From 6 June to 29 September 2024, the middle floor of the Cameron Gallery of Tsarskoe Selo houses the exhibition The Poet & The Tsar.

The joint large-scale project by Tsarskoe Selo and the National Pushkin Museum is supported by Russia's Ministry of Culture and dedicated to the 225th birth anniversary of poet Alexander Pushkin. His relationships with the Russian emperors Alexander I and Nicholas I, as well as the powers that be on the whole, define the main theme of the exhibition.

The artistic concept of the exhibition is designed by artist Yury Suchkov who sets the exhibition space as two Romantic galleries based on the art of silhouette popular in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.

The White Gallery with Romantic ruins resembles the parks of Tsarskoe Selo, where Alexander Pushkin spent the happiest times of his life: six years in 1811-17 as a student of the Imperial Lyceum and the summer of 1831 after his wedding to Natalia Goncharova. Pushkin called Tsarskoe Selo his 'poetic fatherland'.

The Black Gallery represents the Black River in St Petersburg where the fatal duel between Alexander Pushkin and Georges d'Anthès took place and the poet's life.

On display are 126 artefacts from the collections of Tsarskoe Selo and the National Pushkin Museum, including 23 memorial objects such as Pushkin's personal belongings, lifetime publications and portraits. Especially noteworthy are Pushkin's top hat and vest and Nicholas I's cabriolet. Other exhibits include belongings of Russian emperors and imperial family members, uniforms, sculptures, archive documents, paintings and prints, some of which are showcased for the first time.

The Poet & The Tsar also has a special audio tour covering Pushkin's life from his Lyceum years to the tragic death at 37. The audio tour brings the story of Pushkin's relationships with the powers that be to life using his letters, notes, articles and poetry works addressed to his contemporaries, Alexander I and Nicholas I, as well as his imaginary opponents: Boris Godunov, Peter I and Catherine II.

The exhibition catalogue is available at the Museum Shop together with our official souvenirs.

Exhibition hours: 11am to 6pm, Friday to Wednesday
Free admission with a park ticket. Audio set: ₽ 200