The major exhibition at the National Railway Museum is the latest in a series of events to be axed as UK cultural institutions move to show their support to Ukraine
Lauren Heath-Jones | Planet Attractions | 04 Mar 2022
The exhibition was set to include items including a Great Siberian Railway Fabergé Easter egg Credit: Moscow Kremlin Museums
The National Railway Museum in York, UK, has cancelled its long-awaited ‘Trans-Siberian: The World’s Longest Railway’ exhibition as a show of support to Ukraine as Russia continues its invasion of the country.
The exhibition, which was also set to include a small display at London’s Science Museum, was originally planned for 2021 but was postponed until March 2022 due to the pandemic.
Developed in partnership with JSC Russian Railways, the exhibition was set to include several items, including a Great Siberian Railway Fabergé Easter egg and model carriages of a Trans-Siberian Express train, as well as archived drawings and documents, loaned from museums, libraries and galleries across Russia and the UK.
The museum announced its decision to cancel the exhibition on Twitter, saying: “In light of these distressing events, we have decided not to proceed with our upcoming exhibition Trans-Siberian: The World’s Longest Railway.”
The exhibition is the latest in a series of cultural events and experiences to be axed in the UK, as institutions move to show their support to Ukraine, with the Royal & Derngate Theatre in Northampton cancelling all performances by The Russian State Ballet of Siberia earlier this week.
As the situation continues, international museums have raced to recall items loaned to the country. While Ukrainian museum and gallery staff have been working to protect and secure their own collections and the country’s cultural heritage, with Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture issuing guidelines for the protection and possible evacuation of museum collections.
The country has even called for Russia to be stripped of its Unesco membership, following the destruction of the Ivankiv Historical and Local History Museum earlier this week, which housed 25 works by celebrated Ukrainian artist Maria Prymachenko.
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