{"id":931,"date":"2010-12-23T19:57:14","date_gmt":"2010-12-24T01:57:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/smithjan.com\/blog\/?p=931"},"modified":"2011-12-26T17:10:00","modified_gmt":"2011-12-26T23:10:00","slug":"the-darwin-museum-in-moscow","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/smithjan.com\/blog\/2010\/12\/23\/the-darwin-museum-in-moscow\/","title":{"rendered":"The Darwin Museum in Moscow"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Moscow Darwin Museum Archive<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Darwin Museum – Moscow<\/h2>\n
Taxidermy is in a sad state of affairs. \u00a0It’s been on the decline ever since Russian brothers Dimitry and Filipp Fedulov left the scene in 1907. \u00a0And we can only lament the passing of F.K. Lorenz and Evitkheivich a few years later. It was also an extremely sexist profession. Most women who worked as taxidermists lived in anonymity. \u00a0 You think I’m joking…<\/p>\n
…but if you happen to stop in Moscow and have time for a melancholic visit, head over to the Darwin Museum, where the lost art of taxidermy and dioramas is on display. \u00a0 The Museum literally has thousands of stuffed animals, and if you can get over the fact that this implied tens of thousands of animal deaths, you can appreciate what it meant to be a master taxidermist. \u00a0Almost as impressive is that most of displays come from the private collection of one man, Alexander Kots, who founded the museum in 1907.<\/p>\n
I spent hours here, like a child, fascinated by the diversity of animals. \u00a0Something about the bodies holding still–and the implication of the life lost, as well as the effort to preserve, inspires both a reverence and awe for the creatures I hadn’t felt before. Perhaps it is more humane to preserve one tiger for two hundred years than it is to keep generations in zoos? \u00a0What is the least of the two evils?<\/p>\n
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Moscow Darwin Museum Archive Picture<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
It would be easy to dismiss such displays as inhumane, but displays are often centuries old and a different standard for animal life prevailed then. \u00a0I suppose preserving the displays in such excellent condition is in itself an tribute to the animals themselves. \u00a0At the very least, one appreciates the solemnity, fine craft, and art of the master taxidermist.<\/p>\n
Phone: +7(499) 783-2253
\nFax: +7(499) 783-2254
\nExcursion office: (499) 132-1047
\nE-mail:\u00a0 info@darwin.museum.ru<\/a><\/p>\n
www.darwin.museum.ru\/eng\/<\/p>\n
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Bears, Darwin Museum Moscow, by Jan Smith<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Wolves, Darwin Museum Moscow, by Jan Smith<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Dogs, Darwin Museum Moscow, by Jan Smith<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Doberman, Darwin Museum Moscow, by Jan Smith<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Pug, Darwin Museum Moscow, by Jan Smith<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Xoloitzcuintle Darwin Museum Moscow, by Jan Smith<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Darwin Museum – Moscow Taxidermy is in a sad state of affairs. \u00a0It’s been on the decline ever since Russian brothers Dimitry and Filipp Fedulov left the scene in 1907. \u00a0And we can only lament the passing of F.K. Lorenz and Evitkheivich a few years later. It was also an extremely sexist profession. Most women … <\/p>\n
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