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History and culture of the Jewish people on the territory of Russia |
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The exhibition at the Russian Museum of Ethnography "History and culture of the Jewish people on the territory of Russia" traces the cultural history of the Jews - from the epoch of biblical Patriarchs to the period when the Jews lived within the Pale of Settlement. On December 12, 2007 a permanent exhibition devoted to the history and culture of the Jewish people is opened at the Russian Museum of Ethnography. At the opening ceremony Mikhail Shvydkoy, the Director of the Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography, stated that "the new exhibition is one of the stages of establishment of a full-scaled museum of Jewish culture
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History and culture of the Jewish people on the territory of Russia
On December 12, 2007 a permanent exhibition devoted to the history and culture of the Jewish people is opened at the Russian Museum of Ethnography. At the opening ceremony Mikhail Shvydkoy, the Director of the Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography, stated that "the new exhibition is one of the stages of establishment of a full-scaled museum of Jewish culture".
The idea of creation of this exhibition complex was one of the initiatives put forward by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin during his meeting with the Prime Minister of Israel Ariel Sharon in 2003. The exhibition which opened just now will take the position of "the museum within the museum".
Most part of the items displayed at the exhibition are from the holdings of the RME but one can also find here the objects granted for temporary use by other institutions: the Hermitage, the Museum of the History of Religion, the Russian National Library, St. Petersburg Branch of the Institute of Oriental Studies.
The first (historical) section of the exhibition represents the chronology of formation of the Jewish culture: reference bibliography, the maps illustrating the origin, migration and areas of residing of the Jews, and their transition to the new state of national existence - the Diaspora, unique in its geographic scope and chronologic extent. Among the items of this section is also a range of exhibits related to the Judaica: Torah scrolls, Torah crowns and shields, a seven-lamped menorah, a decorative plate with Passover symbols, as well as old religious books and manuscripts, photographs and portraits of well-known Jewish cultural figures.
The second (ethnographic) section is composed of the objects revealing the culture and everyday life of the Jewish Diasporas - the Ashkenazi Jews (Jews of Eastern Europe), Mountain (Caucasian) Jews and Bukhara (Central Asian) Jews. On display here are various types of amulets which were meant to protect the owner from evil spirits. Despite the fact that Judaism forbade the use of magic, nevertheless komea (amulets) became exceptionally popular with Jews and often passed down from generation to generation. This section also includes the examples of traditional Jewish clothing generally formed under the influence of local environments, neighbouring peoples, and living conditions: you can see here a mountain Jewish merchant dressed in traditional Caucasian costume, or a Bukhara Jewish woman wearing a dense horsehair veil covered her face and a paranja pulled over her head and completely enveloped her figure.
A special place at the exhibition is occupied by the exhibits illuminated Jewish festivals and religious rituals. Among these are, for example, festive costumes, musical instruments, a rich variety of Chanukah lamps decorated with Jewish traditional ornamentation, and ritual utensils and games.
A new permanent exhibition of the Russian Museum of Ethnography makes a contribution to the subsequent development of St. Petersburg as a cultural capital of Russia.
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