In the late autumn sun of October 2017, the initial idea for this issue of Experiment/Eksperiment: A Journal of Russian Culture arose in the inspiring atmosphere of the international conference “Translations and Dialogues: The Reception of Russian Art Abroad,” held at Ca’ Foscari University in Venice. The realization of this volume on Neo-nationalism in Russian art would not have been possible without the ever-present support and encouragement of John E. Bowlt, to whom we want to express our deepest gratitude. Serving as guest editors has been a pleasure and an honor. We would like to thank Elena Voronina, director of the Federal State Cultural Establishment Artistic and Literary Museum-Reserve Abramtsevo, for her accompanying words, and the opportunity to include an extract from the unpublished chronicle of the Abramtsevo artistic circle. The generous and collegial support of the museum-reserve’s staff—especially the deputy director for science, Elena Mitrofanova, and Elena Mokhova—has enriched our volume with valuable insights and additional visual material. In a similar vein, we are thankful for the enthusiasm and assistance that we received from the director of the Vasilii D. Polenov State Museum-Reserve, the artist’s descendant Natalia Polenova, and her museum colleagues, including curator Elena Kashtanova, who has contributed an article. The professional support received from the team of the State Tretyakov Gallery is highly appreciated, such as the written contributions from senior curator Eleonora Paston and researcher Darya Manucharova. Wendy Salmond provided generous and wise advice in the early stages of planning. We are especially grateful to the authors of this issue for their insightful contributions to this fascinating scholarly discourse. Their professionalism and unique expertise, along with their openness and flexibility, has made the editing process a delight. Furthermore, we thank Irina Menchova for completing our volume by compiling the index.
This volume would not have been possible without the support of numerous colleagues and friends, as well as those international museums, archives, and libraries whose staff facilitated our work by making their collections accessible or providing helpful guidance. We would also like to thank the image owners for generously sharing their splendid visual material. Finally, we are indebted to the staff at Brill for their steadfast patience and assistance with the production stages of this volume.
Louise Hardiman, Ludmila Piters-Hofmann, and Maria Taroutina
