On 24 July 191 years ago a researcher, writer, and literary critic Nikolay G. Chernyshevsky was born. Being named after him Saratov University is proud of it. The commemorating events started at SSU Student Square and Voskresenskoye Cemetery where flowers were laid to the monuments.
On behalf of Saratov State University an outstanding Saratov citizen was honoured by Rector Aleksei N. Chumachenko, Vice-Rector for Secondary Professional Education and Social Work Olga Ye. Nesterova, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs Igor G. Malinskii, Dean of the Faculty of Physics Valerii M. Anikin, and students. At the cemetery the ceremony was also attended by authorities, members of staff of museums, the writer’s descendants, and Saratov citizens.
‘Chernyshevsky’s contemporaries knew his role in the history and acknowledged his greatness. His cousin, Alexander Pypin, a member of the Saint-Petersburg Academy of Sciences and his wife, Olga Chernyshevskaya, did a lot to preserve the writer’s legacy, and his younger son Michael founded a museum in Saratov. Every year we, the museum staff, pay our respects to Chernyshevsky,’ marked Director of the N.G. Chernyshevsky Estate Museum and Honoured Cultural Worker of the Russian Federation Galina P. Murenina.
Then the audience was addressed by Head of the Office of Culture of the Saratov City Municipal Structure Maksim V. Makurov.
‘On 24 July 191 year ago a boy was born in a clergyman’s family, and that boy was to become a great person. It was Nikolay Chernyshevsky. Later on his ideas inspired young people in Russian and all over the world. He thought about the future and knew that his name would never be forgotten. In 1889 he published a series of articles devoted to the future of Saratov. And grateful descendants will always remember him as a Saratov citizen and great person. I am glad that just before the 100th anniversary of the museum project works will start and the museum will be reconstructed next year. And it was initiated by Chairman of the State Duma Vyacheslav Volodin.’
‘I am pleased that every year we gather here to honour Nikolay Chernyshevsky. Saratov University has been named after him for 96 years, and we are very proud of it. His name identifies our university. It is extremely important to tell our students about Chernyshevky’s life and works and to make them proud that they study in the university named after such an incredible Saratov citizen,’ said SSU Rector Aleksei Chumachenko.
Moreover, one of the descendants of the writer Pavel Chernyshevskii delivered a speech at the ceremony.
‘I am happy to see that that tradition to celebrate my great grandfather’s birthday still exists. People value Nikolay Chernyshevky, and they are still interested in his works. I was told about my great grandfather’s achievements when I was a child. I remember that many people gathered in our estate and eagerly listened to excursions guides. Nowadays there are still so many of us who are fascinated by Nikolay Chernyshevsky’s life and works.’
‘I think the events dedicated to Nikolay Chernyshevsky are significant for the public life of our region. I would like to express my gratitude to the estate museum staff members who have been celebrating the writer’s birthday for many decades and have been attracting attention to his works,’ commented Director of the Saratov Regional Museum of Local Lore Yevgenii M. Kazantsev.
At the end of the ceremony flowers to Chernyshevsky’s Monument were laid.
