The history of the Caucasus as the homeland of ancient civilizations on the territory of the Russian Federation is very well represented in the Russian State Historical Museum, the Director of the State History Museum, Alexey Levykin, told the correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza, speaking about the museum's contacts with the North and South Caucasus.
In the first place, Alexey Levykin stressed that Caucasus is of special significance for him. "It is a pleasure for me to be interviewed by Vestnik Kavkaza. My father, who passed away a year and a half ago, was awarded by the medal 'For the Defense of the Caucasus'. He was defending Grozny and Malgobek, liberating Nalchik, Krasnodar and Novorossiysk. Therefore, Caucasus is a special place for me," he explained.
"The history of the Caucasus is represented in the historical museum since ancient times, because the North Caucasus is a place where ancient civilizations lived on the territory of modern Russia. One of the most popular exhibits is a dolmen from the Koliha river valley, it was installed recently. We have great exhibits of the Scythian time and an earlier period, the history of the Caucasus of 17-19 centuries is widely shown here. There is a very interesting complex here, dedicated to Imam Shamil and the tragic events that took place in the Caucasus in the 20th century," the Director of the State History Museum noted.
The museum hold exhibitions to mark the anniversaries of the Caucasian republics. "Last year we had an exhibition dedicated to the anniversary of Dagestan. It was prepared for a few months and was very popular among visitors, it was visited by President Vladimir Putin. Now we are negotiating with the government of Kabardino-Balkaria on our participation in the exhibition on the anniversary of the republic," Alexey Levykin said.
The State Historical Museum regularly collaborates with the museums of the South Caucasus countries. "We implemented the project in cooperation with the Museum of History of Armenia, and we are ready to continue our cooperation with it. Despite all the difficulties in the relations between the two countries, we continue to support the scientific communication with Georgian museums as well, our experts visit the country to work and participate in conferences. I hope, sooner or later it will be implemented in exhibition projects. We are constantly thinking about working together with Azerbaijan, the negotiations are underway, I believe that in the near future we will do it," the Director of the State History Museum concluded.
