Date: 14.06.2023
June 27, 2023 is the hundredth anniversary of the Russian Ministry of Sport, that will also be celebrated by the Olympic Memorabilia from Vladimir Potanin’s Collection exhibition focusing on the Russian athletes’ great role in promoting global sports.
Organized by the RIOU and the State Museum of Sports in Saint Petersburg, the event will be held from June 15 through August 31, 2023 in the State Museum of Sports at: Saint Petersburg, Moika Embankment, 23. The guardian of the collection is Russian International Olympic University (RIOU) selected as the official keeper of the memorabilia from Sochi Olympics 2014 by the International Olympic Committee.
The exhibition was opened by Elena Estyagina-Eliseeva, Deputy Chairperson, Committee for Basic Sport, Athletics and Heathy Lifestyle, Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, and RAE Academician and RIOU Rector Lev Belousov. The opening ceremony was attended by the Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin, Vice Governor of Saint Petersburg Boris Piotrovsky, a great Russian Greco-Roman wrestler, triple Olympic winner and many-time world and European champion Senator Alexander Karelin, as well as other distinguished Olympic winners and athletes, and the forum’s members and guests.
The collection’s items are grouped for the audience to understand the unique style and spirit of particular Games starting from Athens 1896, and are accompanied by historic footage. What makes an exhibition really exciting is that you can explore the history of Russian athletics from the Russian Empire and USSR to the modern Russia.
Encompassing torches, cups, diplomas, and medals, the display also features unique items such as ancient style Italian bronze pots (bronzini) from Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 that were given to prize winners and contained edelweisses as an aesthetic complement. Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 was the first winter Olympics featuring the USSR team that was the informal team rating’s number one.
The display will include the first prize diploma awarded to the famous ice hockey forward and the USSR national team player Valeri Kharlamov at Sapporo 1972 where the USSR team was a smashing success that was followed by more brilliant victories in Munich 1972, where the USSR boxer Vyacheslav Lemeshev won the gold medal in the middleweight division and foil fencer Elena Belova was the fifth best female competitor, with Lemeshev’s medal and Belova’s diploma also displayed at the exhibition.
Also, the exhibition presents Russian torchbearers and features Olympic torches from Moscow 1980 and Sochi 2014
“This is a real challenge, because a whole Saint Petersburg forum has to be organized. Still, great many people came to see the exhibition on its first day. This event introduces us to Vladimir Potanin’s collection as a world’s major private collection of this kind. And I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Potanin not only as a collection gatherer but also as a sports patron and benefactor who helps promote Russian sport and who sponsored and supported Sochi 2014 and helps underpin many educational and cultural initiatives including the creation of the Russian International Olympic University”, said the Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin.
“One thing that makes this outstanding collection really special is the sponsor’s overall approach to the Olympic movement progress in Russia and the sponsor’s treatment of tasks as a sports enthusiast. As you can see, technical and strategic solutions were offered such as Rosa Khutor, the Russian International Olympic University, the Night Hockey League, and, notably, this collection. All these steps generate innovative new ways. In other words, the collection looks into the future. So it is no surprise that Interros run by Vladimir Potanin is a partner of the new sports project called Games of the Future”, emphasized the RAE Academician and RIOU Rector Lev Belousov.
Organized by the RIOU and the State Museum of Sports in Saint Petersburg, the event will be held from June 15 through August 31, 2023 in the State Museum of Sports at: Saint Petersburg, Moika Embankment, 23. The guardian of the collection is Russian International Olympic University (RIOU) selected as the official keeper of the memorabilia from Sochi Olympics 2014 by the International Olympic Committee.
The exhibition was opened by Elena Estyagina-Eliseeva, Deputy Chairperson, Committee for Basic Sport, Athletics and Heathy Lifestyle, Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, and RAE Academician and RIOU Rector Lev Belousov. The opening ceremony was attended by the Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin, Vice Governor of Saint Petersburg Boris Piotrovsky, a great Russian Greco-Roman wrestler, triple Olympic winner and many-time world and European champion Senator Alexander Karelin, as well as other distinguished Olympic winners and athletes, and the forum’s members and guests.
The collection’s items are grouped for the audience to understand the unique style and spirit of particular Games starting from Athens 1896, and are accompanied by historic footage. What makes an exhibition really exciting is that you can explore the history of Russian athletics from the Russian Empire and USSR to the modern Russia.
Encompassing torches, cups, diplomas, and medals, the display also features unique items such as ancient style Italian bronze pots (bronzini) from Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 that were given to prize winners and contained edelweisses as an aesthetic complement. Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 was the first winter Olympics featuring the USSR team that was the informal team rating’s number one.
The display will include the first prize diploma awarded to the famous ice hockey forward and the USSR national team player Valeri Kharlamov at Sapporo 1972 where the USSR team was a smashing success that was followed by more brilliant victories in Munich 1972, where the USSR boxer Vyacheslav Lemeshev won the gold medal in the middleweight division and foil fencer Elena Belova was the fifth best female competitor, with Lemeshev’s medal and Belova’s diploma also displayed at the exhibition.
Also, the exhibition presents Russian torchbearers and features Olympic torches from Moscow 1980 and Sochi 2014
“This is a real challenge, because a whole Saint Petersburg forum has to be organized. Still, great many people came to see the exhibition on its first day. This event introduces us to Vladimir Potanin’s collection as a world’s major private collection of this kind. And I wish to express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Potanin not only as a collection gatherer but also as a sports patron and benefactor who helps promote Russian sport and who sponsored and supported Sochi 2014 and helps underpin many educational and cultural initiatives including the creation of the Russian International Olympic University”, said the Russian Sports Minister Oleg Matytsin.
“One thing that makes this outstanding collection really special is the sponsor’s overall approach to the Olympic movement progress in Russia and the sponsor’s treatment of tasks as a sports enthusiast. As you can see, technical and strategic solutions were offered such as Rosa Khutor, the Russian International Olympic University, the Night Hockey League, and, notably, this collection. All these steps generate innovative new ways. In other words, the collection looks into the future. So it is no surprise that Interros run by Vladimir Potanin is a partner of the new sports project called Games of the Future”, emphasized the RAE Academician and RIOU Rector Lev Belousov.
