Report on Sarepta house presented at a scientific conference in Volgograd

An inter-regional scientific conference – "Volga-Don region: dialogue of cultures" – took place on November 3, 2011 in Volgograd. The event saw Galina Sinkevich PhD, senior lecturer at St.Petersburg State Architectural University, give a speech. She presented the report "House of the Sarepta Society in St.Petersburg", which will be published within a year in the compendium of scientific materials arising from the conference in Sarepta.

A watercolor of the St.Isaac’s Office Cetnre given to the museum as a gift. G.I. Sinkevich and the museum director A.A. Malchenko

The museum that bears the same name is located on the outskirts of Volgograd, once the village of the Old Sarepta, and this is where the conference took place. Interview with G.I. Sinkevich:

- Galina Ivanovna, tell us please, who organised the conference?

- The meeting was organised by the historical-ethnographic and architectural museum-reserve "The Old Sarepta" with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Committee of Cultural Affairs for the Volgograd Region, and the Administration of the Volgograd Region. The conference brought together over 80 participants from different cities.

- Why were you invited to present a report on New St.Isaac’s?

- The thing is, in 1766, the house, which has become the business centre, was given to the Sarepta Society (colonists from Germany) by Catherine II. The Sarepta Society that settled in the Volgograd Region played a major role in the spiritual, cultural, and economic development of Russia, and the Sarepta house in St.Petersburg was sort of the head-quarters of the society in the capital. (Read more on the history of St.Isaac’s Office Center).

-What other goals were achieved during the conference?

- The participants in and organisers of the conference supported the initiative to install a memorial plaque at the representative office of Bohemian Brothers in St.Petersburg and Sarepta Trade House. They applauded the initiative of the present owners of the building and signed a letter of support addressed to the Committee of Culture in St. Petersburg. Affixing this plaque serves the purpose of consolidating the cultural and economic ties of the great city both with the regions and the European tradition. It also highlights the peculiarities of the city’s complex religious and national structure as a cultural capital and will mark another interesting event in the history of our country.