MUSEUM AND CULTURAL HERITAGE

This article is devoted to the poorly studied issue of preservation and use of memorials of cultural heritage of Russia in historical retrospective. The works of S. Likhachev, E.A. Baller and others allow the authors of the article to trace the formulation of the scientific concepts of "memorial" and "cultural heritage". Reference to the research of N.M. Karamzin, A.E. Viktorov, S.O. Schmidt, the involvement of authentic historical sources (archival documents, legislative acts, scientific publications) provide an opportunity to identify and summarize the historical experience of preserving cultural heritage. The first information about the storage "for memory" refers to the events of Russian history of the 12th century. In the following centuries, written, material and pictorial memorials, monuments of church history and architecture were collected and preserved in church sacristies, Kremlin larders and on city streets. Since the beginning of the 16th century, it had become increasingly clear that the most acceptable way to preserve and use memorials was secular repository, eventually called as museum. At the end of the 19th century, the Russian researcher V.S. Ikonnikov presented and critically comprehended numerous historical works, revealed the role of the museum as a repository of memorials collected for the purpose of preservation and popularization. The authors of the article described the concern for the protection of memorials on the part of state authorities and public organizations. During the 20th century, legislative acts aimed at protecting cultural heritage were issued. The most effective act, the Federal Law " On Objects of Cultural Heritage", was issued in 2002. The law spells out the powers of state authorities in the protection of memorials, develops procedures for their identification, preservation and use. In the 19th and 20th centuries, scientific and public organizations were engaged in the protection and study of heritage as well. They monitored the physical condition of the memorials and sought their restoration. The article raises the question of the goals and motives for the preservation of cultural heritage. The answer to this question is found in historical sources and research papers. For a long time, heritage memorials have been used for the self-assertion of state power, for demonstrating the wealth and power of the Russian tsars, for propaganda of socialist and communist construction. At the same time, memorials are included in cultural processes through museum displays and publishing activities. Various objects of history and culture are presented in museum expositions, in museum catalogs, in scientific and illustrated magazines (such as "Memorials of the Fatherland", " Our Heritage" and others). They reveal the scientific, informational and aesthetic properties of memorials, form a conviction in the enduring value of cultural heritage.