ABSTRACT
Museum of the First President of Russia Boris Yeltsin tells the story of the rise of democratic trends in late-Soviet/post-Soviet Russia through a museum ‘biopic’ of a pivotal political figure. The museum’s storyline is focused on seven days that marked turning points in the political career of Boris Yeltsin. This linear journey through time is preceded by a large introductory area entitled ‘Labyrinth’. The passing of historical time ‘freezes’ in the Hall of Freedom, a heavenly, metaphysical point of achieved aspiration. Locating these statements in the recent past may imply that democracy is already triumphant in post-Yeltsin Russia, but it might also serve as a strong encouragement for those who believe that democratic values require constant re-assessment by society.
