ILS 5th graders recently visited Vladivostok’s Arsenev Museum to see the unique exhibition “Map of Russia; milestones of history” on loan from the collections of Museums of the Moscow Kremlin.
“Studying Russian history becomes much more interesting when you see items that belonged to Peter I, Katherine II, Ivan the Terrible and others,” says Raisa Soroka, who teaches Physical Education and serves as homeroom teacher for 5th grade section 5M1. “The children were particularly interested in an embroidered map of the Russian Empire created in 1872 by students at the St. Katherine Moscow College as a gift for Emperor Aleksandr II.”
During their hour-long visit, our students saw fascinating exhibits including the Gold Key of Riga given to Peter I and Aleksandr Menshikov by the city fathers, as well as sabers belonging to Potemkin and symbols of power given to the Russian Emperor by princes from Georgia and Samarkand during the annexation of their territories. The exhibition also include a jeweled Faberge Easter egg given to the imperial family as a memento of the opening of the Trans-Siberian Railroad.
Each exhibit helps to explain how Russia became such a vast country.
“ILS’ mission is to create an educational setting that ensures each child’s development as a well-rounded student,” explains ILS Principal Olga Shevchenko. “Forming good taste, acquiring new knowledge and research skills are just a few of our school’s important goals, and we do all we can to make sure that by the time they graduate, our students have not only mastered the educational program but have also become ‘educated young people’ in the broadest sense of the phrase.”
