived twenty-three centuries, and impressed all who saw him, grace and simplicity. The Germans who captured the Taman Peninsula in the beginning of the war, he also liked it. And they sent him to Kerch, intending, apparently, to ship back to Germany. But until may 1944 was not met – the Eastern front was, as always, too unpredictable. Nevertheless, they cared about the fate of the sarcophagus, hiding it in Melek-Chesmensky mound, in the crypt, which also served as a shelter for the higher ranks. However, retreating did as vandals. When included in the Extraordinary state Commission of the Soviet officers opened the sarcophagus, they found an undamaged box riddled with machine guns ancient Greek monument, stained to the same indelible grease. The lid of the sarcophagus was smashed to pieces – later counted 1670 debris.
a wild story, of course, but in the spirit of war. Being a victim of war, the sarcophagus was included in the lists newfound treasure that you want to restore. In July 1944 the Museum received permission to export to Moscow this monument of antiquity. To deliver it was entrusted to the archaeologist Natalya Valentinovna Petichiae (1907-1984). Natalia Valentinovna was 37 years old, and she was a research fellow at the Department of accounting. And she went to Kerch to take out the sarcophagus. One. Kerch and the Crimean Peninsula was in ruins, still working engineers, in General, the war is not too far gone.
Most interesting is that she was taken. In the midst of war managed to have it allocated twenty (!) sappers and a separate carriage for the transportation of the sarcophagus to Moscow. And clearly showed feminine wiles, which was famous for the ancient Greek goddess. In accompanying documents it was written that in GIM carry “metal coffin with a dead man.” Who was the dead expensive, for which allocated a car, history is silent. All is good, but in Moscow, the railwaymen, having opened the car, was astonished to find instead of “metal coffin with the deceased” box marble without anyone inside. The talks, which the railroad demanded triple payment from the Museum, almost at a standstill, but in the end the sarcophagus somehow rescued.
But the journey of the sarcophagus is not over. If you want to send from Kerch took five days, on the way back to Moscow the week, then rise from the first floor of the Museum contains the second – more than two months. By the end of 1944 he found his place in the hall of the Bosporan Kingdom. It was restored scientist A. D. Ciurtin, helped him Batysheva.
So, when the museums open, don’t forget to look at the hall of the Bosporan Kingdom and find an antique marble sarcophagus, of a UNESCO monument of world culture. It captivates by elegance and simplicity.
did You Know these are rubies in the order of “Victory”? What he recalls the king’s awards? Where were taken from the Mausoleum Lenin’s body? How to save the Cathedral of the Annunciation during the war? As masked the Kremlin? And where during the war washed the inhabitants of the Kremlin, including senior staff?
the Documents, memories of participants of the Kremlin guard, surprising fate of the restorers of the Moscow Kremlin Museums, the stories of the projects reveal amazing details of not only the Museum, but the lives of the inhabitants of the Kremlin.
They are more interesting that during the war in Moscow the Kremlin was actually a real headquarters that determined political, military and economic strategy of the country during the war. Here were the offices of a majority of the members of the Supreme command (shape) and the State defense Committee (GKO). Here was formulated the positions and proposals of the USSR for the Yalta and Potsdam conference the “Big three”.
moreover, incredibly, during the Patriotic war the basic functions of the Kremlin as the defenses were once again in demand.
Since the beginning of the war, the guard of the Moscow Kremlin was assigned to the office of the commandant of the Moscow Kremlin (UCMC). The garrison of the Moscow Kremlin was, in fact, is not very large. It includes special purpose Regiment stationed in the Kremlin, a separate officer of the battalion, private transpartna company (later the motor transport battalion) and the military fire brigade. Besides the garrison in UKMK included a separate commandant’s office of the government of the Grand Kremlin Palace, Lenin’s mausoleum and the Armoury.
in September 1941 considered the possibility of fighting on the territory of the Kremlin. At least the garrison of the Kremlin began preparing for such defensive battles. And even earlier, from late July, and here began preparing fighter groups for combat tanks (2-3 people in the office). By September, every unit of the garrison was assigned to the land defense. Two anti-aircraft batteries in the Park of about the 14th corps had to defend Borovitskaya, Troitskaya, Nikolskaya and Spasskaya tower. On the rooftops of the Kremlin buildings was the point of the anti-aircraft machine-gun calculations.
in Parallel, the possibility of mining the government and the Kremlin telephone exchange, water pumping and thermal stations, electrical substations, air-RAID shelters. 10 Oct 1941 the commandant of the Moscow Kremlin told the NKVD of the USSR on the readiness to mining, requesting four tons of explosives. But the decision about the mining of the Kremlin was taken.
plan of government was also considered. He worked from mid-July just in case. In mid-October, this event seemed to come. 15 Oct 1941 in connection with a sharp aggravation of the situation, the leadership of the 1st Department of the NKVD of the USSR together with UCMC NKVD prepared a plan for protection in case of a hasty departure of the state leadership from Moscow. To 20 October route: Moscow – Gorky – Kuibyshev, with a total length of 1330 kilometers was finally developed. This option is provided for evacuation of Soviet government from Moscow by car. Willingness to move in this variant was identified on October 29. However, this document remained a draft. It was not signed and approved.
Instead, on 20 October was accepted by the GKO decree “On introduction in Moscow siege”. Since then, the Kremlin almost completely closed at night to 6 am. Until November 6, a solemn session of the Moscow Soviet of workers ‘ deputies and the bonds for the station “Mayakovskaya” in honor of the anniversary of the great October socialist revolution, and the military parade on 7 November, was exactly two weeks. How did you prepare for this meeting and the parade can be found on the website.
haven’t forgotten about the air defense, or about 35 health posts, or a dozen sanitary vehicles or fire teams… the Only thing not thought about is the newsreel. But after a week decided to get the plot for the story. 14 Nov fourteen employees of Soyuzkinorynok and radio Committee from the carpenters and lighting to operators and sound technicians, assembled an exact copy of the Trebony Lenin’s tomb made of wooden colored pieces in the Sverdlov hall (now Catherine’s) first building of the Kremlin. Installed lighting, cameras, microphone. And on November 15 after rehearsal was the recording of Stalin’s speech, then included in the film “Parade of our troops on red square in Moscow November 7, 1941”.
the Museum is a meeting place of past and present. The project of Pushkin’s “the Other war” – this is a meeting place of past and future. The website prepared for the 75th anniversary of the Victory in the Patriotic war, consists of two parts: the “Facts” and “Opinion”. “Facts” offer a virtual trip through the halls of the permanent exhibition of the main building: from today to the past. Archival documents, personal diaries, letters and photographs. In the second part of the project the participants of a direction “Pushkin.Youth” represent a personal experience of the Museum’s history. All text, video, audio, graphics, animation, floor plans prepared by the teenagers.
to Say that it is exciting, interesting project, perhaps a little. This is a clever, well thought out and precisely made project, analogues to which I personally do not know. And yet – he is alive. Here magically comes to life everything from photos of the statue of David, the mouth of which is embedded in the animation remark “I Just try to understand!” before the numbers. In the section “Details” don’t miss “Math” section. Click on the number 20, and get: “20 centimeters thick was the ice in the office of head of the Department of the Ancient East Vsevolod Vladimirovich Pavlov. This average thickness of the winter ice on lake Baikal”. Click on the number 80 – to learn that “80% of the premises of the Museum was not heated”.
it is not Surprising that the Museum life was concentrated in the office space, which previously was the Director’s apartment, and then house of the artists of the Barbizon school, which the staff together called “Barbizon”. There and installed a temporary furnace of brick, and iron pipe brought in. In the “Barbizon” meetings were held, meetings, presentations, reports, research staff conducted records and was engaged in scientific work, the duty rested between visits.
But the frost is bad endured not only employees, but also an Egyptian mummy.
Head of the Department of the Ancient East Vsevolod Vladimirovich Pavlov, fearing for the safety of mummies, invited Professor, “Muminova the doctor.” Doctor of medical Sciences Sergey Rufovich Mardashev verdict is to move the mummy in a heated “Barbizon”. So all together and wintered. Legend, preserved orally transmitted by generations of Museum workers. It so happened that at some time in the room was nobody, and the furnace began to smoke heavily, and there was a threat of fire. Suddenly, a loud knock at the door from the inside… Decided that the mummies saved the Museum.
