Gagarina Elena Yurievna

GAGARINA ELENA YURIEVNA
From 2001 - General Director of the Federal State Educational Institution for Culture "The Moscow Kremlin State Historical and Cultural Museum and Heritage Site".

Elena Yurievna Gagarina is the General Director of the Moscow Kremlin Museums and a Candidate of Art History. She is the eldest daughter of the first cosmonaut of the planet, Yuri Alexeyevich Gagarin, born on 17 April 1959, in the village of Pechenga, Murmansk Region.

In 1976, she graduated from the secondary school of Zvyozdny Gorodok (Star City) with a gold medal and enrolled in the Faculty of History at Lomonosov Moscow State University.

After graduating from university, from September 1981 to April 2001, she worked at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts.

On 12 April 2001, by decree of the President of the Russian Federation, V. V. Putin, she was appointed General Director of the Moscow Kremlin Museums.

In her role as General Director, E. Yu. Gagarina pays great attention to the development of the museum in various directions. An important aspect of the museum's work has been its exhibition activities, both domestic and international. Dozens of exhibitions have been held in various regions of Russia, and long-term cooperation agreements have been signed with the Chelyabinsk region and Vladivostok. Exhibitions of the Moscow Kremlin Museums Kremlin have taken place in Ufa, Nizhny Novgorod, Kaliningrad, Yekaterinburg, Izborsk, Tula, Chelyabinsk, Vladivostok, and many other cities.

Many collections from the Moscow Kremlin Museums have been showcased in leading museums of London, Vienna, Budapest, Malta, Lisbon, and others. Within the framework of the project displaying the treasures of ruling courts, the Moscow Kremlin Museums presented the treasures of the Portuguese Empire, Chinese emperors of the Ming and Qing dynasties, imperial Japan, and more. For her development of international exhibition activities, E. Yu. Gagarina has received international awards, notably for the exhibitions "Nine centuries of ‘Defence of the Faith and assistance to the poor and the suffering" and "Holy Russia: Art from Ancient Times to Peter I," for which she was awarded the Sovereign Military Order of St. John of Jerusalem, Rhodes, and Malta, as well as the Legion of Honor (Officer of the Order). Special attention is also given to international exhibition projects held in China. In particular, the exhibition "The Armory Treasury of Russian Sovereigns" at the Shanghai Museum attracted over 640,000 visitors.

During E. Yu. Gagarina's tenure as Director of the Moscow Kremlin Museums, exhibition halls in the Patriarch’s Palace and the Assumption Belfry were restored and opened to visitors. They are the venue for temporary exhibitions from the collections of the Moscow Kremlin Museums and other Russian and foreign museums. E. Yu. Gagarina is directly involved in the preparation of every significant exhibition project.

Another important area of the museum's activity has been the restoration of architectural objects in the Moscow Kremlin. After nearly a century-long hiatus, the Ivan the Great Bell Tower was restored and opened for visits; a major restoration of the Assumption Cathedral was completed, and partial restoration of the Archangel Cathedral was carried out, where the chapel of St Varus was opened. In 2017, with the support of Transneft, a comprehensive restoration of the Assumption Cathedral began, planned to last several years.

Since March 2005, E. Yu. Gagarina has been a member of the Commission of the Russian Federation for UNESCO. Since 26 July 2010, she has been a member of the Patriarchal Council for Culture. She is an honorary member of the Russian Academy of Arts. For her significant contribution to the development of domestic culture and the promotion and prosperity of the museum, E. Yu. Gagarina has been repeatedly recognised with awards from the President of the Russian Federation.

State Awards

Medal "In Commemoration of the 850th Anniversary of Moscow," 1997
Order of Friendship, 2010
Order "For Services to the Fatherland" IV degree, 2019
Order "For Services to the Fatherland" III degree, 2024

Gratitude

Gratitude from the President of the Russian Federation for significant contributions to the preparation and holding of the Year of Russia in China and the Year of China in Russia, 2008
Gratitude from the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation for many years of fruitful work and significant contributions to the development of domestic culture in connection with the anniversary, 2009
Gratitude from the Chairman of the Federation Council of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation for many years of fruitful creative activity and significant contributions to the preparation and implementation of the Year of Culture in the Russian Federation, 2015