RUC Eurasian Forum Organizes the Lecture of “Considerations on Cooperation between Hermitage Museum and China’s Belt and Road Initiative in Cultural Actions”

On November 2, Barwell Lourie, Curator of braches of Hermitage Museum in Caucasus and Central Asia, and Larissa Kulakova, person in charge of the Sogdiana “Blue Hall” archaeological project delivered keynote speeches titled “Consideration on Cultural Actions and Cooperation between Hermitage Museum and China’s One Belt and One Road Initiative” and “On Restoration of Murals in Tajikistan ‘Blue Hall’”, respectively, in the “Eurasian Forum” in Renmin University of China.

Barwell Lourie said that in the context of the One Belt and One Road Initiative, in order for Russian visitors to have a better understanding of China’s ancient and modern civilization and Chinese visitors to feel at home, Oriental Art Gallery of Hermitage Museum expected to enter into cooperation in various forms with Chinese departments concerned and planned to open 20 exhibition rooms in succession to specially display precious works of art since Yin-Shang Period of China, such as inscriptions on bones or tortoise shells, paintings, silk, porcelain and sculptures. With Hermitage Museum being also a large famous repair center, he expected to invite the most outstanding and excellent Russian and Chinese experts in Sogdiana murals and work with RUC to hold a seminar on restoration of cultural relics, where they could discuss replication and restoration of other works of art.

Larissa Kulakova introduced in detail “Blue Hall” in Hermitage Museum and restoration of murals in the process of archaeological excavation. “Blue Hall”, as murals about the Soghdian in ancient Central Asia unearthed in Tajikistan, was opened to the public last year. She expected that Chinese archaeological experts and mural restoration experts could visit and exchange about Hermitage Museum.

Ding Fang, Dean of School of Arts, RUC, also delivered a wonderful speech. He said that cultural exchange between China and Russia was long-standing and well-established, and in modern times, cultural exchange and cooperation between China and Russia is especially important as culture is a bridge and bond between Chinese and Russian people. China’s consideration in respect of the “One Belt and One Road” Initiative has triggered a revival beyond modern and contemporary history, which opens up a new dimension for China, the world and both China and Russia. It is of great significance to future development of Center for Russian Studies, RUC in which research work should not be confined to economy and trade, international politics, international relations and geo-strategy, but should extend to history and culture; while history and culture will surpass modern and contemporary times and go back to ancient times, and then return to the “One Belt and One Road” via connects in cultural context. We will meet in history, shake hands in reality and achieve people-to-people bonds, good-neighborliness and friendliness.

In the part of interaction, experts answered questions raised by faculty and students of RUC.

More than 80 people, including Liang Kun, a professor at School of Liberal Arts, RUC, Liang Xuemei, Dean of Department of Russian, Capital Normal University, Chen Haobo, Director of Basic Teaching Department of School of Arts, RUC, Wang Wei, Deputy Director of RUC-Saint Petersburg State University and faculty and students at and around RUC, attended the seminar. The seminar was chaired by Wang Xian, Deputy Director of Renmin University of China-Saint Petersburg State University Center for Russian Studies. This is the fifth lecture organized by Eurasian Forum.

Renmin University of China-Saint Petersburg State University Center for Russian Studies was inaugurated on September 2, 2015 at RUC. Vice Premier Liu Yandong of the State Council of China and Vice Prime Minister Golovin Gertz of Russian Federation attended the inauguration ceremony. Center for Russian Studies is a comprehensive academic institution jointly established by RUC and Saint Petersburg State University to implement the Implementation Guidelines of the Sino-Russian Treaty of Good-neighborliness, Friendship and Cooperation (2013-2016), aiming at exchange and cooperation in scientific research, talent cultivation, culture and arts. The “Eurasian Forum” is a brand activity of Renmin University of China-Saint Petersburg State University Center for Russian Studies, which invites famous scholars, experts and entrepreneurs in the academia, government and business circles on a regular basis to special seminars on political, economic, historical and cultural issues in Eurasia.

Attachment: About Hermitage Museum

Hermitage Museum is one of the world’s four major museums in addition to the Louvre Museum in Paris, British Museum in London and Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. The museum was a private palace of Catherine II. In 1764, Catherine II purchased 250 paintings of Rembrandt, Rubens and other people from Berlin and stored them in the newly built “Hermitage” (derived from Old French hermit, meaning “eremitic palace”; designed by French architect Jean-Baptiste Vallin de la Mothe) at the flank of Winter Palace, after which the museum is now named. It covers an area of about 90,000m2.