Actaeon obverse annalistic vault. Facial vault of Ivan IV. Front Chronicle of the 16th century

the largest chronicle-chronographic code Ancient Russia . L. S. was created by order of Ivan the Terrible in the Alexander Sloboda in 1568-1576. It contained a presentation of world history from the creation of the world to the 15th century. and Russian history until 1567. According to A. A. Amosov, the surviving ten volumes of L. S. number 9745 sheets, decorated with 17744 color illustrations (miniatures). There is reason to believe that the eleventh volume, containing an exposition of Russian history of the most ancient period up to 1114, was compiled (or was compiled, but lost). the book of Ruth, the four books of Kings, the book of Esther, the book of the prophet Daniel), the full text of Alexandria, the “History of the Jewish War” by Josephus Flavius ​​and two narratives about the Trojan War: an Old Russian translation of the Latin novel by Guido de Columna “The History of the Destruction of Troy” and extracted from the Russian Chronograph "The Tale of the Creation and Captivity of Troy". In the future, the sources of information on world history were the “Chronicle of Hellenic and Roman” of the second edition and the Russian Chronograph based on it. Russian history in volumes 4-10 is presented mainly according to the Nikon Chronicle, but already starting from the events of 1152, additional material, compared with this chronicle, is found in L.S. As B. M. Kloss established, its sources could be the Resurrection Chronicle, the Novgorod Code of 1539, “The Chronicler of the Beginning of the Kingdom,” and other sources. Around 1575, the already prepared text of L. S., at the direction of Ivan the Terrible, was subjected to significant revision in that part that contained a description of his reign, that is, from 1533 to 1568. In the postscripts made by an unknown editor on the margins of the manuscript, contained, in particular, accusations against persons executed or repressed during the oprichnina. Work on the L.S. was not completed - the miniatures of the last part were made only in ink sketch, but not painted. L. S. is not only an invaluable monument of book art, but also an important historical source: miniatures, despite the conventionality and symbolic nature of some images, provide rich material for judgments about the historical realities of their time, and the study of editorial changes made to the last volume L S. (the so-called “Royal Book”) allows us to deepen our information about the complex political struggle in the post-oprichne period, to judge Grozny’s changed assessments of the activities of one or another of his associates, about the new views of the tsar on the very events of his reign. The text of L. S. was published in the part that is based on the Nikon Chronicle (PSRL.-T. 9-13). Publisher: Shchepkin V. Facial collection of the Imperial Russian Historical Museum//IORYAS.-1899.-T. 4, book. 4.-S. 1345-1385; Presnyakov A. E.; 1) The royal book, its composition and origin. - St. Petersburg, 1893; 2) Moscow Historical Encyclopedia of the 16th century. // IORYAS.- 1900.- T. 4, book. 3.- S. 824-876; Artsikhovsky A. V. Old Russian miniatures as a historical source. - M., 1944; Podobedova O.I. Miniatures of Russian historical manuscripts. - M., 1965. -S. 102-332; Amosov A. A.; 1) On the question of the time of origin of the Ivan the Terrible's Facial Code // Materials and messages on the funds of the Department of Manuscript and Rare Books of the Library of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR.-L., 1978. - P. 6-36; 2) The personal chronicle of Ivan the Terrible: The experience of a comprehensive source study // ADD .- SPb., 1991; K l os with B. M. 1) Nikon's code and Russian chronicles of the 16th-17th centuries - M., 1980.-S. 206-265; 2) Chronicle of the Front // Dictionary of scribes. - Issue. 2, part 2. - S. 30-32; 3) Royal book //Ibid.- S. 506.-508. O. V. Curds

The “Makarievskaya school” of painting, the “school of Grozny” are concepts that embrace a little more than three decades in the life of Russian art in the second half (or, more precisely, the third quarter) of the 16th century. These years are full of facts, rich in works of art, characterized by a new attitude towards the tasks of art, its role in the general way of life of the young centralized state, and, finally, they are notable for the attitude towards the creative personality of the artist and attempts to regulate his activity, more than ever to subordinate it to the tasks polemical, to involve in the tense dramatic action of public life. For the first time in the history of Russian artistic culture, questions of art become the subject of debate at two church councils (1551 and 1554). For the first time, a pre-designed plan for the creation of numerous works different types art (monumental and easel painting, book illustration and applied art, in particular wood carving) predetermined themes, plots, emotional interpretation and, to a large extent, served as the basis for a complex set of images designed to reinforce, substantiate, glorify the reign and deeds of the first "crowned autocrat”, who ascended the throne of the centralized Russian state. And it was at this time that a grandiose artistic project was carried out: the front chronicle of Ivan the Terrible, the Tsar-book - an annals of events in world and especially Russian history, written, probably in 1568-1576, especially for the royal library in a single copy. The word "facial" in the name of the Code means illustrated, with the image "in the faces." Consists of 10 volumes containing about 10 thousand sheets of rag paper, decorated with more than 16 thousand miniatures. Covers the period "from the creation of the world" to 1567. The grandiose "paper" project of Ivan the Terrible!

Front chronograph. RNB.

The chronological framework of these phenomena in the artistic life of the Russian centralized state in the second half of the 16th century. are determined by one of the most significant events of that time - the wedding of Ivan IV to the kingdom. The wedding of Ivan IV (January 16, 1547) opened a new period of assertion of autocratic power, being a kind of result of a long process of formation of a centralized state and the struggle for the unity of Russia, subject to the power of the Moscow autocrat. That is why the very act of crowning the kingdom of Ivan IV, which served as the subject of repeated discussions among future participants in the "chosen council", as well as among the inner circle of Metropolitan Macarius, was, as historians have repeatedly said, furnished with exceptional splendor. Based on the literary sources of the end of the previous century, Macarius developed the very ritual of the royal wedding, introducing the necessary symbolism into it. A convinced ideologue of autocratic power, Macarius did everything possible to emphasize the exclusivity ("God's chosen") of the power of the Moscow sovereign, the primordial rights of the Moscow sovereign by referring to historical analogies in the field of civil history and, above all, the history of Byzantium, Kievan and Vladimir-Suzdal Rus.

Royal book.

The ideology of autocracy, according to Macarius, was supposed to be reflected in the written sources of the era and, first of all, the chronicle, the books of the royal genealogy, the circle of annual reading, which were the Menaia compiled under his leadership, and also, apparently, it was supposed to turn to the creation of befitting occasions. works of fine art. That the intentions of appealing to all kinds of artistic culture from the very beginning were grandiose, shows the scope of the literary works of that time. It is difficult, however, to imagine what forms the implementation of these ideas in the field of fine arts would have taken and in what terms they would have been realized if it were not for the fire in June 1547, which devastated the vast territory of the city. As the chronicle tells, on June 21, on Tuesday, “at 10 o’clock on the day of the third week of Peter’s Lent, the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross behind Neglimnaya on Arbatskaya Street caught fire ... And there was a great storm, and fire flowed, like lightning, and the fire was strong faster ... And the storm turned to a greater city, and it caught fire in the city near the cathedral churches of the Most Holy Top, and in the royal court of the Grand Duke on the ceilings, and wooden huts, and ceilings decorated with gold, and the Treasury yard and with the royal treasury, and the church in the royal court at the tsar's treasuries The Annunciation of the Golden Dome, the deesis of Andreev's letter of Rublev, overlaid with gold, and the images, decorated with gold and beads of the valuable Greek letters of his ancestors from many years collected ... And in many churches the stone burnt deesis and images, and church vessels, and many human stomachs , and the court of the Metropolitan. “... And in the city all the courtyards and wards are burning hot, and the Chudov Monastery is all burnt out, the relics of the holy great miracle worker Alexei by God’s mercy were preserved by God’s mercy... And the Ascension Monastery is also all burnt out, ... and the Church of the Ascension is burnt out, images and vessels church and the stomachs of many people, only one image of the Most Pure archpriest endured. And all the courtyards in the city burned down, and in the city the roof of the city, and the potion of the cannon, where in the city, and those places the city walls were bursting ... people along Tferskaya Street, and along Dmitrovka, and in Bolshoi Posad, along Ilyinskaya Street, in gardens. The fire on June 21, 1547, which began in the first half of the day, continued until night: "And at the third hour of the night the fiery flame ceased." As it is clear from the given chronicle evidence, buildings in the royal court were badly damaged, numerous works of art were destroyed and partly damaged.

Battle on the Ice. Annalistic miniature from the 16th century Facial Code.

But in still more Moscow residents suffered. On the second day, the tsar and the boyars gathered at the bedside of Metropolitan Macarius, who had suffered during the fire, “for a thought” - the mindset of the masses was discussed, and the tsar’s confessor, Fyodor Barmin, reported rumors spreading about the cause of the fire, which black people explained by the witchcraft of Anna Glinskaya. Ivan IV was forced to appoint an investigation. In addition to F. Barmin, it was attended by Prince Fyodor Skopin Shuisky, Prince Yuri Temkin, I. P. Fedorov, G. Yu. Zakharyin, F. Nagoi and "others". Agitated by the fire, Moscow black people, as the course of further events explains the Continuation of the Chronograph of 1512 and the Chronicler Nikolsky, gathered at the Veche and on Sunday morning, June 26, entered the Cathedral Square of the Kremlin "to the sovereign's court", seeking trial over the perpetrators of the fire (the perpetrators of the fire , as mentioned above, the Glinskys were revered). Yuri Glinsky tried to hide in the Dmitrovsky aisle of the Assumption Cathedral. The rebels penetrated the cathedral, despite the ongoing divine service, and during the “cherubic song” they took Yuri out and killed him against the metropolitan place, dragged him out of the city and left him at the place of execution of the criminals. The people of the Glinskys were "countlessly beaten and the prince's belly ripped apart." One might have thought that the murder of Yuri Glinsky was an "execution", clothed in the form of "traditional" and "legal".

Mityai (Michael) and St. Dionysius before led. book. Dimitry Donskoy.

Miniature from the Illuminated Chronicle. 70s 16th century

This is evidenced by the fact that the body of Glinsky was put up for auction and thrown "before the stake, where they will be executed." This performance of black people did not end there. On June 29, armed, in battle order, they (by the “cry of the executioner” or “birich”) moved to the royal residence in Vorobyevo. Their ranks were so formidable (they were with shields and spears) that Ivan IV was "surprised and horrified." Black people demanded the extradition of Anna Glinskaya and her son Mikhail. The scale of the actions of black people turned out to be quite large, the readiness for a military action testified to the strength of the people's anger. This uprising was preceded by protests by the dissatisfied in the cities (in the summer of 1546, the Novgorod pishchalniks came out, and on June 3, 1547, the Pskovites complained about the royal governor Turuntai), and it is clear that the size of the popular unrest should have made a formidable impression not only on Ivan IV. They had to be considered by the inner circle of the young king, who determined the policy of the 30s - 50s. The organized uprising of the Moscow lower classes was mainly directed against the boyar autocracy and arbitrariness, which was especially painfully reflected in the years of Ivan IV's youth on the fate of the broad masses of the people, and had a certain influence on the further development of domestic policy.

One of the books of the Facial Code of the 16th century.

Most likely, those of the historians who consider the Moscow uprising after the fire of 1547 inspired by the opponents of the boyar autocracy are right. Attempts to find the inspirers of the uprising in the immediate environment of Ivan IV are not without foundation. However, inspired from the outside, it, reflecting the protest of the broad masses of the people against the boyar oppression, as you know, took on an unexpected scope, although it coincided in its direction with the new trends of the emerging government of the 50s. But at the same time, its scale, the speed and strength of the popular reaction to the events were such that it was impossible not to take into account the significance of the speech and those of its deep social causes, which, regardless of the influence of the ruling political parties, caused popular unrest. All this aggravated the complexity of the political situation and in many respects contributed to the breadth of the idea and the search for the most effective means of ideological influence, among which works of fine art, new in content, occupied a significant place. It can be thought that in developing a plan for political and ideological measures of influence on the general public, it was decided to turn to one of the most accessible and familiar educational means - to standing and monumental painting, due to the capacity of its images, capable of leading from the usual edifying themes to more broad historical generalizations. A certain experience of this kind developed already in the reign of Ivan III, and later Basil III. In addition to influencing the Moscow black people, as well as the boyars and service people, the paintings were intended to have a direct educational effect on the young tsar himself. Like many literary undertakings carried out in the circle of Metropolitan Macarius and the "chosen council" - and the leading role of Macarius, as the ideologist of autocratic power, should not be underestimated - the works of painting in their essential part contained not only "justifications for the policy" of the king, but also revealed those basic ideas that were to inspire Ivan IV himself and determine general direction his activities.

Ivan the Terrible at the wedding of Simeon Bekbulatovich.

It was important to interest Ivan IV general plan restoration work to such an extent that their ideological orientation was, as it were, predetermined by the sovereign himself, came from him (we recall that the Stoglavy Cathedral was similarly organized somewhat later). The initiative for restoration work was divided between Metropolitan Macarius, Sylvester and Ivan IV, who, of course, was supposed to officially lead. All these relationships can be traced in the very course of events, as the chronicle sets them out, and most importantly, the materials of the “Viskovaty case” testify. The interior decoration of the temples burned out, the fire did not spare both the royal dwelling and the royal treasury. It was not in the custom of Muscovite Russia to leave temples without shrines. First of all, Ivan IV “sent the holy and honest icons around the cities, to Veliky Novgorod, and to Smolensk, and to Dmitrov, and Zvenigorod, and from many other cities, many wonderful holy icons were brought and placed on the Annunciation for worship by the tsar and all the peasants ". Following this, restoration work began. One of the active participants in the organization of restoration work was Priest Sylvester, who himself served in the Annunciation Cathedral - as you know, one of the most influential figures in the "chosen council". Sylvester tells in detail about the progress of work in his “Complaint” to the “consecrated cathedral” of 1554, from which you can get information about the organization and performers of the work, and about the sources of iconography, and about the process of ordering and “accepting” works, as well as about the role and relationships Metropolitan Macarius, Ivan IV and Sylvester himself during the creation of new monuments of painting.

Shchelkanovshchina. Popular uprising against the Tatars in Tver. 1327.

Miniature from the Illuminated Chronicle of the 16th century

The “Complaint” allows us to judge the number of invited masters, as well as the very fact of inviting masters, and most importantly, about those art centers from where the cadres of painters were scooped: “the sovereign sent icon painters to Novgorod, and to Pskov and other cities, the icon painters gathered , and the tsar ordered them to write icons, to whom it was ordered, and to others he ordered them to sign and at the city above the gates of the saints to write images. T

The front chronicle - the source of truth

The front annalistic code was created in the 16th century by order of the Russian Tsar Ivan the Terrible for the education of the royal children. The work on compiling this Code was headed by the most educated person of his time - St. Macarius, Metropolitan of Moscow and All Russia, confessor of the Tsar. The best scribes and icon painters of their time worked on compiling the Code.

What they have done: a collection of all authentically known sources from Holy Scripture(text of the Septuagint) to the history of Alexander the Great and the writings of Josephus Flavius ​​- the entire written history of mankind from the creation of the world to the 16th century inclusive. All times and all peoples that had a written language are reflected in dozens of books of this collection. Such a collection of chronicles, decorated with a huge number of highly artistic illustrations, was not created by any civilization of mankind: neither Europe, nor Asia, nor America and Africa.

The fate of the Russian Tsar himself and his children was tragic. The front annalistic code was not useful to the princes. After reading the Facial Code, part of which is devoted to the period of Grozny, it becomes clear why

Over the next hundreds of years, official historiography appeared, often opportunistic and politically biased, and therefore reliable chronicle sources were doomed to destruction or correction, that is, falsification. The front annalistic code survived these centuries due to the fact that after the death of Ivan the Terrible, during the period of unrest and timelessness, this tome became a coveted object for "enlightened" bibliophiles. Its fragments were taken to their libraries by the most influential nobles of their time: Osterman, Sheremetev, Golitsyn and others. After all, even then high-ranking collectors understood that there was no price for such a folio with sixteen thousand miniatures. And so the Code survived until the revolution, after which it was dumped in heaps in several museums and depositories.

Already today, through the efforts of enthusiasts, disparate books and sheets were brought together from different repositories. And the revived Society of Ancient Literature Lovers made this masterpiece accessible to everyone. An unparalleled historical source, now many major educational institutions of the world, national libraries will be able to receive free of charge different countries and, of course, our compatriots to raise children on this treasure of experience and wisdom of millennia.

In such an amazing way, the work that was done for the royal children five hundred years ago went to our children, dear contemporaries, for which we congratulate you from the bottom of our hearts!

The “Makarievskaya school” of painting, the “school of Grozny” are concepts that embrace a little more than three decades in the life of Russian art in the second half (or, more precisely, the third quarter) of the 16th century. These years are full of facts, rich in works of art, characterized by a new attitude towards the tasks of art, its role in the general way of life of the young centralized state, and, finally, they are notable for the attitude towards the creative personality of the artist and attempts to regulate his activity, more than ever to subordinate it to the tasks polemical, to involve in the tense dramatic action of public life. For the first time in the history of Russian artistic culture, questions of art become the subject of debate at two church councils (1551 and 1554). For the first time, a predetermined plan for the creation of numerous works of various types of art (monumental and easel painting, book illustration and applied art, in particular woodcarving) predetermined themes, plots, emotional interpretation and, to a large extent, served as the basis for a complex set of images designed to reinforce, substantiate, glorify the reign and deeds of the first "crowned autocrat" who ascended the throne of the centralized Russian state. And it was at this time that a grandiose artistic project was carried out: the front chronicle of Ivan the Terrible, the Tsar-book - an annals of events in world and especially Russian history, written, probably in 1568-1576, especially for the royal library in a single copy. The word "facial" in the name of the Code means illustrated, with the image "in the faces." Consists of 10 volumes containing about 10 thousand sheets of rag paper, decorated with more than 16 thousand miniatures. Covers the period "from the creation of the world" to 1567. The grandiose "paper" project of Ivan the Terrible!

Front chronograph. RNB.

The chronological framework of these phenomena in the artistic life of the Russian centralized state in the second half of the 16th century. are determined by one of the most significant events of that time - the wedding of Ivan IV to the kingdom. The wedding of Ivan IV (January 16, 1547) opened a new period of assertion of autocratic power, being a kind of result of a long process of formation of a centralized state and the struggle for the unity of Russia, subject to the power of the Moscow autocrat. That is why the very act of crowning the kingdom of Ivan IV, which served as the subject of repeated discussions among future participants in the "chosen council", as well as among the inner circle of Metropolitan Macarius, was, as historians have repeatedly said, furnished with exceptional splendor. Based on the literary sources of the end of the previous century, Macarius developed the very ritual of the royal wedding, introducing the necessary symbolism into it. A convinced ideologue of autocratic power, Macarius did everything possible to emphasize the exclusivity ("God's chosen") of the power of the Moscow sovereign, the primordial rights of the Moscow sovereign by referring to historical analogies in the field of civil history and, above all, the history of Byzantium, Kievan and Vladimir-Suzdal Rus.

Royal book.

The ideology of autocracy, according to Macarius, was supposed to be reflected in the written sources of the era and, first of all, the chronicle, the books of the royal genealogy, the circle of annual reading, which were the Menaia compiled under his leadership, and also, apparently, it was supposed to turn to the creation of befitting occasions. works of fine art. That the intentions of appealing to all kinds of artistic culture from the very beginning were grandiose, shows the scope of the literary works of that time. It is difficult, however, to imagine what forms the implementation of these ideas in the field of fine arts would have taken and in what terms they would have been realized if it were not for the fire in June 1547, which devastated the vast territory of the city. As the chronicle tells, on June 21, on Tuesday, “at 10 o’clock on the day of the third week of Peter’s Lent, the Church of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross behind Neglimnaya on Arbatskaya Street caught fire ... And there was a great storm, and fire flowed, like lightning, and the fire was strong faster ... And the storm turned to a greater city, and it caught fire in the city near the cathedral churches of the Most Holy Top, and in the royal court of the Grand Duke on the ceilings, and wooden huts, and ceilings decorated with gold, and the Treasury yard and with the royal treasury, and the church in the royal court at the tsar's treasuries The Annunciation of the Golden Dome, the deesis of Andreev's letter of Rublev, overlaid with gold, and the images, decorated with gold and beads of the valuable Greek letters of his ancestors from many years collected ... And in many churches the stone burnt deesis and images, and church vessels, and many human stomachs , and the court of the Metropolitan. “... And in the city all the courtyards and wards are burning hot, and the Chudov Monastery is all burnt out, the relics of the holy great miracle worker Alexei by God’s mercy were preserved by God’s mercy... And the Ascension Monastery is also all burnt out, ... and the Church of the Ascension is burnt out, images and vessels church and the stomachs of many people, only one image of the Most Pure archpriest endured. And all the courtyards in the city burned down, and in the city the roof of the city, and the potion of the cannon, where in the city, and those places the city walls were bursting ... people along Tferskaya Street, and along Dmitrovka, and in Bolshoi Posad, along Ilyinskaya Street, in gardens. The fire on June 21, 1547, which began in the first half of the day, continued until night: "And at the third hour of the night the fiery flame ceased." As it is clear from the given chronicle evidence, buildings in the royal court were badly damaged, numerous works of art were destroyed and partly damaged.

Battle on the Ice. Annalistic miniature from the 16th century Facial Code.

But Moscow residents suffered even more. On the second day, the tsar and the boyars gathered at the bedside of Metropolitan Macarius, who had suffered during the fire, “for a thought” - the mindset of the masses was discussed, and the tsar’s confessor, Fyodor Barmin, reported rumors spreading about the cause of the fire, which black people explained by the witchcraft of Anna Glinskaya. Ivan IV was forced to appoint an investigation. In addition to F. Barmin, it was attended by Prince Fyodor Skopin Shuisky, Prince Yuri Temkin, I. P. Fedorov, G. Yu. Zakharyin, F. Nagoi and "others". Agitated by the fire, Moscow black people, as the course of further events explains the Continuation of the Chronograph of 1512 and the Chronicler Nikolsky, gathered at the Veche and on Sunday morning, June 26, entered the Cathedral Square of the Kremlin "to the sovereign's court", seeking trial over the perpetrators of the fire (the perpetrators of the fire , as mentioned above, the Glinskys were revered). Yuri Glinsky tried to hide in the Dmitrovsky aisle of the Assumption Cathedral. The rebels penetrated the cathedral, despite the ongoing divine service, and during the “cherubic song” they took Yuri out and killed him against the metropolitan place, dragged him out of the city and left him at the place of execution of the criminals. The people of the Glinskys were "countlessly beaten and the prince's belly ripped apart." One might have thought that the murder of Yuri Glinsky was an "execution", clothed in the form of "traditional" and "legal".

Mityai (Michael) and St. Dionysius before led. book. Dimitry Donskoy.

Miniature from the Illuminated Chronicle. 70s 16th century

This is evidenced by the fact that the body of Glinsky was put up for auction and thrown "before the stake, where they will be executed." This performance of black people did not end there. On June 29, armed, in battle order, they (by the “cry of the executioner” or “birich”) moved to the royal residence in Vorobyevo. Their ranks were so formidable (they were with shields and spears) that Ivan IV was "surprised and horrified." Black people demanded the extradition of Anna Glinskaya and her son Mikhail. The scale of the actions of black people turned out to be quite large, the readiness for a military action testified to the strength of the people's anger. This uprising was preceded by protests by the dissatisfied in the cities (in the summer of 1546, the Novgorod pishchalniks came out, and on June 3, 1547, the Pskovites complained about the royal governor Turuntai), and it is clear that the size of the popular unrest should have made a formidable impression not only on Ivan IV. They had to be considered by the inner circle of the young king, who determined the policy of the 30s - 50s. The organized uprising of the Moscow lower classes was mainly directed against the boyar autocracy and arbitrariness, which was especially painfully reflected in the years of Ivan IV's youth on the fate of the broad masses of the people, and had a certain influence on the further development of domestic policy.

One of the books of the Facial Code of the 16th century.

Most likely, those of the historians who consider the Moscow uprising after the fire of 1547 inspired by the opponents of the boyar autocracy are right. Attempts to find the inspirers of the uprising in the immediate environment of Ivan IV are not without foundation. However, inspired from the outside, it, reflecting the protest of the broad masses of the people against the boyar oppression, as you know, took on an unexpected scope, although it coincided in its direction with the new trends of the emerging government of the 50s. But at the same time, its scale, the speed and strength of the popular reaction to the events were such that it was impossible not to take into account the significance of the speech and those of its deep social causes, which, regardless of the influence of the ruling political parties, caused popular unrest. All this aggravated the complexity of the political situation and in many respects contributed to the breadth of the idea and the search for the most effective means of ideological influence, among which works of fine art, new in content, occupied a significant place. It can be thought that in developing a plan for political and ideological measures of influence on the general public, it was decided to turn to one of the most accessible and familiar educational means - to standing and monumental painting, due to the capacity of its images, capable of leading from the usual edifying themes to more broad historical generalizations. A certain experience of this kind took shape already in the reign, first of Ivan III, and later of Vasily III. In addition to influencing the Moscow black people, as well as the boyars and service people, the paintings were intended to have a direct educational effect on the young tsar himself. Like many literary undertakings carried out in the circle of Metropolitan Macarius and the "chosen council" - and the leading role of Macarius, as the ideologist of autocratic power, should not be underestimated - the works of painting in their essential part contained not only "justifications for the policy" of the king, but also revealed those basic ideas that were supposed to inspire Ivan IV himself and determine the general direction of his activities.

Ivan the Terrible at the wedding of Simeon Bekbulatovich.

It was important to interest Ivan IV in the general plan of restoration work to such an extent that their ideological orientation was, as it were, predetermined by the sovereign himself, came from him (recall that the Stoglavy Cathedral was similarly organized a little later). The initiative for restoration work was divided between Metropolitan Macarius, Sylvester and Ivan IV, who, of course, was supposed to officially lead. All these relationships can be traced in the very course of events, as the chronicle sets them out, and most importantly, the materials of the “Viskovaty case” testify. The interior decoration of the temples burned out, the fire did not spare both the royal dwelling and the royal treasury. It was not in the custom of Muscovite Russia to leave temples without shrines. First of all, Ivan IV “sent the holy and honest icons around the cities, to Veliky Novgorod, and to Smolensk, and to Dmitrov, and Zvenigorod, and from many other cities, many wonderful holy icons were brought and placed on the Annunciation for worship by the tsar and all the peasants ". Following this, restoration work began. One of the active participants in the organization of restoration work was Priest Sylvester, who himself served in the Annunciation Cathedral - as you know, one of the most influential figures in the "chosen council". Sylvester tells in detail about the progress of work in his “Complaint” to the “consecrated cathedral” of 1554, from which you can get information about the organization and performers of the work, and about the sources of iconography, and about the process of ordering and “accepting” works, as well as about the role and relationships Metropolitan Macarius, Ivan IV and Sylvester himself during the creation of new monuments of painting.

Shchelkanovshchina. Popular uprising against the Tatars in Tver. 1327.

Miniature from the Illuminated Chronicle of the 16th century

The “Complaint” allows us to judge the number of invited masters, as well as the very fact of inviting masters, and most importantly, about those art centers from where the cadres of painters were scooped: “the sovereign sent icon painters to Novgorod, and to Pskov and other cities, the icon painters gathered , and the tsar ordered them to write icons, to whom it was ordered, and to others he ordered them to sign and at the city above the gates of the saints to write images. Thus, the areas of activity of painters are immediately determined: easel painting (icon painting), secular chamber painting, the creation of over-the-gate icons (it is possible to understand them as wall painting and as easel painting). As the main artistic centers where the masters come from, two cities are called Sylvester: Novgorod and Pskov, and it is very interesting how the relationship between the masters and the organizers of the order develops. All from the same Sylvester's Complaint, as well as from his message to his son Anfim, one can judge about the leading role of Sylvester in organizing the leadership of the squad itself, which carried out painting works after the fire of 1547. In particular, with the Novgorod masters, Sylvester, apparently, long established relationships. He himself determines what they should order, where they can get the sources of iconography: “And I, reporting to the sovereign tsar, ordered the Novgorod icon painters to write the Holy Trinity Life-Giving in deeds, and I believe in one God, praise the Lord from heaven, yes Sophia, Wisdom God, yes, it is worthy, and the translation from the Trinity had icons, why write, but on Simonov. But this was done only if the plots were traditional. The situation was much more complicated when there were no such transfers.

Defense of Kozelsk, miniature of the 16th century from the Nikon chronicle.

Another part of the work was entrusted to the Pskovites. Their invitation was not unexpected. They turned to the Pskov masters at the end of the 15th century. True, at that time skillful builders were invited, while now they are icon painters. Macarius, in the recent past the archbishop of Novgorod and Pskov, himself, as you know, a painter, in all likelihood, struck up relations with the Pskov masters in his time. In any case, on the basis of completed orders, one can judge the fairly significant size of the workshop at the archbishop's court in Novgorod. It is generally accepted that this whole workshop, following Macarius, moved to the metropolitan court in Moscow. Maintaining relations with the Pskovites, being already a metropolitan, Macarius could through the priest of the Cathedral of the Annunciation, the Pskovite Semyon, the same one who submitted his “Complaint” to the “consecrated cathedral” together with Sylvester. Obviously, for the execution of such a complex order, the best masters from different cities were convened, which laid the foundation for the "royal school" of painters. The Pskovites, without explaining the reasons, did not want to work in Moscow and pledged to fulfill the order by working at home: “But the Pskov icons of Ostanya, yes Yakov, yes Mikhail, yes Yakushko, yes Semyon the High Verb and comrades, ask for leave to Pskov and went there to write four large icons":

1. Last Judgment

2. Renovation of the Cathedral of Christ our God of Resurrection

3. Passion of the Lord in the Gospel parables

4. The icon, there are four holidays on it: "And God rest on the seventh day from all his works, yes, the Only Begotten Son, the Word of God, yes, come people to the threefold Deity, let us worship, but in the tomb of the flesh"

So, at the head of the whole grandiose plan of restoration work was the king, “reporting” to whom or “having asked” whom (partially nominally), Sylvester distributed orders among painters, especially if there was a direct opportunity to use samples.

Battle on the Ice. Flight of the Swedes to the ships.

It should be emphasized that the Moscow sources of traditional iconography were the Trinity-Sergius Monastery and the Simonov Monastery. (In written sources until the second half of the 16th century, there was no information about the art workshop in Simonov, despite the mention of the names of several masters who left this monastery). It should also be recalled that Novgorod and Pskov churches are also mentioned among the authoritative sources of iconography, in particular, the murals of St. Sophia of Novgorod, the church of St. George in the St. characteristic of Novgorod connections and Sylvester and Macarius. Despite the fact that it would seem natural to consider Metropolitan Macarius himself the main inspirer of the paintings, it is clear from the text of the Complaint that he played a rather passive role in the organizational side of the order. On the other hand, he carried out the “acceptance” of the order, “performing a prayer service with the entire consecrated cathedral,” for the most important act of approbation from the point of view of church ideology was the moment of consecration of finished works, primarily easel, as well as monumental painting. Not without the participation of Ivan IV and at this stage - he distributed the new icons in the temples. Restoration work after the fire of 1547 was considered a matter of national importance, as long as Ivan IV himself, Metropolitan Macarius and Sylvester, the closest member of the "chosen council" to Ivan IV, took care of their implementation.

Ivan the Terrible and the royal icon painters.

It is in the era of Grozny that art is “deeply exploited by the state and the church”, and the role of art is being rethought, the importance of which as an educational principle, a means of persuasion and an irresistible emotional impact increases immeasurably, at the same time, the usual way of artistic life changes dramatically. The possibility of "free creative development of the artist's personality" is reduced. The artist loses the simplicity and freedom of relationships with the customer-parishioner, the church keeper or the abbot - the builder of the monastery. Now the order of state importance is strictly regulated by the ruling circles, who consider art as a conductor of certain political trends. Themes, plots of individual works or integral ensembles are discussed by representatives of state and church authorities, become the subject of debate at cathedrals, and are stipulated in legislative documents. During these years, ideas were developed for grandiose monumental ensembles, cycles of easel works and illustrations in handwritten books, which in general have common trends.

Construction of St. Basil's Cathedral (Protection on the Moat) on Red Square.

There is a desire to link the history of the Muscovite state with world history, to show the “chosenness” of the Muscovite state, which is the subject of “divine economy”. This idea is supported by numerous analogies from the Old Testament history, the history of the Babylonian and Persian kingdoms, the monarchy of Alexander the Great, Roman and Byzantine history. It is not for nothing that the chronographic volumes of the Illuminated Chronicle were created with special attention and such thoroughness in the circle of the Makaryev scribes. It is not for nothing that in the monumental ensembles of temple murals and the murals of the Golden Chamber such a significant place was given to historical and Old Testament subjects, selected on the principle of direct analogy. At the same time, the whole cycle of works of fine art was permeated with the idea of ​​the divinity of the sovereign power, its divine establishment, its originality in Russia and the direct succession of royal dignity from the Roman and Byzantine emperors and the continuity of the dynasty of “God-approved scepter holders” from the princes of Kyiv and Vladimir to the sovereign of Moscow. All this taken together was intended to reinforce and justify the very fact of the wedding of Ivan IV, to justify the further course of the autocracy policy not only in the Muscovite state itself, but also in the face of the "Orthodox East".

Ivan the Terrible sends ambassadors to Lithuania.

This was all the more necessary because the "approval" of the wedding of Ivan IV by the Patriarch of Constantinople was expected, which, as you know, was carried out only in 1561, when a "conciliar charter" was received. An equally important place in the overall plan was occupied by the idea of ​​glorifying the military actions of Ivan IV. His military speeches were interpreted as religious wars in defense of the purity and inviolability of the Christian state from infidels, freeing Christian captives and civilians from the Tatar invaders and oppressors. Finally, the topic of religious and moral education was no less significant. It was interpreted in two ways: more in-depth with a certain philosophical and symbolic connotation in the interpretation of basic Christian dogma and more directly - in terms of moral purification and improvement. The last topic was also of a personal nature - it was about spiritual education and self-correction of the young autocrat. All these trends, or, more precisely, all these facets of a single ideological concept, were realized in different ways in individual works of art throughout the Grozny reign. The culmination in the disclosure and implementation of this concept was the period of restoration work in 1547-1554. and more broadly - the time of the activity of the "chosen one".

Kulikovo battle. 1380

After 1570, until the end of the reign of Ivan IV, as is known, the volume of works in the field of fine arts was sharply reduced, the intensity of the emotional content, the feeling of uniqueness and chosenness gradually faded away. It is replaced by another, more severe, mournful, sometimes tragic. Echoes of triumph, self-affirmation, so characteristic of the early days, only occasionally make themselves felt in individual works as belated reflections of the past, only to fade away completely in the early 80s. At the end of the reign of Ivan the Terrible, applied art came to the fore in artistic life. If it becomes impossible to assert and glorify the idea of ​​autocracy as such, then it is natural to give splendor to palace life, palace utensils, like royal clothes, covered with patterns and jewelry, often turn into unique works of art. The nature of the literary works undertaken in the course of "preparation" for the wedding in the circle of Metropolitan Macarius draws attention. Among them, one should especially single out the rite of the wedding to the kingdom, with its direct connection with the "Tale of the Princes of Vladimir". The story of Vladimir Monomakh receiving the royal crown and his crowning "to the kingdom" is contained in the Book of Degrees and the Great Menaia of the Four, i.e., literary monuments of the Makaryev circle. The initial volumes of the chronographic part of the Illuminated Chronicle, as well as the extended (in comparison with other lists of the Nikon Chronicle) edition of the text of the first six sheets of the Golitsyn volume of the Illuminated Chronicle, also contain a story about the beginning of the reign of Vladimir Monomakh in Kyiv and about his wedding "to the kingdom" with regalia sent by the Byzantine emperor. In direct connection with them are the miniatures that adorn the chronographic part of the Obverse Vault, as well as the miniatures of the first six sheets of the Golitsyn volume. In the miniatures of the chronographic part Obverse annals, in turn, find further disclosure of the theme of God-established sovereign power, the introduction of Russia into the general course of world history, as well as the idea of ​​the chosenness of the Moscow sovereign. Thus, a certain range of literary monuments is designated. The same themes are further developed in the paintings of the Golden Chamber, in the reliefs of the royal place (“Monomakh's Throne”), erected in the Assumption Cathedral, in the painting of the portal of the Archangel Cathedral. The icons made by the Pskovites, seemingly purely dogmatic in their content, carry the plot, and perhaps the disclosure of the theme of the sacred nature of the wars waged by Ivan IV, the chosen by God of the feat of warriors, awarded the crowns of immortality and glory, which culminates in the icon " Militant Church" and in the image of Christ - the winner of death in the "Four-part" of the Cathedral of the Annunciation.

Battle of Kosovo. 1389

This theme, in its programmatic, most developed form, is embodied in the first Russian "battle picture" - "The Militant Church". The direct disclosure of its subtext is the murals of the tomb of Ivan IV (in the deacon of the Archangel Cathedral), as well as the system of murals of the cathedral as a whole (assuming that its murals that have survived to this day completely repeat the murals carried out no later than 1566). Even if we remain within the most cautious assumptions about the preservation of the earlier painting, one cannot fail to see that the military themes that make up the wall painting lead directly to a cycle of Old Testament battle scenes in the painting of the Golden Chamber, in which contemporaries found direct analogies with the history of Kazan and Astrakhan taking. To this we should add personal, “autobiographical” themes, if we can talk like that about the plots of the murals of the Archangel Cathedral (chapter about the tomb of Grozny) and the Golden Chamber, and partly the icon-painting “The Militant Church”. Finally, the main Christological, or symbolic-dogmatic, cycle of icons, made according to the “sovereign order”, is associated with the main compositions of the painting of the Golden Chamber, being a clear expression of the entire system of religious and philosophical views of that group, which is usually called the “government of the 50s” and which included both representatives of the "chosen council" and the head of the Russian church, Metropolitan Macarius. Being addressed to a relatively wide circle of people, this painting also had another purpose - a constant reminder of the basic religious and philosophical principles to the young king, whose "correction" was undertaken by his closest members of the "chosen council". This is also evidenced by the presence in the painting system of the Golden Chamber of compositions on the theme of the Tale of Barlaam and Joasaph, in which contemporaries were inclined to see the story of the moral renewal of Ivan IV himself, and by Varlaam they meant the same all-powerful Sylvester. Thus, before us are, as it were, links of a single plan. The themes, starting in one of the monuments, continue to be revealed in subsequent ones, being read in direct sequence in works of different types of fine art.

Front Chronicle(The personal chronicle of Ivan the Terrible, the Tsar-book) is a chronicle of events in world and especially Russian history, created in the 40-60s of the 16th century (probably in 1568-1576) especially for the royal library in a single copy. The word "facial" in the name of the Code means illustrated, with the image "in the faces." Consists of 10 volumes containing about 10 thousand sheets of rag paper, decorated with more than 16 thousand miniatures. Covers the period "from the creation of the world" to 1567. The front (that is, illustrated, with the image “in faces”) chronicle is not only a monument to the Russian handwritten book and a masterpiece of ancient Russian literature. It is a literary, historical, artistic monument of world significance. It is no coincidence that it is unofficially called the Tsar-Book (by analogy with the Tsar-Cannon and the Tsar-Bell). The front annalistic code was created in the 2nd half of the 16th century by order of Tsar Ivan IV Vasilyevich the Terrible in a single copy for his children. Metropolitan and "sovereign" artisans worked on the books of the Facial Code: about 15 scribes and 10 artists. The codex consists of about 10,000 sheets and over 17,000 illustrations, and the visual material occupies about 2/3 of the entire volume of the monument. Miniature drawings (landscape, historical, battle and everyday genres) not only illustrate the text, but also complement it. Some events are not written, but only drawn. The drawings tell readers what clothes, military armor, church vestments, weapons, tools, household items, and so on looked like in antiquity. In the history of world medieval writing there is no monument similar to the Illuminated Chronicle both in terms of breadth of coverage and volume. It includes sacred, ancient Hebrew and ancient Greek stories, stories about the Trojan War and Alexander the Great, plots from the history of the Roman and Byzantine empires, as well as an annals covering the most important events in Russia for four and a half centuries: from 1114 to 1567. (It is assumed that the beginning and end of this chronicle, namely, the Tale of Bygone Years, a significant part of the history of the reign of Ivan the Terrible, as well as some other fragments, have not been preserved.) In the Facial Code, the history of the Russian state is considered inseparably from world history.

The volumes are grouped in relatively chronological order:

• bible story
• History of Rome
• History of Byzantium
• Russian history

Contents of volumes:

1. Museum collection (GIM). 1031 sheets, 1677 miniatures. Presentation of the sacred, Hebrew and Greek history from the creation of the world to the destruction of Troy in the XIII century. BC e.
2. Chronographic collection (BAN). 1469 sheets, 2549 miniatures. Presentation of the history of the ancient East, the Hellenistic world and ancient Rome from the 11th century. BC e. until the 70s. 1st century n. e.
3. Front chronograph (RNB). 1217l., 2191 miniatures. Outline of the history of the ancient Roman Empire since the 70s. 1st century until 337 and Byzantine history until the 10th century.
4. Golitsyn volume (RNB). 1035 l., 1964 miniatures. Statement national history for 1114-1247 and 1425-1472
5. Laptev volume (RNB). 1005 l., 1951 miniature. Statement of national history for 1116-1252.
6. Ostermanovsky first volume (BAN). 802 sheets, 1552 miniatures. Statement of national history for 1254-1378.
7. Ostermanovsky second volume (BAN). 887 sheets, 1581 miniature. Statement of national history for 1378-1424.
8. Shumilovsky volume (RNB). 986 sheets, 1893 miniatures. Statement of national history for 1425, 1478-1533.
9. Synodal volume (GIM). 626 l, 1125 miniatures. Statement of national history for 1533-1542, 1553-1567.
10. Royal Book (GIM). 687 sheets, 1291 miniatures. Statement of national history for 1533-1553

The history of the creation of the vault:

The vault was probably created in 1568-1576. (according to some sources, work began in the 1540s), by order of Ivan the Terrible, in the Alexander Sloboda, which was then the residence of the king. In particular, Alexey Fedorovich Adashev took part in the work. The creation of the Illuminated Chronicle lasted intermittently for more than 30 years. The text was prepared by scribes from the entourage of Metropolitan Macarius, the miniatures were executed by the masters of the metropolitan and "sovereign" workshops. The presence in the illustrations of the Front Chronicle of images of buildings, structures, clothing, handicraft and agricultural tools, household items, corresponding in each case to the historical era, indicates the existence of more ancient illustrated chronicles that served as models for illustrators. of the entire volume The front annalistic code contains a developed system of illustrating historical texts. Within the illustrations of the Obverse Chronicle, one can speak about the origin and formation of the landscape, historical, battle and actually everyday genres. Around 1575, amendments were made to the text regarding the reign of Ivan the Terrible (apparently, under the leadership of the tsar himself). Initially, the vault was not bound - the binding was carried out later, at different times.

Storage:

The only original copy of the Code is stored separately, in three places (in different "baskets"):

State Historical Museum (volumes 1, 9, 10)

Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences (volumes 2, 6, 7)

Russian National Library (volumes 3, 4, 5, 8)

Cultural influence and significance. B. M. Kloss described the Code as "the largest chronicle-chronographic work of medieval Russia." The miniatures from the Code are widely known and are used both in the form of illustrations and in art.

”begins publication of an electronic edition of one of the most famous monuments of ancient Russian art - the Illuminated Chronicle Code.

Obverse annalistic vault XVI century - a monumental monument of ancient Russian book art, in terms of scale and breadth of coverage historical events, as well as in the form of presentation of the material, which has no analogues in the world. This is the largest chronicle-chronographic work of medieval Russia. The front annalistic code was created by order Ivan IV the Terrible in the period 1568-1576. in Alexander Sloboda, which at that time became the political center of the Russian state, the permanent residence of the tsar. A whole staff of royal scribes and artists worked on compiling the code.

The facial arch has survived to this day in 10 volumes located in various ancient repositories: the Library of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Russian National Library in St. Petersburg and the State Historical Museum in Moscow.

Firm "AKTEON" together with the curators a few years ago for the first time carried out a scientific facsimile publication " Front Chronicle of the 16th century».

Today, the Russian Faith website begins publishing the full version. The proposed edition with translation is presented in three sections: biblical history, world history, Russian chronicle history.

Unlike some edited, unreliable, recopied from low-quality paper reissues that can be found on the net, our publication is the primary source of this most valuable document. It was provided by the AKTEON publishing house, whose employees carried out a direct scan of the facial vault stored in Russian ancient repositories.

Today we are talking with the director of the publishing house "ACTEON" Kharis Kharasovich Mustafin.

Haris Kharrasovich, a few years ago, the publishing house "AKTEON" began a large-scale work on scanning and publishing monuments of ancient Slavic literature. Why, in the presence of numerous ancient chronicles, Chet-Menya and others, was the Facial Vault chosen as the main, main project?

The front annalistic code of the 16th century stands apart in the Old Russian annals. This is the greatest book monument, which is distinguished, first of all, by the scale of the presentation of events - from the creation of the world, biblical events, to world historical events. Finally, it outlines Russian chronicle history from the time of Vladimir Monomakh to the time of Ivan the Terrible.

This monument is interesting both in terms of a large amount of information and the fact that it is a single complex, which was apparently created as a kind of state order during the formation of the Russian Empire of the 16th century. This is its uniqueness. On the other hand, this monument has a peculiarity: on almost 10 thousand sheets of the manuscript, more than 17.5 thousand book miniatures are presented, never repeated, woven into the canvas of the story. At the same time, it turns out that this is not illustrative material for the manuscript, and the manuscripts are not captions for such a huge array of book miniatures.

This is, on the one hand, a new, and on the other hand, a unique literary and historical work, where texts are interspersed with book miniatures, which often depict much more than what is stated in the texts. Thus, the reader in these books can look through the eyes of Russian scribes of the 16th century at the events they recount. This is of particular value.

Therefore, when asked why we took up the Facial Chronicle Code, I want to answer that it is precisely because of its uniqueness. Many generations of historians and philologists dreamed of a facsimile edition of this monument, and only thanks to the new technologies of the 21st century and the determination of our team to start this work and bring it to the end, it became possible to publish this book monument.

One more moment. When we were selecting material for publication, we turned to the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Archaeographic Commission at the Academy of Sciences for advice. When asked what the most outstanding of the Russian book monuments is in the ancient repositories, we were unequivocally answered that this is the Illuminated Chronicle Code, which has no analogues either in Russia or abroad. That's why the publishing house was created. "ACTEON" specifically for the project of publishing the Facial Code.

From the point of view of what tasks were set, it is necessary to talk about a very important point. Not only the publishing house worked on the project, but also the largest libraries-custodians of the Illuminated Chronicle. A large number of different specialists participated in this project - historians, philologists from leading specialized organizations. This is not just a facsimile edition of a book monument, it is a scientific facsimile edition, which presents detailed descriptions original books, the history of existence, a lot of work has been done on the preparation of indexes, bibliographic material. It is also very important that work has been done on the complete transliteration of the text and interlinear translation into modern Russian, which has dramatically expanded the opportunity for even unprepared people to get acquainted with this monument.

Few publishers have done this before. Now it is turning into a kind of standard, because it is very convenient for people. Many publishing houses are now trying to publish the original text and its transliteration, and if they have the strength, then a translation into a modern language. This is hard work. ancient and modern languages very close, and it is not at all easy to convey certain phrases without distorting their meaning so much that it would be clear to contemporaries. From our point of view, it is very important that the book monuments that we deal with are created both for scientists and for all those interested in the history and culture of Russia. We make publications of the Illuminated Chronicle in a form convenient for perception.

Can the books of the Facial Code give the modern reader new historical information?

The facial vault is interesting in several ways. Firstly, its pages consistently present the vision of history by Russian scribes of the 16th century, as they understood it. They compiled these books based on their understanding of history, and they understood that the history of any state and any society comes from the creation of the world, followed by biblical events, then world history, including the history of Troy, ancient Rome, Byzantium, then there is a transition to Russian stories. A complete picture of the historical canvas is described. There are few materials where this concept can be seen in its entirety. As a rule, what is published is fragmentary, but here we see a common unified picture of the understanding of history by people of the 16th century, which is very important.

Later, of course, historical science developed, and this led to the emergence of many different new concepts about what the history of, in particular, Russia was like. Often, science was formed to please certain political orders. Therefore, to be able to get acquainted and evaluate the vision of the history of the Russian scribes of the 16th century, based on the published document - the Illuminated Chronicle Code, is a very interesting opportunity. This vision is not obscured by many stratifications, on the one hand, artificially contrived, and, on the other hand, based on modern historical science. From the Facial Code, which is, in fact, the primary source, it is possible to consider many historical events of both the 16th century and an earlier era through the eyes of educated Russian scribes.

The meaning of studying the Code lies in the fact that, in addition to some textual descriptions of events, there is a mass of materials related to the display of historical events in miniatures. Often, only in them you can see many points related to the development of technology, weapons, crafts, and construction. To our time, almost no graphic information has been preserved about the events in Russia and the countries adjacent to Russia, which would be reflected precisely graphically. From this point of view, the material of the Code is very interesting and, indeed, can give the modern reader a lot of new historical information. The main thing is that a person should have an inquisitive mind and be truly interested in the history and culture of his country.

Today, many publishing houses publish reprint and facsimile editions. However, their quality in most cases, to put it mildly, is lame. What technologies, software products were used by ACTEON to create, without exaggeration, the highest quality publication of its kind?

It has already been said that when it was decided to issue a scientific facsimile edition of the Personal Chronicle Code, the AKTEON publishing house was specially created. The main emphasis in the work of this company was placed on the use of cutting-edge technologies that arose at the beginning of the 21st century. These are the first non-contact book scanners that allow you to illuminate ancient books with gentle light, non-contact, carefully scan them with the highest quality.

Digital technologies also appeared, largely developed by the specialists of our publishing house, which made it possible to virtually straighten the images of open books, to combine the face and back of the sheets without the slightest distortion of the colors of book miniatures. And, finally, our company purchased the country's first digital printing house, which allows for small-circulation production, in fact, the production of books to order at the highest level.

In order to obtain high-quality book bindings, our company created a division that carries out manual book binding, in which, in particular, the technology of the famous Russian book binding of the 16th century was reproduced.

This made it possible to create books that are not only unique in content, but in a certain sense are a work of modern book art.

Which Russian libraries and collections received your edition of the Facial Code, are there any reviews?

Our publication has arrived in almost all the largest libraries in the country: regional, republican, central. It ended up in the largest universities in the country, as well as in a number of foreign libraries, primarily university ones, where Slavic studies and the history of Eastern Europe and Russia are being studied.

We have received a lot of positive feedback. Moreover, on the initiative of the Bavarian National Library and the Institute for the Study of the History of Countries of Eastern Europe and Russia in Munich in 2011, the first International Conference dedicated to the study of the Illuminated Chronicle was held. It came out as a result of the appearance of our publication in the largest libraries of the country and the world.

Abroad, the publication of the Facial Code in a certain sense made a scientific sensation, because for the first time a huge array of unique material became available for study, which had previously been inaccessible to study by specialists. Moreover, the material is the most valuable, both in terms of texts and in terms of a large number of book miniatures.

Nowadays, the monopoly on familiarization with historical sources, which was previously held by specialists and researchers, is gradually being lost. An increasing number of digital copies are being published online. What role do you think the publication of primary sources can play in historical science, and in public life as well?

The question is put in such a way as if the monopoly was created artificially. The study of historical sources, in fact, is the hardest work. The people who do this work cause deep respect and admiration. This work requires the highest qualifications. At the same time, our publications are aimed at facilitating the work of these specialists - on the one hand, and at the same time making unique book monuments more accessible to a wide range of the public that is interested in the book culture and history of their country.

In our view, Russian book culture deserves to be proud of it, to be known, so that people interested in the history of the country take these book monuments into service in order to bring them, first of all, to the educational system, to their families. I want people, especially young people, to be proud of their country, their history, to know this history.

The fact that more and more materials related to the history of the country, especially documents, are being published on the Internet is an extremely positive trend, which, we hope, will bear fruit. More and more young people will be interested in the history and culture of the country, and this, from our point of view, will contribute to the revival and prosperity of Russia.

Did you like the material?