Opening of the Informational-educational centre “The Russian museum: virtual branch”

On 9 April 2008 the opening ceremony of Informational-educational center “The Russian museum: virtual branch” was held in the Assembly Hall of the Museum Center of Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan.

The participants of the opening ceremony were: Deputy Minister of Culture and Tourism S. Mamedaliyeva, Deputy Director of State Russian Museum Mrs. I. M. Kuleshova, program specialist on culture of UNESCO Bureau in Moscow L. Moreva, Chief Specialist of Committee on External Connections of St. Petersburg Administration N. Strugova, executive secretary of National Commission on UNESCO affairs E. Gasanov, ambassador of Russia in Azerbaijan V. Istratov, Head of the Department of State Russian Museum Mr. S. Fokin, representative of Russian Foreign Center in Baku I. Zhukov, Director of Museum Center L. Vezirova and others.

At the opening cermeony the following persons took part: the Minister of Culture and Tourism of Azerbaijan Mr. Abulfaz Garayev,

The Virtual Branch of Russian Museum on the basis of Museum Center of Azerbaijan Ministry of Culture and Tourism was opened for the first time in Azerbaijan.

Informational-educational center “The Russian museum: virtual branch” created on base of scientific, educational and methodical researches of museum professionals. High quality of multimedia scientific and educational programs of the center is provided with utilization of newest computer technologies.

The State Russian Museum successfully conducted the programs of creating the Informational-educational center “The Russian museum: virtual branch”. Museum's collections are available to be seen and learnt by the large scope of virtual visitors in many countries of the world. The State Russian Museum has got the largest collection of national fine art in the world. The number of works of art that had been created for thousand years is nearly 400,000. Using the newest computer technologies the scientific potential of the museum researchers and their investigation, attributes and scientific articles about theory and history of native art are getting available for each visitor of the center.

In october 2005 the first Informational-educational center “The Russian museum: virtual branch” was opened outside Russia in the city Kokhtla-Yarve (Estonia). By now, the center has been opened in Nijniy Novgorod, Saratov, Samara, Sosnoviy Bor, Lisiy Nos, Kirish, St. Petersburg, Petrozavodsk, Kalinigrad, Murmansk, Perm, Moscow, Tver, Yekaterinburg, Chelyabinsk, Syktyvkar, Irbit, Gatchina, Yakutsk, Nijny Tagil, Kirov, Salekhard, Kostroma, Magnitogorsk, Ust-Kamenogorskoe (Kazakhstan), Barnaul, Krasnodar, Germany, Finland, Chechnya.

Informational-educational center “The Russian museum: virtual branch” consists of two functional areas: informatively-educational and multimedia cinema.

Editions of museum are presented in wide scope of materials (more than 200 names): printed editions (albums, catalogues, methodical manuals), multimedia programs on CD and DVD, movies about collection of museum and history of the Russian art. Visitors can meet them at the website of the State Russian Museum and some other internet resources, related to the cultural legacy of Russia.

The opening ceremony of Center of Information and Education took place on 9 April in the Museum Center, where a multimedia cinema was presented, in which visitors could watch the programs, created with the use of the last achievements of information technologies and technologies of virtual reality with 3D computer design. The programs demonstrate the history of collections of the Russian Museum, multimedia films about the history of creation and restoration of palaces of the State Russian Museum, Museum of Ludvig, etc. The cycle of programs "Look from the Russian Museum" about cultural connections of Petersburg and participant cities of the project, and also to history and collections of local artistic museums were also shown to the visitors.

In the nearest future, a computer's center will be also opened in the building of Museum Center, where every visitor will be able to work with the multimedia programs of the State Russian Museum.

This is an important process of the visitors getting acquainted with the values of Russian culture with the purpose of expanding the knowledge about history of the Russian art, collections and activity of the State Russian Museum on the base of a free access to the electronic and digital materials.

The program called "Virtual World of the Russian Museum" created with the usage of three-dimensional computer's design enables us to go on virtual tours to the palaces of the State Russian Museum complex, see the museum, demonstrate an audience the historical reconstructions of the lost interiors, and also allows to make a voyage in a virtual picture with transition from one picture to another, including the specially constructed three-dimensional space, based on the subjects of both pictures. A trip to the picture allows you to become a "participant of the events".

In a course of time, it is planned to translate all the programs into Azerbaijani language. In future we intent to develop the programs of Center of Information and Education.