The exhibition "Panticapaeum. From the Past to the Future" opened at Nizhny Novgorod's Arsenal.

      Age restriction: 12+.

      The torso of a statue of Hercules immediately catches visitors’ attention. This exhibit was brought to the Nizhny Novgorod “Arsenal” from the Hermitage. The torso of Hercules is a Roman copy from the second century AD. This is the first time the exhibit has been presented to the general public in history. It is a find made by 19th-century archaeologists, and most of the presented exhibits were discovered during the Bosporan archaeological expedition. It began in 1945. In the early postwar years, working under the most difficult conditions of devastation, its research staff was formed. The camp of the expedition’s first participants was located directly in the ruined building of the Kerch museum; incidentally, it is considered the oldest in the country. Under the most challenging conditions, archaeologists managed to document more than 4,000 finds.

      Veronika Belyaeva, a resident of Nizhny Novgorod:

      “This is a huge number of items. To be honest, I initially expected everything to be compact. But it turned out that in 80 years... The date itself, this continuous research, surprised me. So much material has been gathered that it allows us to learn a lot of new things about the people who lived hundreds of years ago. This is a unique exhibition.”

      Almost everything that is now known about Panticapaeum is the result of the work of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts.

      Vladimir Tolstikov, head of the Bosporan archaeological expedition of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts:

      “From the first day our group arrived here—my comrades, my colleagues—we felt that we had come among our own. We had come home. We were surrounded by wonderful people—skilled, intelligent, tactful, cultured. And it was wonderful to work in such an environment.”

      The main sections of the exhibition tell the story of ancient Panticapaeum, its inhabitants and the Bosporan Kingdom. Among the exhibits are extremely rare items, some of which have never been displayed to the public. For example, fragments of a 5th-century BC funerary relief from the collection of the State Hermitage Museum, as well as fragments of painted vessels from the East Crimean Historical and Cultural Museum-Reserve.

      One of the most unique exhibits at the exhibition is the head of a goddess from the main building of the residence of the Bosporan rulers. It was built in the second half of the 4th century BC. Excavations on its grounds lasted for 15 years. The head was found in 1989 during the exploration of a 12-meter-deep well on its territory.

      Oleg Berkovich, Deputy Governor of the Nizhny Novgorod Region:

      “There are items from the Hermitage that have never been lent out, that are constantly on display there, but because of the great love for Nizhny Novgorod and respect for the Pushkin Museum—many thanks to the Hermitage—the people of Nizhny Novgorod will have the opportunity to see items that have not previously left the museum.”

      And all this became possible thanks to the organizers of the exhibition. Incidentally, on the day of its opening cooperation agreements were also signed between the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts and the government of the Nizhny Novgorod Region.

      Olga Galaktionova, Director of the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts:

      “For us, Nizhny Novgorod is one of our key partners, because there are practically no centers like this in Russia. Well, it is clearly the third cultural capital.”

      The exhibition also plans an educational program that includes lectures by leading specialists in the history and art of Antiquity, tours, reading-club meetings, children's workshops and themed walks through the exhibition. Incidentally, the same educational program will take place simultaneously in Moscow. The exhibition is open to all visitors from November 16 to March 1 of the following year (12+).

      Information Service. Ksenia Ulyanova, Vasily Lyskov.

      More news about the event:

      The exhibition “Panticapaeum. From the Past to the Future” opened at the Nizhny Novgorod “Arsenal”

      Age restriction: 12+.

      The torso of the statue of Hercules immediately draws visitors’ attention.

      19:00 16.11.2025 Vremya N - Nizhny Novgorod

      Artifacts of ancient Panticapaeum shown for the first time at the Nizhny Novgorod “Arsenal”

      Photo: Alexander Volozhanin

      A large-scale archaeological exhibition “Panticapaeum” opened at the “Arsenal” museum center in Nizhny Novgorod.

      16:49 16.11.2025 NIA Nizhny Novgorod - Nizhny Novgorod

      News from neighboring regions on the topic:

      Large-scale archaeological investigations completed in Rostov

      Rescue archaeological investigations have been completed in the Sovetsky district of Rostov.

      Work was carried out on the territory of the Liventsovsky archaeological complex.

      21:12 14.11.2025 Komsomolskaya Pravda - Rostov-on-Don