The Kirillo-Belozersky Museum-Reserve presented a new exhibition to visitors on September 1. It is about Yuri Nikolaevich Baluyevsky, army general, Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (2004-2008). He studied in the Kirillov Secondary School till 1965 and probably became its most famous school-leaver.
The exhibition “I Serve the Motherland! Y.N. Baluyevsky” is housed in the Museum of Town and District History that is a branch of the Kirillo-Belozersky Museum-Reserve. Visitors can see the materials that Yuri Baluyevsky handed over to the museum in July 2015 during his visit to Kirillov. The full-dress uniform of the army general, various photographs and a complex of documents are displayed there.
Representatives of the local self-government bodies, classmates of Yuri Nikolaevich Baluyevsky and town dwellers attended the opening ceremony of the exhibition. Mikhail Sharomazov, director of the Kirillo-Belozersky Museum-Reserve, greeted everybody at the beginning of the event. “We are opening this display on the eve of the 70th anniversary of the end of the Second World War – the date that is being celebrated by all people. Men in uniform certainly played the main role in that terrible period; many of them saved the country at the expense of their lives. Yuri Baluyevsky started to serve in the army during another war – “cold war” that was also terrible. Deterrent weapon was necessary at that time. Speaking about the military career of Yuri Nikolaevich, I will underline that Chief of the General Staff is the man who secures that very containment that gives us a chance to live, to bring up children and to think about the future. I am very glad that our visitors will see his articles and will understand that it is not necessary to be born in Moscow or St. Petersburg. You can be born in a village, but if you are a real man, all roads are open for you”, said Mikhail Sharomazov. S.V. Usov, head of the Kirillov district, also addressed the audience and stressed the importance of such an event as the opening ceremony of the exhibition about the famous fellow-townsman.
Ilya Smirnov, deputy director of the museum, told all participants of the event about the biography of Y.N. Baluyevsky. Photos from the personal archive of the army general and fragments of the documentaries with his participation were presented on a large screen. Residents of Kirillov Y.B. Rystakov and M.N. Malginova shared their recollections about their outstanding classmate. The event was concluded with a tour of the display conducted for the first visitors.
More about the display
It will be open till September 30, 2015.
Venue: Museum of Town and District History (Kirillov, 103 Gagarin Street)
Opening hours: from 9:00 to 18:00 every day, except Monday and Tuesday.
A ticket costs 40 rubles. A ticket for pensioners costs 20 rubles. Admission for children under 16 is free.
