Fetisova Elena Valeryevna

My name is Elena, I am a historian and art historian of the Lomonosov Moscow State University, since 2015 I have been happily leading excursions around Moscow and St. Petersburg, living in two capitals. I invite you to experience with me the joy of an informative and emotional walk through the center, museums, estates and palaces, as well as modern art and business spaces. At your request, I will prepare any program, using all my tools to search for the most interesting and scientifically proven information. In addition to systematized knowledge and pleasant emotions on my excursions you will get one unusual and impressive tool – the ability to unravel architecture, painting and sculpture. Without explications, you can determine the style of the work, the time of its creation up to a decade, the author with its characteristic features. You will learn to relate the inner idea of creation to the culture of the corresponding historical period.

I like to tour children of all ages, to come up with puzzles and games for them, to share with them my love of the world and curiosity. Adults do not get bored, but participate with children. I am convinced that the tour is necessary not only to expand your horizons and see the world, but also to strengthen relationships with loved ones, as well as to feel your connection with the past and role for the future. I can always ask any question, even if I went out last year.

Together with me, you will be able to individually explore the Petrovsky Travel Palace, which has not yet become popular with tourists.

All excursions are possible in Russian and English.

Education:

• Master’s and Bachelor’s degree in the Department of Art History of the Lomonosov Moscow State University (2011 – 2017)

Work:

• State Russian Museum (St. Petersburg), Museum of Moscow (Moscow), Pechersky Gallery (CI Winzavod, Moscow)

My excursions:

In the rhythm of the city: all of Moscow in 6 hours.

Tour-acquaintance with the city. In 6 hours, Moscow will open to us in several layers: chronological, topological and cultural. This program is suitable for the first days of stay in the capital: after the tour, you can easily navigate the main historical stages of the development of the city, understand the transport system, be able to build a further program most interesting and reasonable. We will begin our trip near the Kremlin, get acquainted with the Tver district, China-city and Zamoskvorechye and finish the tour with an impressive view from the height of the Lenin Mountains.

Precious Varvarka Street. 2 hours.

The street, which miraculously managed to preserve its ancient image, now harmoniously coexists with the newest Zaryadye Park. During a 2-hour walk, we will learn why the British Queen Elizabeth II came here in 1994, how St. Barbara gave the name of the street adjacent to the Kremlin, how the fate of the very first Romanovs developed, what kind of history stands behind the Moscow coat of arms, how to find two treasures under architectural masterpieces and much more. This excursion does not involve long distances, but involves ice cream/cakes and exciting stories to prepare for a lesson in Muscovite studies, so it will be especially interesting for children.

The Battle of Theatres: How Savva Morozov Changed Theatre Square 2 hours.

Now we know three theaters that form the ensemble of the Theatre Square. Everyone has their own repertoire, their own face. However, few people know what neighbor the richest entrepreneur and bonvivan Savva Timofeevich Morozov decided to build here at the end of the XIX century. In addition to a detailed analysis of the architecture and decorative structure of the magnificent buildings of the square, we will touch upon the fates and aspirations of people with a poetic soul - people who led the Russian theater to world recognition with their passion. The tour lasts 2 hours and involves a visit to the Metropol Hotel.

Children's program "How was the capital born?" 1.5 hours.

Excursion - 1.5-hour class will involve children from 6 years old (and parents) in a thoughtful and exciting investigation into the formation of the capital. Looking carefully at the sides of the Alexander Garden, examining the towers and walls of the Kremlin, analyzing the appearance of the buildings of the Red Square, surprised by fairy tales, the children themselves will restore the chain of fateful events that led Moscow to its greatness. Inspired by history, children will connect their imagination and within the framework of a creative task will be able to portray one fantastic hero who influenced the fate of the city. The creative part of the lesson can be offered to children both during the excursion and after it (at home), depending on the decision of the child.

The alphabet of the Moscow metro: milestones and images. 2.5 hours.

"Underground Palaces" - so often called the famous stations of the Moscow subway. In their composition and decorations one can read the fate of the united peoples, the ideological program, the hidden aspirations of the Soviet people. Within 2.5 hours we will have time to visit 11 stations, from the earliest to the modern. We will get acquainted with the exquisite and profound work of the Soviet woman architect; learn how Mayakovsky station managed to bring to the exhibition in New York; who predicted the construction of the subway in Moscow; how decorators encrypted Western European art in our subway and how many times it was necessary to erase the images of Stalin.

Ilyinka and the First City: How did they handle money and multiply their fortunes before the revolution? 1.5 hours.

Chinatown: three neighboring streets and three so different worlds. Feeding on the spiritual atmosphere of Varvarka, we will walk along the dynamic Ilyinka. The atmosphere of merchant Moscow is still preserved here, echoes of heated disputes about the purchase of the first securities can be heard. Profitable houses, stock exchange building, banks, Gostiny Dvor, Upper and Warm shopping rows ... How was business created in pre-revolutionary times? What kind of man is a Moscow businessman? What legacy has he left through the centuries? After all, are we now like those who were on top of success?

From St. Petersburg to Moscow, to the coronation! Petrovsky Travel Palace. 1 hour 15 minutes.

A rare and unique excursion to the building of the Petrovsky Travel Palace, which nowadays is the Reception House of the Moscow Government. Here received high-ranking guests in the framework of pre-coronation celebrations. It was in this palace that the monarch who lived in St. Petersburg stayed, before solemnly going to the Kremlin and taking the wedding to the kingdom in the Assumption Cathedral. The architectural masterpiece of Matvey Kazakov, brilliantly combining all possible styles, now stores a rich museum exposition and magnificent ceremonial interiors of the Empire era. The duration of the tour is 1 hour 15 minutes. You must have a passport with you.

Three Mikhailovsky: garden, palace, castle. 1.5 hours.

The beautiful Mikhailovsky Garden is a place of carefree walks and a point on the map of St. Petersburg, full of dramatic stories and strange coincidences. This tour is probably the most personal and intimate, it presents the great princes, emperors and future saints with their strengths and weaknesses. How did they come to these or other decisions, what feelings did they feel, who they loved and what they were burdened with?

Anna Akhmatova described this place:

Between the Tombs of Grandson and Grandfather

The ragged garden is lost.

Out of the prison delirium,

Burial lanterns are burning.

The duration of the tour is 1.5 hours.

SKOLKOVO: Why will we be taken into the future? 1.5 hours.

Nowadays, it is generally believed that Moscow is being "spoiled" by modern buildings, that the newest buildings are only appropriations, messengers of not our authentic culture. On a tour of Skolkovo, I will try to convince you that the future image of Moscow is a commercial structure sadly dissolved in globalism. We will see how the traditions of the Russian avant-garde are revived in the reading of a talented architect, how he connects local art with the best international examples of architecture, how functionality gives food to inspiration and how one can call the founders of the project, if not patrons.

The duration of the tour is 1.5 hours.

This list does not exhaust all the programs that we can create with you. On request, I will be happy to prepare for you an individual tour on any topic related to Moscow, St. Petersburg and Russian art in general.