Description of the attraction
The most significant and main desire of Pushkina Varvara Alekseevna was the preservation of the relics that remained after the death of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin. Her husband also died, and she decided to turn the Markučiai estate into a memorial house of the great poet in the city of Vilnius. In 1935, in her will, she expressed her will, because it was it that served as the reason for the creation and opening of the museum.
In her will, Varvara Alekseevna signed off the estate in Markuchai with all the furniture and equipment to the Vilna Russian society, which she instructed to open a museum in the estate named after A. S. Pushkin and conduct his affairs.
After her death, the owners of the estate began to fulfill the will. First, it was planned to resolve all issues of liquidating the estate's debts, and then proceed to the foundation of the museum. But the executor Razimov did not manage to accomplish his plan, since Lithuania changed its social system, as well as the form of ownership, therefore the Vilna Russian society ceased to operate. The Markučiai estate was nationalized. Further, the question of preserving the memory of A. S. Pushkin was taken over by the government of the Lithuanian SSR, which in the fourth decade founded a museum in memory of the poet.
During 1940-1949 the museum worked as an institution of the Cultural and Educational Department under the Ministerial Council of the Lithuanian SSR. From 1949 to 1955, it passed into the hands of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, and in 1955-1984 it belonged to the Ministry of Culture. In the period from 1984 to 1986, the museum underwent a major overhaul, after which the museum became owned by the Vilnius Department of Culture. Since 1990, the A. S. Pushkin is in the hands of the Vilnius city government.
As you know, A. S. Pushkin has not been to Lithuania, but literary and biographical ties connect him with this country: his son Grigory lived here on the Markuchiai estate with his wife Varvara, and Peter I baptized his great-grandfather Ibrahim Hannibal.
The exposition of the museum will acquaint visitors with the history of translations, as well as translators of the poet's works into Lithuanian. You can learn about theatrical performances based on the works of Pushkin in Lithuania.
The museum displays manuscripts of translators, books published in Lithuanian, photographs and illustrations created by artists. As for the theatrical exposition, it tells about the performances of Pushkin's works in theaters in Lithuania, for example, the opera "Eugene Onegin". You can see a huge number of photographs, posters and programs of performances, sketches of costumes, which were created by artists: N. Zelinsky, M. Dobuzhinsky, M. Pertsov.
The historical performance of the poet's works at the national Lithuanian ballet and opera theater is vividly presented: Boris Godunov, The Queen of Spades, Rusalka, Mozart and Salieri, Fountain of Bakhchisarai and others.
The memorial exhibition of the museum displays furniture that was ordered from Vilna craftsmen for the house in Markučiai. Most of the furniture has a carving of the coats of arms of the Pushkin family. All the furniture has survived and is presented in a memorial exposition, which preserves the authentic life of the landowners from Vilencia of the late 19th - early 20th centuries.
One of the rooms of the museum has a corner, which contains two velvet green chairs and a card table that belonged to the poet. The room walls are upholstered with linen, which were hand-embroidered by serf girls from the village of Mikhailovskoye, from which furniture was also brought. A cabinet made of mahogany contains 21 editions of A. S. Pushkin - this is a real treasure, because during the life of Pushkin, only 34 books were published. You can also see paintings, applications made by Varvara Pushkina.
In 1999, Lithuania celebrated the 200th anniversary of the birth of the great poet A. S. Pushkin. A sumptuous evening was held at the Lithuanian Drama Theater, as well as many cultural events. In the same year, the museum building was restored.
In the A. S. Pushkin has a rich cultural life: concerts, musical evenings, exhibitions, literary evenings are held, as well as memorable dates from the life of the great poet. The museum cooperates with foreign museums, cultural institutions, conducts educational and educational work.
