Saratov is the city of young years, early period of work and all the creative destiny of Alexandr Pavlovich Kibalnikov.
Next day, we were hurrying to the Saratov Regional Local History Museum, famous for its abundant collection, very competent staff and gifted managers. On the way, we found time to admire the beautiful city running the risk not to get everywhere on time…
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Marina Victorovna Provorotova, the Head Keeper of the Local History Museum met us to take around the exposition. In every hall, we would learn more of Saratov history; and at the exhibition ‘Our Distinguished Countrymen’ displayed at the Museum, we got flooded with joy, astonishment and pride.
In the first place, we were happy to see the material on Alexandr Pavlovich Kibalnikov constantly exposed at the Museum (let a prejudiced reader forgive us), we were proud (although it is not in vogue) of out country; it astonished us that the city of Saratov presented such a constellation of talents to the country, of which fact even we (people educated to some extent) had known so very little or almost nothing...
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Major scientists of the 20th century: N.I. Vavilov and N.N. Semionov, constructor O.K. Antonov, composer A.G. Shnitke, writer L.A. Cassil and architect F.О. Shekhtel, all these names are connected with Saratov. Truly People’s Artists loved dearly by the country from Lydia Rouslanova to Eugeniy Mirinov; there are also Boris Babochkin and Boris Andreyev, Oleg Yankovskiy and Oleg Tabakov.
And indeed People’s Sculptor Alexandr Kibalnikov.
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We are heartily grateful to Eugeniy Mikhailovich Kazantsev, the Director of the Saratov Regional Local History Museum and Deputy Director Lubov’ Yakovlevna Solomonova for cooperation and active assistance in preparing the exhibition dedicated to A.P. Kibalnikov’s centenary in Moscow.
We were running from the Local History Museum to the Museum of N.G. Chernyshevskiy where they had been waiting for us again, and again we were not on time…
Sure, it’s not good, to be late. A thousand apologies…
But how could we really interrupt the story of Marina Mikhailovna Raskova, the Pilot Hero of the Soviet Union …
How could we see nothing on our way…
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All the same, we couldn’t help dropping at the State Museum of K.A. Fedin where they were exhibiting a constant exposition: ‘House of Russian Literature of the 20th Century’, the only exhibition in Nizhnevolzhskiy (Lower Volga) Region dedicated to the history of Russian literature. We were welcome as if we had been waited for … And right on the Director’s desk, there was an Album with La Gioconda on the front page and the inscription: Leonardo Da Vinci… |
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We are heartily grateful to Valentina Semionovna Zhukova, the Director of the State Museum of K.A. Fedin, and Tatiana Ilyinichna Syromiatnikova, the Head of Exposition Section, for active cooperation.
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Having run to the Museum-Estate of Nikolay Gavrilovich Chernyshevskiy towards evening, we wondered that we had been on time for everything; but again the time was up to catch the train for Moscow, and we rushed out again…
The days are running. Months and years are darting past.
Cities, life stories, destinies are flashing by. People’s faces. Clever, kind, beautiful faces…
All the time we miss something. Just see, we didn’t tell you how we came to the Monument to Lenin in Saratov the day before, the fourth monumental work by A.P. Kibalnikov in the streets of the city.
We arrived at the square at sunset, and on our way we were opening ‘our’ Saratov with its every old house (from our miserable point of view) being a historical and architectural monument...
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We had not enough time to tell you of the State Museum of Art named after A.N. Radishchev, the pearl of Saratov. Of close bonds between Alexandr Pavlovich Kibalnikov’s destiny and the story of the Museum of Art. Of the sculptor’s work on the writer’s image, of how the wonderful monument to A.N. Radishchev in front of the Saratov Museum of Art had been created.
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And we haven’t tell you anything of the people of Saratov, although they do deserve it.
…Of those wonderful charming women of Saratov (let the stronger half of the mankind forgive such narrow-mindedness), who are keeping and enhancing our culture..
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But we are not going to tell you of the place in Saratov where magic violet lilac grows. For it’s a secret. We shall come to Saratov again to have a look at the lilac.
We shall come to sit on the bank of the Volga and not to run to anywhere… To think, to feel nostalgic and to play chess…
More, we shall return for we love to climb up any staircases. They are special in Saratov, so we shall definitely tread on those steps…
That is why we shall come back to that city.
Margarita Siourina,
August 31, 2012