Address
124 Subaciaus St, LT-11345, Vilnius.
Tel. +370~5~2600080.
Fax +370~5~2600080.
E-mail:
info.puskino@vilniausmuziejai.lt
Web-site
http://www.vilniausmuziejai.lt/a_puskinas/a_p_files/a_p_index/a_p_index_en.htm
Opening times
Wednesday to Sunday 10.00-17.00.
Additional
services
Orders can be placed and information obtained on:
telephones +370~5~ 2600080,
2601450; fax +370~5~2600080,
E-mail
puskinap@takas.lt
We offer to visitors the
possibilities:
-
To
acquaint themselves with the exposition and acting exhibitions
individually (without the museum’s guide)
Ticket prices:
for studying young people – 2 Lt;
for adults – 4 lt.
*Prices of tickets may be changed.
-
To order conducted tours (with
the museum's guide)
Prices of the tours with the museum‘s guide:
for studying young people – 3 Lt;
for adults: a group of up to 10 people
– 40 Lt;
a group of more than 10 people – 40 Lt and
entrance tickets (4 Lt for a person)
*Prices of tickets may be changed.
-
To order itinerant exhibitions
and events travelling to other establishments
The museum has prepared and has the possibility to arrange the
following itinerant exhibitions: “A.Pushkin’s life and creative work”,
“A.Pushkin and Lithuania”, “A.Pushkin in pupils’ artistic works”,
“V.Pushkina’s drawings”, “Life at Markuchiai estate“, “Museums of
A.Pushkin”, “A.Otto-Onegin museum in Paris”, “A.Pushkin in ex-librises”.
We also offer lectures on the above-mentioned subjects and concerts
prepared by the museum to those who are interested.
-
To acquaint themselves with the
video films, collected in the museum
There is a 25 seat-room equipped to show video film at the
museum. We offer our visitors to see feature films created on themes of
A. Pushkin’s works, to acquaint themselves with filmed documentary
materials about the poet’s life and creative work, and the chronicle
about cherishing A. Pushkin’s memory in Lithuania and other countries.
Ticket price for 1 person – 1 Lt.
*Ticket price may be changed.
-
To organise literature lessons,
seminars, conferences, business meetings, photo sessions and other
events at the museum
We offer to persons interested the museum‘s 30
seat-reception-room and 25 seat- video film show-room for conducting
literature or history lessons, holding seminars, conferences, business
meetings, arranging concerts and other events. There is a possibility to
use the museum‘s interior for photo sessions.
-
To use the library and archive
There are more than 1500 units of published materials collected
in the museum’s library. The greater part of them is about A. Pushkin’s
life and creative work, his relatives and contemporaries, many critical
and research works, publications about cherishing the poet’s memory in
Lithuania and abroad.
There are documents about the Markuchiai estate in Varvara and Grigory‘s
time stored in the museum‘s archive.
Collections
More
than 8000 exhibits are stored at the Literary museum of A. Pushkin
– the taken over values of Grigory and Varvara’s
family heritage (furniture of the early 19th century –
first half of the 20th century, housekeeping goods, manuscripts,
photographs and photo-negatives, books and other publications), and the
exhibits acquired by the museum in 1940–2005 years,
among which are values from the writer P. Antokolsky’s stock - library
books, manuscripts, memorial things and works of art (over 2000 units).
The museum‘s values are divided into the main stock (authentic or rare
exhibits of the museum profile) and the subsidiary stock (exhibits,
necessary for the museum‘s activities and reflecting their aims).
In 2002, 349 exhibits of the subsidiary stock (materials of a former
exposition dedicated to J. Kolas and J.
Kupala) were handed over to the association of Byelorussian public
organisations of Lithuania, for establishing a museum.
Enriching of the museum‘s stock of collections is carried out in several
thematic directions: the poet Alexander Pushkin‘s personality, his
creative and public work, his circle and environment, “A.Pushkin and
Lithuania” - immortalization and cherishing the poet‘s memory, Grigory and
Varvara Pushkins‘ personalities, their public work and environment, style
of life, customs and traditions of Vilnius landowners of the middle of the
19th century – first half of the 20th century,
studying of social role of the Markuchiai locality and its environs.
There is also a part of Grigory and Varvara Pushkins'
family archives (family letters, documents of the Markuchiai estate, and
their copies) stored at the museum. Another part of that archives was
removed in 1946 for storing to the literary institute “Pushkinskyi dom” (Pushkin’s
house) in Russia.
Expositions
Besides the museum itself, there is an 18-hectare park with ponds, the family cemetery, St Varvara's Chapel
Pushkin's monument
Memorial exposition
In 1867, Aleksej Melnikov, an engineer, specialist in railway
building, and general, who had arrived to Vilnius to build a railway
Petersburg-Vilnius, bought the Markuchiai estate and started building a
new summer cottage (now the building of A. Pushkin's
Literary museum). It was finished in the year 1868.
When in the year 1875 Varvara Melnikova was marrying to Vasily Moshkov, A.
Melnikov presented to her the Markuchiai estate as a dowry.
After divorcing V. Moshkov and marrying to Grigory Pushkin
(in 1883), Varvara returned to Markuchiai only in 1899. At the
Markuchiai estate, she with her husband Grigory lived till death.
Their dwelling house - the museum building, with the exception of a
masonry extension and some elements of decoration, has left unchanged till
these days.
When still living in Michailovskoje, Grigory and Varvara Pushkins placed
anorder to Vilnius craftsmen for manufacturing furniture for their
farm-stead in Markuchiai. Most of them had been made from oaks of Vilnius
environs. They were adorned with Pushkin family‘s emblems and Varvara
Pushkina‘s initials. They have remained whole and are exhibited in a
museum‘s memorial exposition, in which the authentic way of life of
Vilnius landlords of the XIX cent. end
– XX cent. beginning was
preserved.
In one of exposition rooms – A.
Pushkin's corner – a
small card-table and two upholstered in green velvet armchairs that
belonged to the poet Alexander Pushkin, brought by Grigory and Varvara
from Michailovskoje, are kept. Walls of that room have been upholstered
with linen, embroidered by serf girls from Michailovskoje (a copy created
by Vilnius textile craftsmens after the fashion of preserved patterns).
There are 21 books of A. Pushkin's works, published
when he was alive, stored in a redwood bookcase. It's
a real treasure, because only 34 books had been published during the poet's
life. There are also exhibited V. Pushkina's
painted pictures and her appliqué works, family photos.
Alexander Pushkin (1799–1837)
The exposition acquaints visitors with main phases of the
poet‘s life and creative work.
1799–1811. Childhood;
1811–1817. Years at the Lyceum;
1817–1820. Petersburg period;
1820–1822. Exile in the South;
1824–1825. Exile in Michailovskoje;
Marriage to Natalie Goncharova;
Duel and death.
Alexander Pushkin and Lithuania
A. Pushkin has visited neither in Vilnius nor
Lithuania. However, the poet is bound with Lithuania with biographical and
literary ties. The youngest poet‘s son Grigory with his wife Varvara got
married in 1883 in Vilnius and in 1899–1905 they lived in Markuchiai.
They are also buried there. It is believed that in Vilnius Piatnicka
church, the tsar Peter I baptised the poet's
grand-grandfather Ibrahim Hanibal.
The exposition acquaints visitors with the
history of translating A. Pushkin‘s works into the Lithuanian language and
the translators who did them, as well as with the performances based on
the motives of A. Pushkin’s works in the theatres of Lithuania.
Translations and translators of A. Pushkin's
works.
The first A.Pushkin's work, translated into
Lithuanian, was the poem „A drowned man“, translated by Petras
Arminas-Trupinelis, published in 1885 in a Lithuanian calendar of “Aušra”
(the Dawn) society. Later, S. Dagilis translated fragments from “Evgeny
Onegin”, P. Vaichaitis – “The Covetous Knight” and
the unfinished lyrical drama “The Mermaid”. In 1902, in Suvalkai A.
Pushkin’s „The Tale of the Fisherman and the fish“ was published, and in
1913 – the first critical work – the article of M.
Gustaitis “Pushkin and the Crimea‘s sonnets“ – was published.
There are translators‘ manuscripts,
photos, the published books in Lithuanian and artists‘ created
illustrations exhibited in showcases.
A. Pushkin's
works on stages of the Lithuanian theatres.
The exposition is telling about performances of A. Pushkin's
works at Lithuanian theatres from 1923 y, when a premiere of P.
Chaikovsky's opera “Evgeny Onegin”, later
time and again staged on boards of various Lithuanian theatres, took place
at the State Theatre in Kaunas.
There are a lot of photos, playbills and posters of performances, sketches
of costumes created by the artists M. Dobuzhinskis,
N. Zelinskis, M. Percov on
exhibition.
The history of staging
A. Pushkin‘s works at the Lithuanian National Opera and Ballet Theatre is
widely presented (in the year 198, opera “Boris Godunov” was staged, in
1934 and 2002 – “The Queen of Spades”, in 1963
– “Mozart and Salier”, in 1948 –
“The Mermaid”, in 1951 – “Mazepa”, in 1950
– the ballet“
The Fountain of Bakchisarai
”).
Exhibitions
The museum organises exhibitions of literature, photography, numismatics and applied art.
Culture, education
An intensive cultural life is going on in the museum:
literary-musical evening parties, concerts, exhibitions and other events
are arranged there, memorable dates are commemorated. The museum
collaborates with other Lithuanian and foreign museums, education and
culture institutions, nongovernmental organisations, carries out
enlightening and educating activities
Exhibitions on Pushkin’s life and creative work, cherishing his memory,
his contemporaries, Markuchiai district are arranged at the museum‘s room
from time to time. Catalogues of such exhibitions are issued.
The most famous Lithuanian actors and soloists - V. Jefremov, N.
Ambrazaityte, V. Prudnikov, V. Noreika, A. Berba, S. Janchaite, L.
Nazarenko, R. Alechnovich, and others, actors from Latvia L. Lencas and S.
Vidiakina were on a visit to the museum’s sitting-room.
Since the year 2001, the Literary museum of A.Pushkin’s and the Society of
Admirers of the Poet A. Pushkin are organising a contest of amateur art
activities “My Alexander Pushkin” on the poet’s personality, episodes of
his life, personages of his works, as well as Markuchiai or the Literary
museum of A.Pushkin in Vilnius had to be depicted. The aim of the contest
is to interest pupils in the creative work and personality of one of the
greatest poets of the world, to encourage them to take pride in the fact,
that Lithuania, Vilnius is one of non-abundant places related with
Pushkin’s name not only by literary but also by biographical connections.
The contest is very popular among Lithuanian pupils. Visitors of the
museum are delighted with unlimited children's
fantasy, inventiveness and talents.
The museum has close contacts of cultural collaboration with A. Pushkin’s
museums in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, the Russian Literary Institute
“Pushkinskyj Dom” of the Academy of Sciences of Russia, the poet‘s museum
in Michailovskoje, the Society of Admirers of the Poet A.
Pushkin in Vilnius, the Societies of A. Pushkin in Riga and
Tallinn, organisations of national minorities in Lithuania, the Embassy of
Russian Federation, and other embassies. Great attention is paid to work
with companies engaged in developing tourism.
History of the museum
The
strongest wish and concern of Varvara Pushkina (1855–1935)
after her husband Grigiry’s (1835–1905) death was
to preserve the present poet A. Pushkin’s relics, and to turn the house of
the Markuchiai estate into a centre of cherishing the poet’s memory in
Vilnius. She expressed such a will in her testament executed in the year
1935 that became a pretext of establishing the museum.
In the testament, she demised the central farmstead of the Markuchiai
estate with its entire inventory to a trusteeship of the Vilnius Russian
society and charged the Society to establish and run A. Pushkin’s museum
at the farmstead.
Since the whole Markuchiai estate, including the part left to the Vilnius
Russian society, was already wallowing in debts even when V. Pushkina was
still alive, the executor of the testament was obliged to liquidate
indebtedness by selling the remaining parts of the estate and to hand over
the part of the estate left to the the Vilnius Russian society to its
ownership without any liabilities.
After Markuchiai owner Varvara Pushkin’s death in 1935, Vladimir Nazimov
the testament executor, started carrying out the will: solving questions
of settling debts and ensuring appearance of other conditions, stipulated
by the testator for the establishment of the museum at the central estate
house.
However, V.Nazimov had not succeeded in fulfilling the part of Varvara
Pushkin’s testament, by which he was entrusted to liquidate the whole
Markuchiai estate, to pay off debts and to hand over the bequeathed by the
will part to the Vilnius Russian society for the establishment of the
museum: a state system and forms of ownership in Lithuania changed,
organisations, that were acting till that time terminated their activities
- among them the Vilnius Russian society, most of its members were
arrested and deported or imprisoned. Landed estates in Lithuania, the
Markuchiai estate including, were nationalised.
Later the questions of immortalising the memory of A. Pushkin in Vilnius
took over under its care a government of the formed Lithuanian SSR that in
the fourth decade established a museum in memory of the poet.
In 1940–1949, the museum worked as one of Culture
and Education institutions at the Council of Ministers of the Lithuanian
SSR, in 1949–1955, it belonged to Lithuanian SSR
Science Academy, in 1955-1984 - to the Ministry of Culture of the
Lithuanian SSR. In 1984-1986, the museum, for a period of major repairs
was attached to the Culture Administration of the Vilnius City Executive
Committee, later, in the yeas 1986-1990, it was reorganised into a
sub-unit of Vilnius writers’ memorial museum.
From the year 1990, the museum is an independent culture institution of
Vilnius Municipality.
