The State Museum of the History of Religion ( Saint-Petersburg, Russia ) would
like to find companions interesting in concerted actions.
This unique museum now has some difficulties ( insufficient funds, small rooms
for exhibition ). Today the Museum is situated in Kazan Cathedral, that is in
the center of the town. There is no dough_s the Cathedral is not the best place
for museum. Now the works of reconstruction a special building for Museum are
carried on, but these works are slowing down because the lack of funds.
Our Museum alone can_t find resources that would be enough for capital
reconstruction the building that has more than 8.000 m.sq.
Firstly we would like to receive some propositions concerning exhibitions from
our Museum_s storage. During last 5 years different exhibitions of our Museum
items were effectuated in some European countries ( Germany, Italy,
Finland etc. ). They attracted constant interest and were great success. The
exhibitions like these are especially actual in a perspective of 2000 of
Christianity.
We would like to receive any other propositions.
Now we would like to offer some information about Museum and it_s collections.

The Museum of the History of Religion was established in 1932. Till the present
time the Museum is located in the Kazan Cathedral, which is an architectural
monument of world significance.
Now the Museum keeps 180.000 items cults on Russian Orthodoxy, Catholicism,
Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, Judaism and other religions and beliefs. One can
find masterpieces of National and World Culture in the collections of fine arts,
icon-painting, engraving, lithography, sculpture, arts and crafts, medals,
coins, photos, stamps, etc. The archives of manuscripts and rare books, the
unique specialised library on the History and Philosophy of Religion, on the
History of World and National Culture contain over 170.000 books and magazines
of XV-XX cc. in the languages of various nations of the world.
Nowadays the Museum elaborates a complex programme of total cataloguing and
computerisation of the funds, intensifies scientific-research activity, holds
Russian and International conferences, enlarges publication of scientific,
popular, methodical issues, albums, catalogues.
The XIX century building is being reconstructed for the Museum and after
completion of these repairs ( that began in 1996 ) the 8.000 sq. m. will be
used by to the Museum for its needs. The halls of constant exposition, halls of
temporary exhibitions, library and reading-halls, cafe, premises for the Board
of Director etc. will be situated in this building.
By the end of the XX century the Museum will be come a leading ( in Russia )
and largest ( in the World ) exhibitional, research and methodical centre on
problems of the History and Philosophy of Religion, of the Religious Art,
Psychology, Moral etc.

It is possible to get more detailed pictorial information in the informative
network Internet: " www. relig-museum.ru " or " www. bestrussia.com ".

Besides, we would like to propose this list of exhibitions:

Names of exhibition
1. Russian Orthodox Scared Antiquities
2. Icons from Mstyora Borough
3. Copper Molding of Russian Old believers
4. Russian Old believers Art
5. Signed Icons in the collection of the SMHR
6. Golden embroidery of the Orthodox church
7. Beads in the Orthodox church
8. Applied Arts of the Orthodox church
9. Moral-Religious didactic reading for ordinary people
10.  Crosses in the Russian Orthodoxy
11.  Silver frameworks of the Gospels
12.  Silver items of Cult from Moscow and St. Petersburg
13.  Russia popular icons
14.  From Christmas to Easter
15.  100 icons of 18-century from the collections of the SMHR
16.  Islam: Religion and mode of life
17.  Hinduism: the traditions of culture
18.  Antiquities of Cara-Tepe
19.  Art works of the Northern and Far-Eastern Buddhism
20.  Cult and ritual of Buddhism
21.  Rituals and Items of the Buddhist Cult
22.  Masterpieces of the West-European arts
23.  Late Gothic in the collection of the SMHR
24.  Images of Christianity in XVII-XVIII centuries fine print
25.  Mysteries of the Siberian Shamanism
26.  Two faces of the Ancient Bospor Kingdom: Hellenism and Barbarism

We could prepare any other exhibition on the topic of your choice.

Your sincerely,
Chief of the Department of External Relations and
Commercial Activity of SMHR
Yan Kucinsky

The State Museum of the History of Religion
Kazanskaya pl. 2
Saint-Petersburg, 191186
Russia
fax. +7 812 311-94-83
E-mail: [log in to unmask]