The Russian Museum's virtual branch will open in Polotsk

May 17, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. The information and educational center "Russian Museum: Virtual Branch" is opening today in Polotsk. The Polotsk State University has become a partner of the Russian Museum, Dmitry Glukhov, Vice-Rector for Scientific Work of the university, told a BELTA correspondent. The virtual branch of the Russian Museum will operate in the building of the former Jesuit collegium, opened in 1581. Currently, it houses two faculties – the Faculty of History and Philology and the Faculty of Information Technologies. The main task of the information and educational center "Russian Museum: Virtual Branch" is educational and enlightenment activities. The virtual branch contains a rich collection of scientific and methodological materials of the Russian Museum in electronic and print formats. For example, visitors to the virtual branch will be able to take a tour of the famous St. Petersburg palaces presented in 3D format and see digitized paintings by great Russian artists. It is possible to work with the project's resources individually and in groups. This is facilitated by the center's structure, which includes an educational classroom with personal computers and a multimedia cinema equipped with projection equipment. The Polotsk University, with its good technical equipment, has allocated a separate service specifically for this joint project. For the opening of the branch, museum staff have prepared a lecture-presentation dedicated to the most famous painting from the collection of the Russian Museum – A. Losenko's painting "Vladimir and Rogneda" (1770), which tells the tragic story of the Polotsk princess and the Kiev prince. According to the Vice-Rector, the opening of the virtual branch of the Russian Museum will contribute to the aesthetic education of students, which meets the high requirements of university education, and will spiritually enrich future specialists. Polotsk schoolchildren will also be able to conduct correspondence excursions to the Russian Museum, and numerous tourists visiting Polotsk will undoubtedly be interested in visiting this unusual branch. Dmitry Glukhov hopes that the first project with the Russian Museum will not be the only one. According to him, opportunities for joint activities between the university and the museum, including in the field of information technology, are currently being discussed. The Polotsk State University continues the traditions of the great enlighteners of the Belarusian land. 16 Doctors of Sciences, professors, and over 150 Candidates of Sciences, associate professors, are involved in training specialists, master's students, and PhD students within its walls. University scientists have created and patented over 900 inventions, utility models, and industrial designs. University developments are patented in Belarus, Russia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Belgium, Austria, the Netherlands, the USA, Canada, Japan, and China. PSU is the only university in Belarus whose faculties are located in two cities – Polotsk and Novopolotsk. 14,000 students study at the university. The information and educational center "Russian Museum: Virtual Branch" at Polotsk State University will be the third virtual branch of the Russian Museum in the Republic of Belarus and the 83rd in the Russian Museum's project. -0-