An exhibition dedicated to the 300th anniversary of Poltava battle opens on November 10th 2009 in the museums of the Moscow Kremlin

An exhibition titled “The General Battle” dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the Battle of Poltava, opens on November 10th, 2009 to last till March 10th, 2010 in the Moscow Kremlin. Exposition in the first hall is about the first years of the Great Northern war, the first victories and defeats of Russian army. Special part of the exhibition is dedicated to the Battle of Poltava. The second part of the exposition is related to the celebration of Poltava victory in Moscow. The visitors will see many monuments that mark the Russian victory in the Great Northern war and the personality of Peter I. Main events of the Great Northern war are planned to be reflected through a story about the greatest personalities of the epoch - Tsar Peter I and the Swedish King Karl XII. For the first time their belongings, dispersed in different collections of Europe and Russia, will be exhibited together. Among other things, the full set of uniform of Preobrazhensky regiment, arms and the saddle of Peter I that were used by Russian Tsar in the Battle of Poltava, and the uniform and the arms witnessed the last days of Karl XII near the Norwegian fortress of Fredriksten. The Great Northern war caused the birth of the new Russian army and new generals - Menshikov, Sheremetyev, Dolgoruky, Bour, Bruce, Golitzin, whose belongings will be also shown at the exhibition . As for the Swedish army, the visitors will see portraits of generals Rehnsköld, Lewenhaupt, Steinbock, some samples of Swedish cold steel and firearms from the collections of the Royal Armoury Chamber in Stockholm, the Army Museum and the National Museum. A special section of the exhibition is dedicated to the personality of Getman Ivan Mazepa, who eventually took the Swedish side in the autumn of 1708. Unique set of trophies captured by Russians in the Battle of Poltava will take a special place in the exhibition. Museums of the Moscow Kremlin and other museums of Moscow and Saint-Petersburg are going to show almost all Swedish trophies including weapons, banners, drums, and officer’s breastplates. The exhibition will be hosted by the Moscow Kremlin museums and the State Hermitage features 17 museums, libraries and archives from Russia, Germany, Sweden, Denmark, and Austria.
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