Peoples of Russia

On October 8, the "Peoples of Russia" exhibition, dedicated to the Year of Unity of the Peoples of Russia, opens in the Main Building of the Irkutsk Art Museum (5 Lenin Street). The exhibition features over 120 paintings and graphic works, as well as sculpture and decorative and applied arts. The theme of the country’s national diversity has been reflected in the work of artists over several centuries.

The holiday’s history dates back to the Time of Troubles — an era of fierce power struggle that followed the end of the Rurik dynasty. Nizhny Novgorod mayor Kuzma Minin and Prince Dmitry Pozharsky managed to unite representatives of various classes and peoples (nobles, Cossacks, Streltsy, peasants) into a single people’s militia, which was victorious in 1612. Inextricably linked to these events is the history of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, which became the spiritual banner of the militia and the prototype of the holiday we today honor as National Unity Day.

The exhibition features works by 19th- to 21st-century masters who had a keen interest in the everyday life and culture of various peoples. Embarking on expeditions to the Caucasus, the Volga region, the Urals, Siberia, and the Far East, these artists created not just sketches but full-fledged works that capture the character, virtues, and inner beauty of the local people. Viewers will have the opportunity to journey across the vast expanses of Russia, discovering not only the aesthetic perfection of their paintings but also the astonishing diversity of customs, traditions, and personalities that inhabit our country.