G.A. Prichodova
A museum as a social and cultural institute faces today a number of problems, the solution of which is possible only on the basis of partnership relationships with other organizations. These problems are as follows:
Looking a bit aside, I would like to underline the peculiar importance of the information technologies for museum development nowadays.
They serve as effective means for searching partners and cooperation with them within contemporary programmes and projects.
The creation of corporate data banks and general portals of access to information resources, E-mail correspondence, exchange of ideas during computer conferences, mutual efficient consulting, remote elaboration and cooperation of joint action plans, all this speeds up to a great extent the processes of production and strengthens partnership relationships. But very often a museum just cannot afford all these technical means that are quite expensive.
And this circumstance instigates, in the finest sense of the word, museums to strengthen partnership relations, to master partnership technologies that allow them to make up such deficiencies for other methods of development and strengthening of partnership connections.
And the project method of the organization of museum work forms a basis for it.
It is intended to direct museum work to socially important result which is difficult to achieve within a museum institution but quite real on condition of the wide-spread intermuseum and out-of-museum cooperation.
This process results, on the level one museum, in numerous realizations of museum initiatives by temporary creative groups, consisting of museum workers and specialists from other museum institutions.
It’s quite characteristic that these forms of structural interaction and cooperation among museums develop very quickly and what is more important are quite effective. But the process is free of compulsion, orders and some institutes are not superior to others what was typical of administrative-built organizations.
At the same time partnership systems haven’t got disadvantages that are typical of market-directed corporations, they are not afraid of competition and don’t depend of market conditions. Our project “Memory of Heart”, initiated in 2000 by Krasnoyarsk cultural and historical museum complex and Krasnoyarsk association “Memorial” is a typical example and specimen of such partnership project.
In the process of development of the project the number of participants and structures that wanted to contribute their share to the formation of the free civil society was increasing every year.
These are such state and authoritative structures as:
Museum community: Krasnoyarsk cultural and historical museum complex, international cultural centre of the Krasnoyarsk cultural and historical museum complex:
Public organizations:
Educational institutions:
Political organization:
And ordinary people which somehow or other are involved in the events our project tells about.
In this sense I should tell a few words about the project itself:
The project “Memory of heart” appeared in 2000 after combined expedition of the Krasnoyarsk cultural and historical museum complex and Krasnoyarsk association “Memorial”.
General–Lieutenant Nikolai Numerov, the former prisoner of Gorlag (in the system of Norillag) was aboard a water ship following the “way of death” to Norilsk (it was called so in the period of repressions).
Basically the expedition took place thanks to Nikolai Numerov - this “life exhibit” – life whiteness of those remote and shady years of our history.
Considering the results of the expedition there appeared an idea to work out such a project.
Of course, everything is possible. It is possible to remake and correct our history in accordance with school books, to strike out the names, to imagine unreal heroes and to invent something to please some individuals and the demands of our time. Everything is possible. But for the time being. For God’s sake, one day there comes a “moment of truth” for everything in this world. And it has come for our history. It is impossible to remake and correct human’s heart, isn’t it? Only its Creator can understand it. And heart has its own, true, memory. There has come the time to tell about certain people, destinies and deeds. The time of their “return from non-existence”, the time to show the true face of evil or at least one of its faces. We don’t convict people, don’t search the right and the guilty. God is everybody’s judge, but we try, as far as possible, considering historic facts, the matters of record, to tell about what has become known to us, to make it common knowledge and to show through museum means “how it happened”. It is necessary for our descendants, not for us.
Since 2000 our museum together with Krasnoyarsk association “Memorial” organize every year on 30th October the action in commemoration of the victims of political repressions, which consists of:
In 2002 the stone “In memory of the victims of political repressions” was founded at the place where a monument will be founded soon, as we hope.
I think that we managed to stir civil consciousness to greater activity in the society in general and what is more important among young people. I think one shouldn’t search for some special explanations and secrets here – the time for it has just come. A humane being is built in such a way that his sole and heart are always longing for harmony through love, kindness and beauty. I cannot imagine a person who doesn’t want to be loved, to be surrounded by care, warmth, smile, and true understanding, and that is why, no matter whether we want it or not, there comes the time to correlate “what has happened”, “what is happening now” and “what will happen”. And moral frame of reference acquires its true outline, thus helping a person to find his place in life and a desire not only to live in civil society but take part in the process of creation of such a society, where creative principles are most important, where there is a national idea and where “patriotism” is not a mere empty word.
As a historian a can say that all the unknown facts of our history are necessary to come into light and the reluctance to know our history leads to the appearance of people who don’t remember their kindred and as a result to degradation of the spiritual and moral essential principals of State system and gradual disappearance of need for virtue. I believe that “deeds and destinies are ruled by people”, that’s why the destiny of Russia depends upon the people who will live here, in other words upon us, our children and grandchildren. In this sense I hope that such projects contribute a lot to awakening and manifestation of natural patriotic feelings and formation of self-consciousness, self-determination and all-sufficiency of the nation and Russian people.