VDNH invites you to a three-day educational programme dedicated to International Women's Day. During the public holidays of 6–8 March, visitors to the Exhibition will learn about prominent women and their contribution to science, fine arts and music. Young visitors will enjoy a fabulous performance of Thumbelina. Admission is free, but advance registration is required.
The thematic programme will begin with a lecture Diving in Zero Gravity about the earliest weightlessness simulations involving female testers. It will take place at Cosmonautics and Aviation Centre on 6 March at 12 p.m. Anastasia Stepanova, employee of the Institute of Biomedical Problems RAS, will discuss how microgravity affects the human body and how men and women adapt differently to it from.
At 2 p.m., the Centre for Slavic Writing Slovo will host the musical lecture Old Russian Amazons and Other Female Characters of Old Russian Folk Tales. Led by philologist and anthropologist Alexander Matochkin, the lecture will examine epics in which women are the main characters and grow acquainted with Russian traditional storytelling culture.
At 3 p.m., Worker and Kolkhoz Woman Pavilion will host a lecture from the new Not Just Muses... series commemorating famous female artists. The lecture will be dedicated to the first Soviet woman in sculpture, Vera Mukhina, who in her work incorporated power and expression with delicate and fine curves and silhouettes. Valentina Gorlova, chairman of the supervisory board of the Grisaille Fund for fine arts, will present the story of the prominent Russian female sculptor.
On Sunday, 7 March, at 12 p.m., children and their parents are invited to the Worker and Kolkhoz Woman Pavilion to view the shadow play Thumbelina. Over the years, numerous generations of children grew up with Hans Christian Andersen's compelling story of a young beauty who pursued her dreams. The shadow play will be performed to classical and contemporary music.
At 3 p.m., the Centre for Slavic Writing Slovo will host a lecture Women in Medieval Russia. Nikolay Butskikh, founder of the Zelo Research Centre for Ancient Rus' Culture, will explain the role of women in Medieval Russian literature: pieces dedicated to 'good' and 'bad' wives, occupations permitted for women in Medieval Russia and how the image of women is reflected in language.
At the same time, Cosmonautics and Aviation Centre welcomes you to the lecture Life in Space: Moon, Venus, Mars and Further on. Are we alone in the universe? How is the search for extraterrestrial life carried out today? What short-term plans are being developed in this field? You can learn about this and more from the lecture. It will be held by Vitaly Yegorov, a blogger, educator of cosmonautics and founder of the Otrkryty Kosmos community.
On 8 March at 3 p.m., the Centre for Slavic Writing Slovo will host a lecture 'Avtor or Avtorka'? Contemporary Linguists' View of Feminine Gender-Specific Titles in Russian. This lecture will discuss feminitives, words used to differentiate between female and male holders of certain professions, social statuses etc., and one of the most controversial aspects of the modern Russian language. Alexander Pipersky, candidate of philological sciences and senior lecturer of the Faculty of Humanities of HSE University will explore the history and prospects of this social phenomenon through different linguistic angles.
At 4 p.m., the Cosmonautics and Aviation Centre will play the documentary Women in Space by Roskosmos TV Studio. The documentary tells the story of seven women (four from Russia and three from the USA) who dedicated their lives to studying outer space. The event will be held in the Kulibin Pro lecture hall.
At 7 p.m., one of the best performers of French chanson Tatyana Kolosova and the Belleville Orchestra will present a storytelling musical performance of Viva Piaf!. On the night of the holiday night, the Worker and Kolkhoz Woman Pavilion will be filled with the songs of the legendary French singer: Padam, padam, La vie en rose, Non, je ne regrette rien, Milord, Sous le ciel de Paris, Hymne d'amour and others.
Admission to all Knowledge. VDNH events is free, but advanced registration is required. In accordance with COVID-19 regulations, VDNH premises may only be filled to half capacity to ensure social distancing. All visitors must wear protective masks and gloves when indoors.