The who and why of Russian Print Abroad
Russian Print Abroad (RPA) was created by Vladimir von Tsurikov, a dedicated researcher with decades of experience studying the archives and collections of Russia Abroad.
Motivated by a desire to preserve and highlight the rare print culture of the Russian diaspora, Vladimir established RPA to make these often-overlooked emigre publications accessible for study and discourse. Recognizing that many of these rare materials exist only in scattered or partial collections, Vladimir hopes RPA will serve as both a resource for researchers and a hub for contributing materials, fostering a deeper appreciation for the historical legacy of Russian print culture abroad.
He is a researcher with extensive background in non-profit management, museum administration and curatorial affairs, archival cataloguing and preservation, publishing, public speaking, as well as teaching. He has spearheaded numerous archival exchanges with leading archives both in the U.S. and Russia and has initiated and organized various collaborative exhibitions with premier Russian museums, all in pursuit of inspiring cultural diplomacy.
His interests include cultural diplomacy, diasporic studies, Russian religious thought, US-Russia relations, as well as the last days of the Romanovs.
Vladimir Von Tsurikov being interviewed by local TV in El Paso, TX
On Art breaking down barriers...
Vladimir Von Tsurikov (Tempe, Arizona, 2023)
In October 2014 Vladimir von Tsurikov became Director of The Museum of Russian Art (TMORA) in Minneapolis, MN. He has brought with him a passion for the advancement of Russian Art and Culture, and a strong record of international collaboration.
Vladimir’s dedication to cultural collaboration allowed TMORA to become the first American museum in five years to host an exhibition co-organized by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. September 2015 saw the opening of Faces of War: Russia in World War I, which brought international participation from seven countries to TMORA and furthered the museum’s role in cultural diplomacy.
Previously, Vladimir served as Director of the Foundation of Russian History in upstate New York where he oversaw a number of groundbreaking initiatives. Among his accomplishments was a collaborative initiative with the State Archive of the Russian Federation, allowing archival and cultural collections to be viewed and used outside of their original repositories. As a result, rare archival collections were exchanged in microfilm, leading to renewed research both in Russia and the U.S.
Over the last ten years Vladimir co-organized and co-curated several exhibitions with Russian institutions in Moscow, Saint Petersburg and Yekaterinburg, including the State Museum Pavlovsk Palace, the State Archive of the Russian Federation, the Federal Archival Agency, the Alexander Solzhenitsyn House of Russia Abroad, the Peter and Paul Fortress Museum and others. Before leaving upstate New York, Vladimir curated the exhibition “The Russian Word and Image: Four Centuries of Books and Art,” which received international acclaim.
Vladimir has published numerous articles and presented dozens of lectures both in the U.S. and Russia. In addition to releasing two research volumes, he has edited five volumes of a scholarly series Readings in Russian Religious Culture and continues to serve on a number of editorial boards. Vladimir also serves on the boards of the Russian Historical Society in the U.S. and the Russian Nobility Association in America. Vladimir received his Ph.D. in Russian History from the Moscow Theological Academy in 2011, and an M.A. in Russian language and literature in 2000 from Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT.
Vladimir Von Tsurikov
excerpted from Meet Vladimir Von Tsurikov Tmora.org
Vladimir Von Tsurikov’s grandfather, Nikolai Tsurikov, seated in the first row on the left, with famous Russian writer Leo Tolstoy (far right).
You and your family have a long and rich Russian history. How has that influenced your education and career path?
My grandparents emigrated from Russia after the Civil War, fleeing from persecution. As a result, I grew up speaking Russian at home, and my parents tried their best to pass on cultural traditions to their children. Growing up in Germany made it difficult to preserve an active interest in our historical heritage; however, learning about the past, including my parents’ stories about family friends such as Tolstoy and Dostoevsky, certainly sparked my interest. It led me to devote a significant part of my life to research this family history, filled with stories of generals, poets, philosophers, princes and peasants, Decembrists and White Army officers. Still, the single greatest influence in my life that inspired me most in connecting with this heritage was Dostoevsky; reading his novels has cemented a life-long love for appreciation of Russian culture in its different manifestations.
Von Tsurikov excerpted from an interview with Pollen
Father of Vladimir Von Tsurikov, Alexey von Tsurikov, in Nazi occupied Prague, Czechoslovakia.
On the Global vs Local
There are different ways to approach this question. On one hand we are living in a global community today, with relationships and responsibilities that have global implications. On the other hand, our focus always needs to be rooted in our local community, in embracing opportunities on our turf, so to speak.
Von Tsurikov
excerpted from an interview with Pollen