Annual Conference “War for Memory. Battlefield – Museum. 1945–2025”

From December 3 to 6, an international scientific conference titled “War for Memory. Battlefield – Museum. 1945–2025” was held in the theater hall of the State Museum Reserve “Gatchina.” The organizers emphasized the importance of preserving memory as a vital resource for humanity and reminded about the risks associated with distorting historical facts and manipulating public consciousness.

Each day of the conference focused on one of the announced sections: “Museum Objects,” “Exhibition Projects Dedicated to Wars,” “Exhibitions and Cultural-Educational Projects Dedicated to Wars,” and “General Historical Topics Related to War Memorials.”

The event brought together historians, cultural studies experts, philosophers, psychologists, art historians, and museum professionals from Moscow, St. Petersburg, Belarus, and the Donetsk People's Republic. Participants discussed issues related to the existence, destruction, and restoration of museums during military conflicts, raising pressing questions regarding contemporary cultural policy.

A presentation of the collection of scholarly articles “War for Memory. Battlefield – Museum. 1945–2025. Proceedings of the XXII All-Russian Scientific-Practical Conference” (St. Petersburg, 2025) concluded the active work of the conference. This volume included materials by Natalia Pavlovna Kopaneva, Ph.D., Chief Curator at the Russian Academy of Sciences' Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography, and Ksenia Aleksandrovna Nosovskaya, Methodist of the M.V. Lomonosov Museum Department, entitled “Kunstkammer's Leningrad Diary: 1941–1945.”

On December 4th, Yulia Sergeevna Konkovа, Head of the Exhibition Department, gave a talk on the exhibition “Kunstkammer During Wartime: Fortress of Science and Defense.”

An essential part of the program were discussions among museum directors, staff members, and representatives of creative workshops specializing in designing exhibitions dedicated to war events. Over 50 presentations covered topics ranging from collection research to the loss and recovery of cultural values.

The conference culminated with the premiere screening of the documentary film “Bronze and Granite Remember” directed by Alexei Oliferuk.