Literary museums as a space for representing Russian classics and the foundations of national culture

Abstract

This article focuses on how modern society understands the Russian classics, presenting this as a scholarly problem and substantiating the importance of its solution. Experts from various fields of the humanities view modern Russian society as heterogeneous: it is multi-ethnic and multi-confessional, and is subdivided into social groups based on age, income, and education. As Russia is a literature-centric country, the Russian classics, along with the Russian language, play a vital role in preserving the unity of national culture. However, classical literature is beginning to lose its standing among the younger generation. The article shows that for the modern young reader, the linguistic structure of a classical work presents hermeneutic difficulties, as does the historical and cultural context — encompassing everyday life, material culture, and the worldview. The study highlights that literary museums in Russia are repositories of national memory with a special mission. Nevertheless, the implementation of this mission requires a significant update of museum exhibitions and their engagement with visitors. The novelty of the authors’ concept lies in asserting the particular importance of a literary approach to the museum presentation of the classics. The authors’ hypothesis suggests that literary categories and concepts should underpin the creation of literary expositions and exhibitions aimed at bridging the hermeneutic gap between the reader–visitor and Russian literature. This hypothesis is confirmed by long-term museum practice of literary exhibitions: the article presents the experience of the Dostoevsky Literary and Memorial Museum (Saint Petersburg), and the development projects for the Rozhdestveno Estate Museum and the Priyutino Literature and Art Estate Museum.