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Unexpected collections
WATCHES
St. Petersburg may not be your immediate association when you think of the world’s greatest hand-made watches. Therefore it is all the more surprising to discover the Petrodvorets Watch Factory, which was established by the decree of tsar Peter the Great in 1721 as a lapidary workshop that served the royal family. The factory’s museum boasts the world’s largest archive of watch designs: old aquarelle drawings for some of the very first designs, and sketches of the new designs inspired by the historic works. On display there is also historic equipment, some of which is unique to the factory as well as vast numbers of mechanic watches. The museum reopens in May after a lengthy renovation, and the excursions will be free of charge. › Petrodvorets Watch Factory Museum Petrodvorets, 60 Sankt-Peterburgsky Prospekt • www.raketa.com
DOLLS
Sometimes the genre of the objects displayed at the St. Petersburg doll museum is rather hard to define, and at first glance, many visitors hesitate to call them dolls. Some of them have porcelain heads and sophisticated dresses embroidered by hand, while some others, like, for instance, dragonflies or fish made of coloured plastic tubes, irregular cubes and balls are far too conceptual to be dismissed as toys. Exhibitions here rotate every month, and the items are made exclusively by St. Petersburg designers, many of whom are affiliated with local theatres and are themselves dedicated doll collectors. Alexander Borovsky, head of the department for contemporary art of the State Russian Museum, notes that the art of doll-making is particularly feminine and very Russian, harking back to folk-handicraft traditions. › Doll Museum 8 Kamskaya Ulitsa • www.museumdolls.ru
PROPAGANDA ART
Once an efficient propaganda instrument, political posters of the Soviet era are now displayed at the State Museum of the Political History of Russia as works of art. Graphic, bright and compelling, Soviet posters are often viewed as the quintessence of an epoch, reflecting the way that the country’s rulers addressed the governed. Through the images of posters, the audiences can see how the state encouraged people, and what it did to make them feel optimistic about their future. In the tireless struggle for the hearts and minds of ordinary people, no object was considered too insignificant. Factory workers made ink pots in the shape of a woman reading Stalin’s historical works or embroidering a Soviet flag. Tea sets were stamped with heroic revolutionary leaders. Dishes were emblazoned with scenes from grand communist projects such as the Baikal-Amur Main Line
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