Ways of interpreting the siege and frontline daily life in expositions and exhibitions of Leningrad — St. Petersburg historical museums in the 1940s–1990s

Abstract

For the first time, the display of frontline life in the museum space was realized during the war years in the framework of military-historical exhibitions that supported the morale of people, served as a means of information about the situation at the fronts. The tragic daily life of the siege was first presented in the format of an exhibition, and later in the Museum of the Defense of Leningrad. The range of topics covered included partisan life, features of organizing urban space, and others. As a result of the Leningrad Affair, the topic of defense and siege was tacitly banned. During Khrushchev’s “thaw”, the Museum of the History of Leningrad was the first to break the silence by undertaking a series of exhibition projects dedicated to the complex topic of the siege. Since the late 1980s, the staff of the revived Museum of the Defense of Leningrad has organized exhibitions devoted to radio broadcasting in the besieged city, reflection of the realities of the siege in painting, graphics, and sculpture, which expanded the content coverage of the topic concerning everyday military life. The baton was picked up by other historical museums of St. Petersburg, which implemented museum displays dedicated to the daily life of a person at the front. This study analyzes the forms of interpretation of the siege and frontline everyday life in the space of Leningrad — St. Petersburg historical museums in the second half of the 20th century. Particular attention is paid to iconic expositions and exhibitions of the period under study: their ideological content and museum objects included are considered and key exposition decisions are analyzed. The article is based on a corpus of archival materials, sources of museum origin, and materials from periodicals.