Virtual Event Archive

A Conversation with Artist Leon Hushcha

February 7, 2024

As a part of his exhibition at The Museum of Russian Art in Minneapolis, MN, Ukrainian-American artist Leon Hushcha discusses his immigrant experience, the Ukrainian influences on his work, and how they blend with the American identity he forged through sports and art studies in Minnesota. The Art of Leon Hushcha: The Way was on view at The Museum of Russian Art from December 3, 2023 – March 3 – 2024.

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Virtual Artist Talk with Olga Volchkova 

December 7, 2023

Artist Olga Volchkova discussed her work, on display at TMORA from December 2, 2023 through March 24, 2024 in Nature’s Saints: Icons by Olga Volchkova. Painted in the traditional style of Eastern Orthodox icon-painting, Volchkova’s icons present familiar vegetables, fruit, herbs, and other plants as divine beings, paying long-overdue tribute to the spiritual dimension as well as the fundamental role plants provide to safeguard life on earth. 

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Leningrad Underground: A Virtual Talk with Collector Ruvim Braude 

October 19, 2023

Selected works from Ruvim and Inna Braude’s personal collection were on view at TMORA for Leningrad Underground: Unofficial Artists of the Soviet Era, an exhibition exploring the clandestine artistic communities of Leningrad. For this virtual conversation, Braude drew from his own experiences with the artists and his personal history with the artworks to offer a singular perspective on a unique exhibition. 

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Virtual Tour with the Curator & Collector: Holiday Paper Ornaments from the Soviet Union 

December 21, 2022

Experience a virtual tour of TMORA’s 2022-23 holiday exhibition, Ephemeral and Eternal: Holiday Paper Ornaments from the Soviet Union, with TMORA’s Curator Dr. Masha Zavialova and Collector Kim Balaschak. The exhibition focuses on ornaments and holiday accoutrements from New Year celebrations in the Soviet Union – all made from or printed on paper.

On view (through January 15, 2023) are garlands, tree ornaments, postcards, posters, photographs, newspapers, and magazines produced in the USSR before 1966. Inexpensive and short-lived, paper ornaments are more vulnerable to the inexorable effects of time than items made from sturdier materials, and their survival in collections is indeed a miracle. Our holiday collection was thoughtfully put together by Kim Balaschak during her stay in Moscow in the late 1990s and gifted to the Museum in its entirety in 2021. Balaschak collected only those that were made before 1966 when it became common to mass-produce holiday decorations for sale in Soviet stores.

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Diaghilev’s Empire: An Interview with Author Rupert Christiansen

October 26, 2022

Enjoy this deep-dive into the world of the Ballets Russes. TMORA presents an in-depth interview of author Rupert Christiansen, dance critic for The Spectator, by fellow author Simon Morrison (Bolshoi Confidential). Diaghilev’s Empire, the publication of which marks the one hundred and fiftieth anniversary of Diaghilev’s birth, is an impeccably researched and daring reassessment of the phenomenon of the Ballets Russes and the Russian Revolution in twentieth-century art and culture. Rupert Christiansen explores the fiery conflicts, outsize personalities, and extraordinary artistic innovations that make up this enduring story of triumph and disaster

BUY THE BOOK

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Virtual Tour with the Curator: Anti-War Political Cartoons by Ukrainian and Russian Artists

April 29, 2022

Experience a virtual tour of the exhibition Say No to War: Political Cartoons by Ukrainian and Russian Artists with Curator Dr. Masha Zavialova and Artist Andrey Feldshteyn. This exhibition of anti-war political cartoons includes recent works by renowned cartoonists from Ukraine and Russia created in response to the Russian aggression in Ukraine. The exhibition is organized by The Museum of Russian Art (TMORA) in collaboration with Minnesota artist Andrey Feldshteyn, who has worked in the genre of political cartoons for four decades. At the beginning of the war, Andrey approached a number of artists with an invitation to share their works for this exhibition and they sent their amazing works to be displayed at TMORA. This exhibition is ever-changing and rotating because of the large number of works that continue to be submitted and will be on view until the end of the war.

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Virtual Tour with the Curator: An American in Siberia

April 27, 2022

TMORA invites you to experience a virtual tour of the exhibition An American in Siberia with Curator Dr. Masha Zavialova and Collector Charles Lane. Drawn from the family archives of Minnesota resident Charles Lane, the exhibition presents photographs documenting the 1931-1932 trip to Siberia of Lane’s grandfather Carl Holschuh. In 1931, Holschuh, who was an expert in the operation of blast furnaces, was hired by the Chicago-based Freyn Engineering Company to work at the construction site of a large steel mill in Kuznetsk, Southern Siberia. The construction of the Kuznetsk mill was one of the key points in Stalin’s vast industrialization program and, like other projects (most notably the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station), involved Western European and American companies. While in Kuznetsk, Holschuh created a unique photographic archive of the construction, its sites, and people from which the display in the Mezzanine Gallery of the Museum is drawn.

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The Portrait Tells a Story: Lloyd Patterson in Soviet Russia

February 23, 2022

The Museum of Russian Art presents the virtual program The Portrait Tells a Story: Lloyd Patterson in Soviet Russia. This virtual discussion centers around the life of Lloyd Patterson (1910-1942), a participant of the 1932 Soviet-German film project Black and White intended to highlight racism in the United States. Patterson traveled to Soviet Russia in a group of 22 Black Americans to participate in the project. Among other group members were Langston Hughes, Louise Thompson, and Dorothy West, prominent literary figures and activists of the Harlem Renaissance, as well as Homer Smith Jr., a postal worker and journalist (from Minneapolis), Wayland Rudd, an actor, and others. The film was never made and most of the participants returned to the United States. Lloyd Patterson stayed in Soviet Russia and married Ukrainian artist Vera Aralova. Their child, James (Jimmy), became the most famous Soviet child movie star of the 1930s, performing in the 1936 film The Circus.

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Virtual Tour with the Curator: Sergei and Alexei Tkachev

February 16, 2022

Experience a virtual tour of the exhibition Sergei and Aleksei Tkachev: Masters of Russian Realist Art with TMORA’s Curator Dr. Masha Zavialova and Director of Public Programs Michelle Massey. Sergei and Aleksei Tkachev are distinguished masters of Russian Realist art whose contribution to Russia’s artistic legacy is highly recognized both in their country and abroad. The Tkachev brothers were born in the village of Chugunovka, in the Bryansk region. They received their training at the Surikov Art Institute in Moscow. Sergei graduated in 1952 from the studio of Sergei Gerasimov, and Aleksei in 1951 from the studio of Fedor Modorov and Dmitri Mochalski. For nearly sixty years, the renowned brothers have painted together, frequently on the same canvas, developing a recognizable style of their own. They earned the honorary titles of People’s Artist of the USSR and both were awarded the USSR State Prize, among numerous other honors. The Museum of Russian Art presents more than twenty works by these prominent masters of Russian Art from private American collections. This exhibition is on view in the Mezzanine Gallery through March 20, 2022.

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Virtual Tour with the Artist: Andréa Stanislav

December 10, 2021

Experience a virtual tour of the exhibition, Andréa Stanislav: Cosmist Reconstructions – Memories of Earth, with artist Andréa Stanislav and TMORA Chief Curator Dr. Masha Zavialova. Andréa Stanislav is a New York-based contemporary visual artist, who also works in Bloomington, Indiana, and St. Petersburg, Russia. Her practice spans sculpture, video installation, and public art. Andréa received a M.F.A. from Alfred University, NY, and a B.F.A. from The School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Stanislav’s work has been exhibited and collected internationally at museums, galleries, public commissions, and art fairs, including solo exhibitions at the Mattress Factory Museum of Contemporary Art in Pittsburgh, the Museum of Cosmonautics – Moscow, and the Saint Louis Art Museum. She is the recipient of a National Centre for Contemporary Art Residency – St. Petersburg; and McKnight Artists Fellowship, among others. Andréa Stanislav is an Associate Professor of Sculpture and an Affiliate Faculty of the Russian and Eastern European Institute at Indiana University – Bloomington.

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Ballet Photography: Alexey Brodovitch and E.O. Hoppé

October 21, 2021

Two artists, one common passion. Celebrate the work of designer Alexey Brodovitch and photographer E.O. Hoppé, and explore their shared and enduring connection with the art of ballet. Dr. Curt Lund, design historian and assistant professor at Hamline University, shares an in-depth look at both men’s photographic legacies, centering on works from both current exhibitions — Alexey Brodovitch: Designer of the Avant-Garde and E.O. Hoppé and the Ballets Russes — and places them in context within a broader history of 20th century ballet photography in the United States and Europe during this virtual presentation.

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Virtual Tour with the Collector

September 24, 2021

The Museum of Russian Art (TMORA) invites you to experience a virtual tour of the exhibition, The Ancient Artel: Lacquer Miniatures, with collector Dave Christensen and TMORA Curator Dr. Masha Zavialova.

This exhibition, featuring approximately 30 lacquer boxes and objects – all from Christensen’s collection, explores the unique Russian art of miniature painting on papier-mâché. Richly detailed, carefully crafted and colorful, the lacquer miniatures of this exhibition reveal the distinct styles and techniques that developed in family workshops and passed down through generations of master craftsmen in the town of Palekh.

For centuries, Palekh was a renowned icon-painting center. After the 1917 Revolution and collapse of imperial Russia, religion was banned throughout the vast Soviet country. Icon painters had to seek alternative ways of making a living. Artists from Palekh found a clever solution to channel their artistic spirit: painting on papier-mâché boxes. While the subject matter and materials were new, the tradition and communicative power of the art of icon-painting remained.

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Virtual Opening with the Curator

June 25, 2021

The Museum of Russian Art invites you to glimpse the galleries and listen to insightful commentary by TMORA’s Curator, Dr. Masha Zavialova on the eve of opening two new exhibitions:

Main Gallery – Alexey Brodovitch: Designer of the Avant-Garde
On view through October 24, 2021

Mezzanine Gallery – Belarusian Paintings: from Traditionalism to Contemporary Expression
On view through September 12, 2021

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Virtual Tour with the Curator – Medieval Russian Sailboats

June 3, 2021

Join TMORA Chief Curator Dr. Masha Zavialova for a virtual tour of the pop-up exhibition Medieval Russian Sailboats.  This exhibition features twenty models of Russian sailboats and traditional wooden houses from the collection of Captain Sergey Sinelnik, the Honored Traveler of Russia. The exhibition is on view in the Main Gallery from May 22 through June 6, 2021. The highlight of the show is the model of the Pilgrim, the sailboat that brought Captain Sinelnik and his crew to Duluth in the fall of 2020. Designed and built by Sergey Sinelnik and his crew, the Pilgrim is a sailboat of the Pomor Lodiya type, widely used by fishermen and sea merchants of the Russian North from the 13th century.

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Book Discussion with Author Stephen Walker

Beyond: The Astonishing Story of the First Human to Leave our Planet and Journey into Space.

May 24, 2021

The Museum of Russian Art is pleased to present a virtual book discussion with Stephen Walker, award-winning documentary filmmaker, writer, and author of Beyond: The Astonishing Story of the First Human to Leave Our Planet and Journey into Space, a riveting account of Yuri Gagarin’s epic flight on its 60th anniversary. Walker is joined by popular historian, writer, and commentator Nick Hayes.

For more information about Beyond by Stephen Walker, please visit: https://www.stephenwalkerbeyond.com

Follow Stephen Walker on Twitter @SWalkerBEYOND

Buy the book: https://www.shoptmora.org/beyond.html

“Beyond brings to life the space race and the extraordinary story of Yuri Gagarin. Using first-hand testimony, Walker evokes the personalities, the science and the atmosphere of the time in a history that reads like a thriller.” — Anne Applebaum, author of Twilight of Democracy

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Virtual Tour with the Curator – Artel Dolls, Soviet Russia, 1920s

May 5, 2021

Experience a virtual tour of the exhibition Artel Dolls, Soviet Russia, 1920s with TMORA’s Chief Curator Dr. Masha Zavialova. This exhibition presents forty dolls from the collection of Museum co-founder, Susan Johnson, and from the TMORA collection. The dolls on display are known as stockinette dolls. Stockinette dolls are a type of rag doll, with wire armature bodies covered in stockinette, a soft knitted silk or cotton. Dressed in sarafans and other traditional peasant outfits, these hand-made dolls originate from early Soviet-era production cooperatives called artels. In the 1920s, Moscow was teeming with production cooperatives and creative collectives. The Soviet regime was still young. The highly centralized and all-controlling system was yet to come into its own during the following decade under Stalin. Several Moscow artels that made toys for children were Everything for the Child, Red Toys, Red Army Artel, and other production units. Early Soviet artels were in partial control of their output and could trade internationally. Artel dolls were actively exported. In America, Russian-made dolls were sold by Kimport Doll Imports (Independence, Missouri), among other trading firms. Ethnic dolls from the early Soviet era have survived the test of Russia’s turbulent 20th century – but mostly outside Russia.

Artel Dolls, Soviet Russia, 1920s is on view through August 8, 2021.

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Virtual Tour with the Curator – Paintings by Geli Korzhev: Soviet Idealist+Iconoclast

April 21, 2021

Experience a virtual tour of the exhibition Paintings by Geli Korzhev: Soviet Idealist+Iconoclast with TMORA’s Chief Curator Dr. Masha Zavialova.

The exhibition presents numerous oil paintings by the prominent Soviet and post-Soviet era artist, drawn from private American collections. Geli Korzhev (1925-2012) was one of the leading masters of post-WWII Soviet art. He received his art training at Moscow’s prestigious Surikov Art Institute, graduating from the studio of Sergei Gerasimov in 1950. Korzhev entered the Soviet art scene at a time when the nation was recovering from the devastating war, and, at the same time, bidding farewell to Stalin’s grim legacy (after 1953). A son of his era, Korzhev developed his own style, defined by him as “social realism,” that sought to eliminate the propagandistic posture, artificiality, and reality-bending politics of Stalinist-era art. His striking canvases focus on the common people, in an attempt to cleanse the varnish of propaganda from the visualizations of reality and remind the viewer of the ‘true’’ socialism, as he envisioned it.

Paintings by Geli Korzhev: Soviet Idealist+Iconoclast is on view through June 13, 2021.

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Virtual Tour with Artist Ekaterina Khromin – The Art of Synergism

April 14, 2021

Experience a virtual tour of the main gallery exhibition at The Museum of Russian Art with artist Ekaterina Khromin and TMORA Director of Public Programs Michelle Massey.

Khromin paints on palpably textured surfaces which are themselves collages of found objects. Fusing distinct three art media (painting, sculpture, readymade), Khromin’s work brings their visual languages in conversation with one another. The perception of pure color, the messy materiality of a found object assemblage, and the three-dimensionality of bas-relief interconnect to produce a fourth language – a visual vocabulary of what the artist calls Synergism.

Ekaterina Khromin: The Art of Synergism is on view through June 13, 2021.

Follow Ekaterina Khromin on Instagram: @katerinakhromin

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Visualizing Music: Modest Mussorgsky: Pictures at an Exhibition

April 6, 2021

The Museum of Russian Art has long been known for hosting classical concerts in its galleries. Now, join us as we present a virtual discussion series that will center around Russian classical composers and their masterpieces. A panel of distinguished musicians and academics leads this in-depth exploration into a different composer each session.

This first program is devoted to Modest Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition, a suite of ten pieces (plus a recurring, varied Promenade) composed for piano. The suite is Mussorgsky’s most-famous piano composition and has become a showpiece for virtuoso pianists. PANEL: Timur Mustakimov, Classical Pianist (NYC); Paul Shaw, Associate Professor, Piano – University of Minnesota School of Music; Alexander Braginsky, Professor, Piano – University of Minnesota School of Music; Denis Evstuhin, Classical Pianist, TMORA Curator of Music Moderated by Michelle Massey, TMORA Director of Public Programs

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Virtual Grand Opening – TMORA’s Spring Exhibitions Unveiled

March 3, 2021

Enjoy this virtual opening of three new exhibitions in our galleries – all of which were installed in February 2021. This remarkable transformation of our galleries calls for a celebration with Chief Curator Dr. Masha Zavialova, Executive Director & President Mark J. Meister, and Director of Public Programs Michelle Massey. During this virtual event, you’ll have the opportunity to glimpse each new gallery and listen to insightful commentary by Dr. Zavialova.

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Virtual Tour with Artist Marlena Myles – Dynamics of Russian Colonialism in Alaska

February 24, 2021

The Museum of Russian Art (TMORA) invites you to experience a virtual tour of the exhibition, Dynamics of Russian Colonialism in Alaska, with artist Marlena Myles.

Dynamics of Russian Colonialism in Alaska, the first solo exhibition of work by Marlena Myles, focuses on the intersection of immigrant and Native peoples in North America. These digitally created works bring to light the commonly unknown history of interactions between Russian explorers, settlers, traders, clergy, and Alaska Natives before the Alaskan territory was sold to the United States in 1867. These are important reflections, much needed in the contemporary United States and Minnesota, that acknowledge indigenous histories.

Marlena Myles is a Native American (Dakota, Mohegan, Muscogee) artist, instructor, and children’s book illustrator located in St. Paul, Minnesota. Myles uses art to celebrate the languages and culture of her people. This exhibition is a “…chance for the large public to see how innovative Native art can be through the use of modern technology….” (Marlena Myles). Myles is joined by TMORA Chief Curator Dr. Masha Zavialova during this virtual presentation.

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The Black Russian – A Virtual Discussion with Author Vladimir Alexandrov

February 17, 2021

The Museum of Russian Art (TMORA), Russian American Jews in Minnesota (RAJMN), and St. Paul Jewish Federation present a virtual book discussion with Vladimir Alexandrov, author of The Black Russian – an incredible true story of Frederick Bruce Thomas, the son of former slaves in Mississippi who became a famous impresario in pre-revolutionary Moscow and the ‘Sultan of Jazz’ in Constantinople.  During this virtual session, Alexandrov and TMORA’s Chief Curator Dr. Masha Zavialova delve into Thomas’s extraordinary life and the important history surrounding his journey.

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Virtual Tour with the Curator – Masquerade for New Year

December 30, 2020

Enjoy this virtual event with TMORA’s Chief Curator Dr. Masha Zavialova that explores the history of New Year traditions in Russia and the Soviet Union in concert with TMORA’s 2020/21 holiday exhibition, Masquerade for New Year.  Very apropos for these times, Masquerade for New Year features an array of fascinating masked personae. The exhibition features a rich display of New Year Masks, tree ornaments, family photographs, Grandfather Frost figurines, and other related materials from the late 1930s through 1960s. These rare and fascinating objects are drawn from Kim Balaschak’s extensive donation to the Museum, as well as the private collection of Blaine Bolden. The Museum greatly appreciates the unique vision of the collectors who have assembled extraordinary arrays of artifacts from the bygone Soviet era and contributed to our exhibitions and collections in many meaningful ways.

The Museum of Russian Art would like to thank Moore’s Insurance Management, Inc. for sponsoring this exhibition.

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Anastasia Dedik in Concert: Beethoven and Tchaikovsky

December 17, 2020

As our gift to you this holiday season, enjoy the exquisite talents of pianist Anastasia Dedik. This recital was recorded for The Museum of Russian Art.

Anastasia Dedik has been performing as a soloist and chamber musician on some of the most important stages in the world, including the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, The Great Philharmonic Hall in St. Petersburg, Russia and many others.  

Born and raised in St. Petersburg, Russia to a family of distinguished musicians Anastasia graduated from The Saint Petersburg Conservatory in 2004 and moved to the United States to continue her education at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and The Juilliard School on full talent scholarships. READ MORE…

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LIVE in the Artists’ Studio: Elena Gubanova and Ivan Govorkov

December 16, 2020

TMORA invites you to travel (virtually) to St. Petersburg, Russia and take a tour of the fascinating studio of Russian artists Elena Gubanova and Ivan Govorkov.

Gubanova and Govorkov have worked together since 1990, implementing their creative tasks in the direction of abstract art. You’ll have the opportunity to follow these artists through their studio in St. Petersburg and enjoy their discussion with Dr. Masha Zavialova, TMORA’s Chief Curator and Natalia Kolodzei, Executive Director of the Kolodzei Art Foundation.

Special thanks to Natalia Kolodzei and the Kolodzei Foundation for their support of this program.

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Virtual Tour with the Curator – Leaders and the Masses: Mega Paintings from Soviet Ukraine 

December 9, 2020

The Museum of Russian Art (TMORA) invites you to enjoy a virtual tour of our main exhibition Leaders and the Masses: Mega Paintings from Soviet Ukraine with Chief Curator, Dr. Masha Zavialova. This virtual tour of the Leaders and the Masses series will focus on the working class in these paintings. The exhibition features thirty-seven Soviet-era paintings, highlighting a remarkable recent donation to the museum from the Jurii Maniichuk and Rose Brady Collection. These historical works include some of the largest Soviet-era canvases in existence.

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Virtual Tour with the Curator – Leaders and the Masses: Mega Paintings from Soviet Ukraine 

November 18, 2020

The Museum of Russian Art (TMORA) invites you to enjoy a virtual tour of our main exhibition Leaders and the Masses: Mega Paintings from Soviet Ukraine with Chief Curator, Dr. Masha Zavialova. This tour will focus on many facets of the women both in these paintings and in Soviet Russia. The exhibition features thirty-seven Soviet-era paintings, highlighting a remarkable recent donation to the museum from the Jurii Maniichuk and Rose Brady Collection. These historical works include some of the largest Soviet-era canvases in existence.

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Virtual Tour with the Curator – Masquerade for New Year

November 9, 2020

Enjoy a virtual tour of “Masquerade for New Year” with TMORA’s Chief Curator Dr. Masha Zavialova and Collector/Donor Kim Balaschak. Very apropos for these times, “Masquerade for New Year” features an array of fascinating masked personae! Through millennia, humans donned masks to participate in pagan rituals, religious ceremonies, festive carnivals, theatre performances, fancy ball parties, and rustic merry-making. During the devastating plague epidemics in 17th century Europe, physicians wore bird masks with long beaks: the beaks contained aromatic herbs to quench the smell. Soviet New Year celebrations often included carnival parties where participants wore masks and costumes. At a Soviet-era masquerade, one could meet characters of Russian folk tales and literary heroes: Baba Yaga, Snow Maiden, Doctor Aibolit, Onion Boy Cipollino, Puss-in-Boots, Grey Wolf, and other colorful guises. Learn about the array of New Year masks, tree ornaments, family photographs, Grandfather Frost figurines, and more!

In addition to the rich display of New Year masks, the exhibition features tree ornaments, family photographs, Grandfather Frost figurines, and other related materials from the late 1930s through 1960s. These rare and fascinating objects are drawn from Kim Balaschak’s extensive donation to our Museum, as well as the private collection of Blaine Bolden. The Museum greatly appreciates the unique vision of the collectors who have assembled extraordinary arrays of artifacts from the bygone Soviet era and contributed to our exhibitions and collections in many meaningful ways.

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Virtual Tour with the Curator – Leaders and the Masses: Mega Paintings from Soviet Ukraine 

October 27, 2020

The Museum of Russian Art (TMORA) presents a virtual tour of our main exhibition “Leaders and the Masses: Mega Paintings from Soviet Ukraine” with Chief Curator Dr. Masha Zavialova. This is the second virtual tour in a series with this exhibition. The exhibition features thirty-seven Soviet-era paintings, highlighting a remarkable recent donation to the museum from the Jurii Maniichuk and Rose Brady Collection. These historical works include some of the largest Soviet-era canvases in existence. Larger-than-life portrayals of Soviet leaders feature Lenin, Stalin, and Khrushchev, alongside collective farmers, soldiers, sailors, road construction workers, fishermen, and more. Many of the paintings in the exhibition have never been shown before in the United States.

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Journeys through the Russian Empire: A Virtual Discussion with William Craft Brumfield

October 21, 2020

William Brumfield, author of “Journeys through the Russian Empire: The Photographic Legacy of Sergey Prokudin-Gorsky” (published by Duke University Press) and TMORA’s Chief Curator, Dr. Masha Zavialova, delve into the themes and rich imagery presented in the book. This lavishly illustrated volume—which features some 400 stunning full-color images of ancient churches and mosques, railways and monasteries, towns and remote natural landscapes—is a testament to two brilliant photographers whose work prompts and illuminates, monument by monument, questions of conservation, restoration, and cultural identity and memory.

BUY THE BOOK

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Virtual Tour with the Curator – Leaders and the Masses: Mega Paintings from Soviet Ukraine 

September 29, 2020

Enjoy an exclusive virtual look at our main exhibition “Leaders and the Masses: Mega Paintings from Soviet Ukraine” with Chief Curator, Dr. Masha Zavialova. The exhibition features thirty-seven Soviet-era paintings, highlighting a remarkable recent donation to the museum from the Jurii Maniichuk and Rose Brady Collection. These historical works include some of the largest Soviet-era canvases in existence. Larger-than-life portrayals of Soviet leaders feature Lenin, Stalin, and Khrushchev, alongside collective farmers, soldiers, sailors, road construction workers, fishermen, and more. Many of the paintings in the exhibition have never been shown before in the United States.

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Owls of the Eastern Ice: Virtual Book Launch

August 4, 2020

Blakiston’s Fish Owl, the largest species of owl on earth, found only in the far northern regions of Russia, Japan, and Korea, is also perhaps the most mysterious. Only a handful of scientists have attempted to study them, but a chance sighting changed the course of Jonathan C. Slaght’s life–sending him on a five-year journey to study these enigmatic creatures.

In Owls of the Eastern Ice: A Quest to Find and Save the World’s Largest Owl (Farrar, Straus, & Giroux, August 2020), researcher and conservationist Slaght takes us to the Primorye region of Eastern Russia, where we join a small team for late-night monitoring missions, on mad dashes across thawing rivers, drink vodka with mystics, hermits, and scientists, and listen to fireside tales of Amur tigers. Most captivating of all are the fish owls themselves: cunning hunters, devoted parents, singers of eerie duets, and survivors in a harsh and shrinking habitat.

After a short presentation about Blakiston’s fish owls, Slaght is joined by Laurie Hertzel, Senior Editor for Books at the Minneapolis Star Tribune, for a conversation about owls, Russia, and the book.