Muscat: President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation confers the “Pushkin Medal” on Jamal bin Hassan al Moosawi, Secretary-General of the National Museum, for his efforts in strengthening bilateral relations in the cultural and museum fields between the Sultanate of Oman and Russia.
Ilya Morgunov, Ambassador of Russia to Oman, handed over the high ranking medal at a ceremony held today in the National Museum.
The medal is named after the poet Alexander Sergey Pushkin. It is awarded to foreign personalities for their role in bringing cultural rapprochement between their countries and the Russian Federation.
Al Moosawi said, “This honour is an inspirational source for more upcoming achievements and continuous cooperation between the Sultanate of Oman and the Russian Federation. It also reflects the work in the cultural and museum fields over the past 12 years.” He added: “Russia's interest in Arab culture and the ability to accommodate other cultures embodies the Russian spirit of cultural and religious pluralism, based on a civilisational experience that extends its roots to ancient times. Also, its identity is based on the glorification of the well-established system of noble values, and the soul inclined towards amity and fraternity.
The roots of cooperation between the National Museum and its counterparts in the Russian Federation go back to the year 2015, when a memorandum of understanding was signed in the cultural and museum fields between the National Museum and the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg on 28 May 2015, and the appointment of Prof. Dr. Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director-General of the State Hermitage Museum, as a member of the Board of Trustees of the National Museum (2014 - to date), in addition to providing specialised professional training and qualification for the National Museum staff at the State Hermitage Museum (May 24 - June6 , 2015). This was followed by hosting the exhibition “Oman Day” at the Winter Palace on July 23, 2018, followed by hosting the “Hermitage Day” exhibition at the National Museum during the period from March 11 to May 11, 2019.
The National Museum also inaugurated the first gallery bearing the name “Oman Gallery” in the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg on June 2, 2021, and on November 22, 2021, the National Museum inaugurated a display of the original manuscript of “A Collection of Poetic Arages in Maritime Navigation” by the Omani navigator Ahmed bin Majid al Saadi, on loan from the Institute of Oriental Manuscripts. On November 24, 2021, the Museum launched the “Reflections” display by the Russian designer Kirill Ovchinnikov, who is known for the integration of fine art with design, and on November 25, 2021, the National Museum launched the exhibition “Islamic Civilisation in Russia and the " Hermitage Corner" at the headquarters of the National Museum.
A team of experts from the State Hermitage Museum, in cooperation with the preservation and conservation team at the National Museum, preserved the Palmyra ruins which were damaged during the years of the crisis in Syria, some of which were displayed in an exhibition titled "Syria the Cradle of Civilisations" at the National Museum in 2022. On 16 June 16, 2022, the National Museum inaugurated a specialised corner for Omani publications at the Institute of Oriental Studies at St. Petersburg State University.
Moreover, on November 2023, the second exhibition at “Oman Gallery” will be inaugurated at the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, in addition to the inauguration of the second exhibition at the “Hermitage Corner” at the National Museum. — ONA
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