Nearly half a century, Irina A. Antonova is headed by the Pushkin Museum to them. Alexander Pushkin. «Golden years» the museum, she considers the second half of 1960 until the restructuring. You bet! Then, the Pushkin Museum of innovative designs compared with the theater Taganka. Loud exhibition, «December Nights» ... All this is thanks to the energy Irina. And now the museum is not inferior to their «golden years». In November, for example, the precursor of Impressionism exhibition is scheduled to Joseph Turner, as many museums of the world account for only a dream. And in May in Moscow began to hang enlarged reproductions of the best-known works from the Pushkin Museum. This has only been in London. After Moscow - will be in New York.

dynamic power

- Congratulations! After becoming president, Dmitri Medvedev, I can say the first thing - right after the inauguration - the museum has provided funds for reconstruction and the creation of «muzeyskogo town» around the Pushkin Museum. So far - 4.5 billion rubles to 100 anniversary of the museum in 2012.

- Actually, we came to that decision a few years. Even created a board of trustees, it was up to the inauguration of Dmitry. But the solution - it is not yet money. Government meeting was held on 5 June, a decree was issued on 17 June. All this time we were preparing the paper tightly.

- A building is Norman Foster?

- They will see. After all, the contest will be announced. But the concept of the project we have already paid for.

- you met with Dmitry Medvedev at the meetings of the board of trustees. What is it?

- A young, extremely dynamic. I have the impression that Medvedev wants to help the museum. Already the fact that he, as vice premier, has agreed to lead the council, says a lot. After the first meeting he gave the order to prepare a government decree, and in different ministries immediately began preparations. In the council and head of the MEDT Nabiullina Elvira (she is now the lead council), and the head of Sberbank German Gref, and Ruben Vardanyan ( «Troyka Dialog»), and Alisher Usmanov, and many others ... What I like about them? This is a well-educated people, high professionals, they immediately captures the situation, although it is not obliged to be aware of the specific museum problems. Their sincerity, I believe - for example, I saw how Elvira Nabiullina is looking for a way out, tells how to turn it into a museum - in fact there are many pitfalls.

- When you evaluate the power to the point of view: good or bad, our senior officials belong to the Pushkin Museum?

- This is not simply related to the museum. Before, I did not know these people, they are not my personal friends. The main thing is that they understand the importance of cultural institutions to the country for its overall development. A culture is perhaps one of the most critical circumstances for the creation of new business people and all those who seek to lift Russia to a different standard of living. I think they do this is to say, they want to work. And this is nice.

- colleagues of those nice people just do not cancel (and may even present at that) posts museum researchers ...

- I am sure this is a misunderstanding. This simply can not be! I think now it will be corrected. Otherwise, disaster will happen. From museums go past experts, museums become Klyuchnikov groups - those who discover and locker, but does not represent that it holds, as it's called. Such Klyuchnikov not be able to write any of the labels, especially in foreign art museums. Not to mention the creation of directories and research collections. It is thought some ignorant people. I do not believe that's how it was.

Museums are now much more important to solve most other problems. For example, we need specialists in ancient Egypt, Assyria, Middle Ages, Antiquity, Rome, Western Europe, all over America ... And we have today there is no one who would be involved, for example, the middle ages. They are not ready. As a result, the museum has a number of collections that are just in storage - with no one working. Or here, let's say we have worked Yuri Aleksandrovich Savel'ev - scientists who read cuneiform. He, unfortunately, has died ... We made a request to the Moscow State University, Russian State Humanitarian University and other universities in the humanities a number of specialists. But what will turn out, I do not know.

Or take the issue of restoration. Typically, the museums do not have the conditions for good shops (they have normal warehouse equipped with temperature, given humidity ...). Here we even have the money, we could buy the equipment - but we have nowhere to put it. A safety and talk about nothing - to solve this problem is needed modern equipment that allows all sorts of views. To even zavedetsya a black sheep in the team, it failed to deploy. We are in the Pushkin Museum was able to provide in our rooms a decent level of protection, but many museums are a big problem.

- Meanwhile, the new Minister of Culture Alexander Avdeev Calls to rush to the other extreme - to convey all the museums rich people, thus solving all the problems of the museum ...

- I am deeply convinced that museums should not have the money sponsors. Until recently, the power is poorly understood, that the culture - the case public. They say, we first feed the people, then give him a culture. So you can not. If there is no balance between material and spiritual, people lost the moral law. However, the situation is changing. And in business and in government there are people who understand the need to maintain the basic values of our lives, one of which is culture.

At the turn of ages

- you came to the museum in another war - in April 1945 on. Director was in 1961-m. Appeared that the museum you have chosen a «to live». Sami came here or on the distribution?

- When I offered to All-Union Institute Society of Cultural Relations with Foreign Countries (VOKS). And my scientific supervisor, professor with whom I wrote a diploma, Boris R. Vipper was deputy. Director for Science in the Pushkin Museum. And he invited me here. I came. Of course, I do not think that will stay here for long. Because my character was very lively.

- I can provide! If you are a proactive!

- Our cabinetmaker Kasyan Vasiljević as he saw me going to the museum, said: «What it Alexandrovna? Sometimes, you go as SORMOVSKIY steam, and now - taschishsya ... »Indeed, in his youth, I was« SORMOVSKIY locomotive ».

- Not so bad «taschishsya»! You all so much pace, with major projects, scored the day before rejection ... how do you manage to save so much energy? Is everything in papaya, which you once described as a miraculous remedy?

- I am much interested. I noticed as soon as someone from my friends cease to be interested in others, as soon as they begin to notice their sores and feel old, just becoming old. Sometimes this happens and with the young - is sitting in front of you people 30 years old, and his eyes extinct, interest in life they are not. And I regenerate in seawater. When it was a good swimmer, my coach said: «You spin goes». In all his life for me it is - you want a bit of a reach, we should go swimming. Here and now I have left to the south.

- you - and witness the military life and postwar, and the Khrushchev thaw, and Brezhnev stagnation and restructuring, and finally, our «capitalism» times. In which mode is more convenient to work?

- In all its difficulties. Previously, it was the lack of freedom - the main effort went to show what we have planned, allowed. Or, to overcome the interference incompetent people. Funny, but in 1966, criticized us for an exhibition of Alexander Tyshlera - an innocent artist. Not without difficulty, but in 1981 the exhibition «Moscow - Paris». But lifetime exhibition of Marc Chagall (I was well acquainted with him) I do not have. Then I have it all, done, but Chagall died ... But the main problem of the time - permanent shortage of money at the museum. Permanent «hungry ration» culture. Began restructuring. On the one hand, the incredible euphoria: it is possible to show Kandinsky and everything! On the other - do not have money. Of the budget, we received only 18 percent from the! Just a nightmare. But it survived.

Now, a lot depends on ourselves, you can count on their forces. And that, in principle, impressed me the most. Although it remains difficult - and the financing and organization of exhibitions, particularly overseas. For example, Deutsche Bank has brought us his collection to the exhibition, and for the export of paintings from Russia to the bank asked for the astronomical sum.

- Anyone who has seen you in difficult moments, talk about your composure. The fact that in times of crisis you are a clear and tough. Life annealed?

- No, this character trait. I do not know how it is formed, in these wilds, I did not climb. Tell one episode from his youth. 1941, autumn, the war already in progress. Echelon at Kuybyshev, I'm going with my mother (we were with her in the evacuation of two months, then returned and I began working at the hospital, my father immediately went to the front). Only we otehali from the Kursk railway station, just five kilometers, started terrible bombing. The train stopped, all rushed into the bushes. And in the car with us was riding a pregnant woman with a very large stomach. She could not quit. I stayed with it. She put my head on his knees, I embraced it ... And so we sat in an empty car, while bombing is not the end. Then suddenly everything subsided, steam zagudel, all came out of the bushes, sat down on the train, and we went.

- you were only 19 years ...

- Yes. I just at that moment had the shutter speed. It happens. So, there is a reliance on internal itself.

- now you have a very important milestone, the work of the past few years - got the money for reconstruction and development. What is the next peak?

- First, the work has not started yet: the first tranche, we will get in 2009. And then, I have a very venerable age. I would have been foolish man, if not thought out to me how much. I have many interests, but now I restrict ourselves - for example, rarely go to the theater.

I will focus on the museum. I must make sure that over the years (until 2015), the Pushkin Museum was a separate line item in the budget for all to understand: we are developing a museum, building a museum town, as would the founder of the museum Ivan Tsvetan. And I have put all their resources, their entire image of this capital case.

«My car - my fortress»

- In various interviews you briefly tell me about your family. Heat talk about her husband Yevseyev I. Rothenberg and almost never about the other family members ...

- My husband - a great scientist. From 1944 to 1949 he worked at the Pushkin Museum, then 17 years at the Academy of Arts, was zavsektorom at the Institute of History of Art ... It is two years older than me. Age sound, but continues to work in the sector of foreign art institute, a lot of writes. Even I have had a summary of the father's sister, Galina Antonova. She had recently died. Galina - Honored Artist of Russia, a painter on glass. His father, incidentally, is also involved in the glass. He was a specialist in glass, the director of the institute of experimental glass.

- the truth that you can drive?

- Yes, and I really like it. I have a right since 1964. I even put a formula: «My car - my castle». I am driving a rest from the bustle of meetings. I have a small «Fiat», now I want to order a «Nissan» - seen at this small, it is already sold in Russia. For me the main thing in a car - safety, not speed. Corks do not irritate me, I sometimes even manage to read.

- And what animals hold? Dog?

- When Dad was alive, we had a dog - my father was fond of hunting, and kept the Irish Setter. But when my father died, the family dog died. There was a cat, she lived with us 16 years. If I am able to retire, head of the dog.

- Who do you believe that you can live without a museum?

- And now I have a cat Perseus, very fluffy. He was 7 years old, I took his two-month. This kolorpoynt, rock removed in 1956 in the United States. First kitten brought here a scientist. My cat fantastic pedigree. So I sometimes say to him: «Do you prapradedushka - Nobel laureate». This is a remarkable animal. To locate a volume of love, it was necessary to make such a cat. I did not think capable of such love and believe that it is quite ocherstvela ...

Source: sobesednik.ru