The State Hermitage Museum: Information

Interview in the magazine Case
February 2005

- Mikhail Borisovich, the Worldwide Club of Petersburgers marks its fifteenth anniversary this year. Please share with us the secret of this long life, since 15 years is a ripe old age for a social organization.

- Indeed, clubs don't normally last this long. But we are alive and well firstly because it all started with something that was funny and appealing and serious at the same time. One of the founders was Nikita Alekseevich Tolstoy, and his personality did much to define the nature of the initiative. The Worldwide Club of Persons from Odessa. The Worldwide Club of Petersburgers. People from different social categories having different interests got together and found it very interesting to talk among themselves and to visit our Salons and Assemblies. You might say, what is so special about them? But our members are not like other groups which get together in the city under different names but seem to have the same make-up. In our club you can meet a great variety of people, make the most unexpected acquaintances and hear amazing things, while all these things will be tied in to Petersburg in one way or another. Petersburg is the main and unifying theme among us. We all love this unusual city which more than many others has a need to be loved. Now there are truly a multitude of social organizations and, as a rule, they play the role of intermediary between people and private or state structures. Our club occupies a somewhat different niche. The people who come to us can express their opinions in a personal way, which is not only very interesting but also useful. There are many sore points which need to be discussed in open society; and there is a shortage of forums for such discussion. Our club not only facilitates talk about world and city topics, but allows us all together to find ways of resolving the various problems. These may be the question of preserving cultural monuments, planned construction which raises the density of the population and similar matters. The city authorities need constructive opinions of smart people. Our Club provides just that. We create public opinion. Moreover, all of our discussions take place in a very good and intellectual atmosphere.

Let me give a recent example. When we faced a risk of serious expansion of advertising in the center of Petersburg, we appealed to the Legislative Assembly and proposed that the law on restrictions be reviewed. In the name of the Club we wrote letters to various government offices. I personally contacted responsible officials and we agreed that a discussion of this question would be held and the opinion of our Club would be taken into account.

- Do you mean to say that plans and tasks emerge from the immediate personal interaction of these people?

- Essentially, yes. The Worldwide Club of Petersburgers is after all something more than just a club or social organization. When we meet together we plan things which are concrete, realistic and always good. We never take on unachievable tasks. Everything is always clear. Take, for example, our program for children: looking after young talent, its upbringing in a Petersburg atmosphere. In these days coming up to the celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the Victory in WWII, we remember the names of the extraordinary people, those heroes of the war years, many of whom we know well. Among them were military leaders, correspondents, poets, artists…. We remember those who formulated the special recipe for bread during the blockade, those who developed the best armor in the world for the legendary T-34 tank, who created military cutters in the besieged city, and much else.

The names of most of these people, some of whom were truly great, are either little known or forgotten. Such forgetfulness is not consistent with the image of Petersburg. The goal of our project is to commemorate the invaluable contribution of Leningrad scholars in achieving Victory.

In mid-February we conducted our Assemblies of the Worldwide Club of Petersburg in Estonia, in the Knights' Hall of the Narva Castle and the Kadriorg Palace of Tallinn. This charitable event was under the patronage of the Ministry of Culture of Estonia, the Mayor's Office of Tallinn and Narva, the RF State Duma and the Government of St Petersburg. The funds we collected will be spent on the restoration and consecration of a monument to the fallen Soviet soldiers near Narva, on the restoration and consecration of a monument to the sailors of the battleship Rusalka who perished in Tallinn, and on the restoration of monuments to Soviet soldiers who died in the Great Patriotic War and are buried on the territory of Estonia. On behalf of the Worldwide Club of Petersburgers we brought as gifts a hand-made vase bearing the engraved legend "In Memory of the Past and with Faith in the Future" and also a photo album and books about Petersburg. We would like to believe that our act will serve to bring the Russian and Estonian peoples closer together as we recollect the tragic events of our common history. As we all know, history both separates and unites. We want to unite everyone who is willing to experience together our single historical memory.

- You take the image of Petersburg out into the world. With which people from other countries are you trying to unite?

- Our main idea is to unite everyone in the world for whom Petersburg is interesting and close to their heart. And I must say we are not only talking about stars. Of course, we have in our circle a number of very famous people like the Romanovs and Sheremetievs, but there are also among us people who are not famous and live in other countries. They are not necessarily emigrants from Russia. In order to become a member of our Club, you do not even have to be born in Petersburg. To name one example, we have the U.S. Consul Mary Kruger, who is someone who fell in love with Petersburg, lived here for some time, became a Club member and regularly pays in her membership dues and always stays in touch with us.

Wherever we travel in Italy, New York, in England or as in the recent case, in Tallinn, we always try to bring with us the spirit of modern-day Petersburg, which has not gone far from the spirit Petersburg of yesteryear in some respects at least. We arrive from a living city and tell people what it is like to be here today. For many people this is an eye-opener. In this way we attract people and their positive energy to the idea of preserving Petersburg. Petersburg is a great city, but it cannot preserve its spirit all on its own.

- Do you cooperate in some way with the "Capital Petersburg Club," which has well-known Petersburg politicians as members?

- There are a number of organizations like that, but they have a different principle of operation. They collect Petersburgers abroad. We sometimes conduct joint sessions, joint events of various kinds and exhibitions in Moscow. The Moscow-based Petersburgers sometimes visit us here.

- Is Vladimir Putin also involved in this?

- Our Club was created with the blessing of Anatoly Sobchak and Vladimir Putin was already involved way back then. He became a member of our Club long before he was elected President of Russia. I later asked him if he intended to stay on as a member, and he confirmed that he will remain; he then accepted our documents with gratitude. Of course, these days he doesn't have enough time to visit us very often.

- It is clear what you contribute to the Club, but what does the Club bring you?

- We respond to what is interesting in life. I find it interesting to meet with these people. It is nice to see the benefit our Club does for the social life of the city. In my professional life I get around a lot and can see what works and what doesn't. Our Club fills a lot of lacunae. Its existence is important not only for those who are members. This is clear from the reaction of the general public and from our press clippings. The Club may not be very big, but our sessions are open to everyone. That is the way we are organized and I think it is useful. I feel the usefulness of it.

- Your organization has founded several prizes, such as the Roerich Prize. If you had to set up a prize in your own name, the "Mikhail Piotrovsky Prize," then what would be the criteria for awards?

- Nonetheless, it would more likely be called the "Prize of the Worldwide Club of Petersburgers" and would be awarded "To a Heart Devoted to the City." It is hard to say who should decide on the candidates. Then there will be the question of selecting the "judge" whose choice will be unconditional. There is a time for everything.