To the 350th anniversary of the birth of Peter the Great
On November 17, an evening of vernissages was held, completing the program dedicated to the 350th anniversary of the birth of Peter the Great in the Russian House in Brussels
The creative video project of the Russian House in Brussels “Belgian roads of Peter the Great” was presented by Vera Georgievna Bunina, head of the Russian House in Brussels. Professor of the Catholic University of Leuven, Doctor of History V. K. Ronin acted as the scientific consultant of the project.
The audience was introduced to the history of Peter the Great’s journey to Europe in 1716-1717. This second trip is less known than the “great embassy” of 1687-98, which influenced the formation of the personality of the future first Russian emperor and the cardinal directions of his policy. And this is understandable: Peter’s second visit was, as it would be called today, a “working visit.” But it was then that many vectors of Russia’s interaction with the leading countries of the Old Continent were determined.
This video project tells about that part of the path of the Russian sovereign, which ran through the lands of modern Belgium. Peter was the first and only Russian ruler who devoted his time to this most important region of Western Europe for such a long time and in detail. His stay in the Belgian cities left a deep mark in their history and in the public mind, linking the image of the tsar with the new Russia – a power country, a partner country. The videos also tell about the undertakings that became the practical result of the Belgian part of Peter’s trip – Russian-European cooperation in the field of art, architecture, balneology, etc.
 
Exhibitions were also presented: “European Voyages of Peter the Great. French Impressions” (an exhibition project of the Peterhof Museum-Reserve) and a documentary exhibition – a tour of the monuments of Peter the Great in Russia and in the world “Russian History in Bronze and Granite: Monuments to Peter the Great” (Museum and exhibition association “Manege” (Moscow)). The exhibition project of the Peterhof Museum-Reserve was presented by Candidate of Cultural Studies, Associate Professor Anna Vladimirovna Lyashko, Head of the Service for the Preservation and Study of Cultural Heritage Monuments of the State Museum-Reserve “Peterhof”.