The State Hermitage Museum: Hermitage News

Conference: Personifications of Peter the Great's Time

On 16 and 17 November 2004, a scholarly conference took place in the Menshikov Palace which was devoted to the history, culture and art of Peter the Great's time. Staff from scholarly institutions of St Petersburg and Moscow took part in the conference.

The year 2004 marks the 331st anniversary of the birth of St Petersburg's governor, Prince Alexander Danilovich Menshikov. Many of the scholars at the conference dedicated their reports to him. M.A. Alekseev spoke about Menshikov's princely coat of arms. T. A. Lapteva's report focused on Menshikov's first house in Moscow. E.A. Maralova delivered a talk about the history of the so-called Alekseevsky Palace on the Pekhorka river during the times of the illustrious prince. I.V.Saverkina spoke about what Menshikov studied and why, as well as about his library.

Other reports at the conference dealt with such lively personalities of the Petrine age as Francois Lefort (I.D. Guzevich, D. Yu. Guzevich); Ivan Alekseevich Balakirev (A. Yu. Chebotarev); Anna Petrovna, the tsar's daughter, who had the title of Duchess of Holstein (N.I. Tarasova); and Mikhail Ivanovich Shchepotev (M.Yu. Dankov). E.V. Gusarova reported on military engineers in Astrakhan in the 18th century, while V.A. Kovrigina spoke about Yu.-S. Scharfschmidt, the pastor of the New Lutheran Church in Moscow.

There was considerable interest in the information which O. G. Ageeva presented regarding police officials of Petersburg during the years 1711-1718 (Î.G. Ageeva), as well as in A.I. Alekseev's report entitled Documents on the princely family history of the Menshikovs in the manuscript division of the Russian National Library. S. O. Androsov gave a speech about the architect Nicola Michetti.

Conference reports also covered many issues relating to the study of 18th century Russian culture and art. E. An Andreeeva spoke about St Petersburg and its environs during the years 1703-1704. L.I. Ivanova-Veen told of the Moscow chambers of A P. Volynsky designed by architect P.M. Yeropkin. M.V. Babich gave a report on the main officials running the central and local government administration during the 1720's and ‘30's. Ò.A. Bazarova presented an overview of urban design and reconstruction in St Petersburg during the age of Peter the Great. E. A. Tyukhmeneva's paper was devoted to the sculptural forms of triumphal ensembles during the Petrine age. P. E. Sorokin spoke about the Yekaterinhof Palace in Peterhof. E. Yu. Stanyukovich-Denisova's presentation focused on Count S. A. Saltykov's house on the Kryukov Canal which was designed by the architect Yeropkin. In his report I. A. Rabotkevich described the meeting courtyard in the Lefortovo soldiers' settlement in 1715 as a source for studying military communities of Moscow during the age of Peter I. S. L. Malafeeva talked about the role of the Moscow palaces of Peter the Great's entourage in the evolution and formation of imperial residences from 1690 to 1720.

The conference participants also heard reports by O.S. Evangulova on how Western European art came to be accepted in Russia during the age of Peter the Great; by P. A. Krotov on the working hours of G. Thornton; by A. A. Karev on the peculiarities in the portrayal of triumphal space in engravings during Peter's time; by O.A. Zadorzhney on the time spent in Siberia by military prisoners from the Northern War; and by K.V. Malinovsky on the functions of the Chancellery of City Police Affairs during the first third of the 18th century. Abstracts of the reports have been published in Personifications of Peter the Great's Time - 2004, St Petersburg, 2004.