The acting director of the State Museum-Monument "St. Isaac's Cathedral" is Irada Vovnenko, who previously held the post of deputy director for public relations. Nikolai Burov, who headed the museum for almost 10 years, addressed his subordinates with a farewell letter and thanked them for working together.
The new director of the cathedral has a rich biography: 44-year-old Vovnenko worked as the chief specialist of the international department of the Tsarskoe Selo State Museum, and was the head of the “Gathering of Friends” project St. Isaac's Cathedral", organized several exhibitions, founded charitable foundation"Renaissance".
However, Vovnenko is best known as a writer. The author’s first work, “Add Love and Happiness to Taste,” was published in 2009. New novels followed: “Attraction” and “Dress Code of Inspiration.” Vovnenko co-wrote a separate book, “Love and Other Dissonances,” with Polish writer Janusz Wisniewski. It is noteworthy that the writer’s main novels were published with illustrations by the artist Nikas Safronov.
Vovnenko's prose is characterized by reviewers as feminine, love and erotic. In the preface to the book “Attraction,” the rector of the Institute of Psychology and Sexology, Dr. medical sciences, Professor Lev Shcheglov points out: “The world of love and sex is part of the endless universe called Man. And Irada Vovnenko’s man is voluminous, interesting and ambiguous. In sexology, there is an idea of a “male” and “female” view of sex and intimacy. In this book we dive into the “feminine” sphere of feelings and judgments. We can say that the heroines of the short stories represent a kind of Emmanuelle of the 21st century, continuing the search for love and happiness.”
We have selected a few quotes from different books Irada Vovnenko, which clearly demonstrate her talent in the field of love prose.
“Sergei kissed her tender neck, full breasts, which responsively rushed under his fingers. They did not reach the spacious bed; the anthracite-black skirt and lace piece of linen were discarded right on the windowsill. What is this? How long has it been since she experienced such sensations, this floating sky, this slipping reality..."
“He never looked for special erogenous zones on her body. He believed that a woman is an entire erogenous zone. He could be both incredibly gentle and surprisingly rude. One day, in a fit of passion, he hit her hard, leaving a magnificent bruise, after which he carefully kissed her swollen cheekbone, on his knees, begging for forgiveness.”
“He sat her down on the bed, in the pillows, took hold of her foot in an expensive pedicure and began to kiss every finger, from the slightly curved little finger to the neat big one; Olga even resisted a little, embarrassed. After endless caresses, they splashed happily in the bath, and everything happened again: the window sill, lips, screams, moans, delight, delight.”
“On Sennaya Square, Sergei literally burst into the sliding doors with an armful of white roses. Silently he began to kiss her - neck, arms, face, eyes. Roses fell to the floor of the carriage, slightly rustling with delicate petals, looking like an element of a whimsical installation contemporary artist»
“The brunette has no underwear, a wide man’s palm stops for a moment on the most intimate. The girl breathes hoarsely and noisily, convulsively clings her hands to the tanned neck of her dear interlocutor, bites her lip in bright red satin lipstick.”
“He kissed her on the neck. First, gently touch the moth's wing so as not to harm the pollen. Erica raised her burning face, her legs fainted, and then he carried her to a small cherry leather sofa.”
It became known that Irada Vovnenko, a writer and former deputy director of public relations of the museum, became the acting director of St. Isaac's Cathedral. Where did Vovnenko work before, what are her books about, and what did she do at St. Isaac's Cathedral before her promotion? "Paper" talks about the new director of the State Medical Museum “St. Isaac’s Cathedral”.
Photo: Alekseevaexpo
Irada Vovnenko has been working in state museums since 2003
Now Irada Vovnenko is 44 years old. She was born in Leningrad and graduated here from the Department of History of Russian Art of the Institute of Culture (SPbGIK) and the German department of the Faculty of Philology of St. Petersburg State University.
After graduation, she taught for three years at the German department of the university, later worked briefly in a law firm, and in 2003 she became the chief specialist of the Tsarskoe Selo State Museum.
At the State Museum of Tsarskoye Selo she worked in the international department and participated in the restoration Amber room.
Recalling her first museum position, Vovnenko talks about a reception at the Catherine Palace, where she met the director of the museum-reserve, Ivan Sautov. According to her, Sautov liked how enthusiastically she talked about art with the Germans. That same evening, Vovnenko was offered a job in the international department.
Vovnenko participated in the restoration of the Amber Room and calls the process “a real art detective story.” In addition, she provided simultaneous interpretation at international meetings.
Soon after the death of the director of the Tsarskoye Selo State Historical Museum, Vovnenko went to work at St. Isaac's Cathedral. “I was acutely worried about the departure of Ivan Petrovich, so when the director of St. Isaac’s Cathedral Nikolai Vitalievich Burov invited me to head their international department, it turned out to be just what was needed - a complete renewal,” recalls Vovnenko.
Since 2006, Vovnenko has written 13 books. These are mainly publications for children and romance novels.
Irada Vovnenko is also an author of books. According to her memoirs, her first book “The Magic Kaleidoscope. Petka’s Journey to the Country of History,” she began writing to involve her eight-year-old son in studying the history of the city. After that, she published two more children's books. Since then, she “enjoyed writing so much” that she moved on to adult prose.
Between 2006 and 2017, Vovnenko’s books were published 13 times and reprinted four times. She wrote a series of children's books about a boy Pete, who travels through time in St. Petersburg and meets artists. Vovnenko is also an author romance novels“Add love and happiness to taste”, “Attraction”, “Dress code inspiration” and “Postcard”.
From Irada Vovnenko’s novel “Attraction”:
“...Silently he began to kiss her - neck, hands, face, eyes. Roses fell to the floor of the carriage, slightly rustling with delicate petals, looking like an element of a whimsical installation by a modern artist. Olga was surprisingly indifferent to the fact that she might be recognized, that public transport, that an unfamiliar man... - Your questioning cheekbones! “I miss them madly,” Sergei said with just his lips.”
Irada Vovnenko is also a co-author of Janusz Leon Wisniewski, who wrote the novel “Loneliness on the Internet.” Together with Vishnevsky, Vovnenko wrote the novel “Love and Other Dissonances.” According to her memoirs, she was so amazed by the writer’s creativity and intelligence that she “even got divorced and got married again.”
Since 2015, Irada Vovnenko has been a member of the Writers' Union of Russia.
Vovnenko’s latest published book is a collection in support of women’s prose “Beauty at the Tips of Thought” 2016. Now the writer is working on another book in collaboration with Vishnevsky, which will be called “The Fifth Stage.”
Irada Vovnenko holds charity balls
Vovnenko, while still working at Tsarskoe Selo, organized charity literary and musical evenings “in the best Russian traditions” and charity children’s balls, which are still held today, but now in conjunction with the St. Isaac’s Cathedral State Enterprise.
At the same time, she opened the Renaissance charitable foundation, which purposefully organizes charity balls in St. Petersburg. According to Vovnenko, all funds collected are targeted to orphanages and children's hospitals.
At St. Isaac's Cathedral, Vovnenko led a project for almost ten years that drew attention to the preservation of the museum
After being invited to St. Isaac’s Cathedral, Irada Vovnenko began leading the project “Meeting of Friends of St. Isaac’s Cathedral” and held the first event in January 2009. The program was aimed at drawing attention to the state of the museum complex: Samson's Cathedral, St. Isaac's Cathedral and the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood.
With the assistance of the project, 14 bells were cast for the southwestern belfry of St. Isaac's Cathedral and the sculptures “Angels with a Lamp” and “Apostle Paul” on the roof of the cathedral were restored.
The “Meeting of Friends of St. Isaac's Cathedral” is still active. Among the more than 70 participants in the project are cultural and artistic figures, businessmen and politicians, as well as some organizations.
During her work, Irada Vovnenko held more than a dozen exhibitions and charity concerts in St. Isaac's Cathedral
In addition to leading the “Meeting of Friends of St. Isaac’s Cathedral,” Vovnenko worked as head of the public relations department, conducted exhibition projects and charity evenings. Since 2011, she has held more than a dozen exhibitions and charity concerts.
One of her largest projects was “Petersburg through the eyes of angels: a view from Isaac,” which in 2015 received a diploma in the “Prestige of St. Petersburg” category at the “Museum Olympus” competition. The essence of the project was to show St. Petersburg from an “angelic height” using the works of the famous photographer Evgeny Mokhorev.
Irada Vovnenko became the acting director of the museum due to the dismissal of Nikolai Burov
On May 31, 2017, Vovnenko became the acting director of the St. Isaac's Cathedral State Medical Park. The contract of the current director, Isaac Nikolai Burov, expires on June 5, but he decided to resign from his post on June 1. He stated this against the background of the scandal with the transfer of the museum to the Russian Orthodox Church.
Fontanka reported that Vovnenko may receive the post of director of the museum on May 17, citing sources in the museum. At the same time, as Vovnenko herself stated, she had not yet received official proposals from management.
Two days after Vovnenko’s appointment, information appeared that she would be removed from her post as head of the museum.
On Friday, June 2, Fontanka, that Irada Vovnenko will be replaced as head of St. Isaac's Cathedral on the personal instructions of the city governor. In Smolny, they allegedly considered that “only a man could lead such an object.” After this, RIA Novosti published Vovnenko’s words that she herself was leaving her post.
The head of the governor’s press service, Andrei Kibitov, reported that Vovnenko’s removal was fake. And later she herself provided information about her resignation from the post and... O. Director Isaac.
Burov himself announced back in April that he would resign from his post on June 1. The day before, he addressed his employees with a farewell letter, thanking them for their joint work and asking forgiveness for unrealized projects. OK-inform experts believe that the new director will generally continue the line of his predecessor to maintain Isaac’s current status.
Who is Irada Vovnenko
In 1998 she graduated from St. Petersburg State University culture and arts (department of history of Russian culture), and in 1999 - Faculty of Philology St. Petersburg State University (German department). Then Vovnenko taught for four years German at St. Petersburg State University and at Economic University, worked as a simultaneous translator from German at various events. Since 2003, Irada Vovnenko has become the chief specialist of the international department of the Tsarskoye Selo State Museum and took an active part in the restoration of the Amber Room. In 2004 she founded the Renaissance charitable foundation, and in 2006 she wrote her first book for children, “The Magic Kaleidoscope. Petka's Journey to the Land of History."
Since 2009, Vovnenko began to participate in the activities of St. Isaac’s Cathedral, leading the project “Meeting of Friends of St. Isaac’s Cathedral.” In 2011, she published a book together with the Polish writer Janusz Wisniewski, “Love and Other Dissonances,” and in 2015 she joined the St. Petersburg Writers’ Union. IN last years worked as deputy director of the St. Isaac's Cathedral museum-monument for public relations.
Boris Vishnevsky, deputy of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg from the Yabloko faction:
What can you say about the new director Isaac? Reviews about her are quite calm, she is a person both for the museum and for our city - to put it mildly, not a stranger, and this pleases. Let's hope that she will continue the policy of her predecessor Burov, that is, she will take care of one of the main St. Petersburg museums, preserving all its values and current status.
Now the consideration of the issue of holding a referendum on the status of Isaac in parliament has been postponed until the fall, and during this time the authorities and the Russian Orthodox Church will try to make sure that no referendum is needed
To be honest, I don’t know her personally, but colleagues who know Vovnenko say: her appointment is not the best, but not the best either. worst solution. If the director of the Kalyakin City History Museum had been appointed to this post, it would have been much worse. As for Burov, he was simply tired of all the fuss that recent months took place around Iskaai, and therefore resigned.
I would like the new director to continue to actively fight for Isaac’s status. But main role The residents of St. Petersburg themselves should still play a role in this, all those who have fought with all their might for the last six months to preserve the museum in the cathedral. Now the consideration of the issue of holding a referendum on the status of Isaac in parliament has been postponed until the fall, and during this time the authorities and the Russian Orthodox Church will try to make sure that no referendum is needed.
Therefore, we do not stop our fight for the status of a cathedral; we have enough ways to do this. These include public mass actions against the transfer of the cathedral to the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church, this is a “people's referendum”, which we intend to hold at the end of June, and parliamentary requests to the courts and authorities, and involvement in the situation law enforcement. Is Irada Vovnenko our ally? To talk about this with confidence, I need to meet her personally. I think I will meet with her in the near future and draw my conclusions.
Maxim Reznik, deputy of the Legislative Assembly of St. Petersburg from the “Growth Party”:
Irada Vovnenko is a member of the staff of the St. Isaac's Cathedral Museum, she is not a Varangian. And that’s why her appointment is a good step so as not to aggravate the situation around the museum. Let's see what line she will follow - I hope there will be continuity from Nikolai Burov, who categorically opposed the transfer of the cathedral to the Russian Orthodox Church.
Because this position is fair and legal. I hope that Mrs. Vovnenko will somehow outline her vision today or tomorrow.
Irada Vovnenko is a member of the staff of the St. Isaac's Cathedral Museum, she is not a Varangian. And that’s why her appointment is a good step so as not to aggravate the situation around the museum
By the way, last night I wrote a letter to Prosecutor General Yuri Chaika regarding the transfer of St. Petersburg cathedrals to the Russian Orthodox Church. It says that all operations to transfer cathedrals in St. Petersburg are absolutely illegal. So, in the case of the Smolny Cathedral, for this purpose, all protective obligations were removed from the monument, which is impossible from the point of view of the law. And the main blame for this lies with Smolny, or rather with KIO; I don’t even understand how they could allow such an agreement.
The situation is similar with the transfer of all other cathedrals in St. Petersburg to the Russian Orthodox Church. Therefore, before talking about the status of Isaac, the Prosecutor General’s Office must understand the situation and cancel all previous decisions on the transfer of St. Petersburg cathedrals to the Russian Orthodox Church. We must have the same law for everyone, and the Russian Orthodox Church is no exception. Moreover, in terms of observance of the law, the Church should be an example for everyone - as a moral guideline for millions of Russians.
As for the possibility for Smolny to quietly transfer Isaac to the Church during the summer. Yes, they will probably take some action, but they will not be able to transfer the cathedral. This simply cannot be done at once. You can solemnly present Patriarch Kirill with the keys to the cathedral. You can give him an Easter cake in the shape of Isaac. You can tie a blue ribbon to him as a new honorary citizen of St. Petersburg. But the cathedral cannot be transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church overnight - this step will still have to be coordinated with both the Kremlin and the residents of St. Petersburg.
Dmitry Solonnikov, political scientist, director of the Institute of Contemporary State Development:
I think that today the personality of the new director of St. Isaac's Cathedral is not so important. It is clear that the change of director of the cathedral is the result of the most intense confrontation around him. But the problem with the status of the cathedral has already reached the highest level state level, and street confrontations in St. Petersburg or legal battles on this issue, in fact, do not solve anything.
In reality, Isaac’s fate is being decided at the Kremlin level, and main question for the Patriarchate and the Presidential Administration - to figure out who launched this process, who is its initiator, and most importantly - how to reduce or completely eliminate the obvious negative resonance around the transfer of the cathedral to the Russian Orthodox Church.
And the appointment of a new director Isaac, even if it is smart and beautiful woman, like Mrs. Vovnenko, this conflict won't pay off anymore. The future status of the cathedral will still be determined by the president and, possibly, the Patriarch, and this process will be delayed as much as possible, without further pushing it - in order to reduce the public outcry around this. I think the process will be delayed at least until 2018 (this is the period indicated in the Smolny order) or they will completely try to “hush it up” and forget it. And all those guilty of further pushing the issue at the federal level will be methodically punished. After the issue with Isaac is resolved at the Kremlin level, all lower levels of the “vertical of power” and the museum community will have to respond to signals “from above.”
Passions surrounding the position of director of St. Isaac's Cathedral are heating up more and more. It still remains unclear who will become the head of the state museum-monument. News agencies are waging war, Irada Vovnenko changes decisions every half hour, and Smolny denies everything. Komsomolskaya Pravda talks about what is known at the moment.
WHERE DID IT ALL START?
The former director of St. Isaac's Cathedral, Nikolai Burov, wrote a letter of resignation back in April. at will, and officially left the manager’s chair on June 1. “I prefer to quit rather than be fired,” he said. Immediately after this, rumors spread: “The position of director Isaac will be taken by Burov’s deputy, Irada Vovnenko.” She did not confirm this information to the media, but on May 31, the writer was introduced to the museum staff as the acting director of the museum.
“Irada Tofikovna will become the acting director,” the head of the public relations department and cultural projects Museum Maria Morozova. – Nikolai Vitalievich sent a letter to all employees, thanking them for their work and apologizing for the unrealized projects.
OUTWARD OR NOT OUTWIDE?
This morning, a reliable source from Smolny told Komsomolskaya Pravda in St. Petersburg that the leadership position will not go to Vovnenko. We have learned that there are several applicants for the position. And all of them are representatives of the stronger sex. However, a few hours later, this information was denied by the Governor’s press secretary Andrei Kibitov.
Georgy Poltavchenko did not give instructions to look for a new acting. director of St. Isaac's Cathedral. The Culture Committee is responsible for personnel selection. The Administration of St. Petersburg selects personnel solely on the principle of professionalism; the gender principle of personnel selection is not practiced, he said.
It seemed that there was nothing more to worry about - everyone remained in their places. If not for one thing, Irada herself announced her dismissal. She told the media that she voluntarily leaves the chair of director of St. Isaac's Cathedral.
I’m leaving myself, now I’m writing a statement. And I’m happy about it,” she said.
“I DID NOT WRITE A STATEMENT”
But this version did not live long. Half an hour later, the press service of the St. Isaac's Cathedral museum-monument denied the information that Irada Vovnenko had written a letter of resignation.
Irada Tofikovna is not going anywhere, she has not written any statements and does not intend to write. She still serves as director of the museum,” Maria Morozova, press secretary of St. Isaac’s Cathedral, told Komsomolskaya Pravda. - Now she is at her workplace.
Irada herself does not answer the phone. Instead, her assistant answers the calls and suggests contacting the museum’s press service for answers to questions.
Komsomolskaya Pravda continues to monitor developments.
HAVE AN OPINION
Boris Vishnevsky, Legislative Assembly deputy from the Yabloko party:
ABOUT possible reasons the rapid departure of Irada Vovnenko from Isaacia: she also stated that she would conduct a dialogue with the Russian Orthodox Church - but perhaps the Russian Orthodox Church does not want to conduct a dialogue with the female director. And one more thing: women are prohibited from entering the altar. How will a museum be managed by a director who has no access to part of the museum?
