International Peter the Great conference “Peter I and the East”

Museum Director Orla Madsen speaks at XI Peter the Great Conference

On the first day of June, Orla Madsen, archaeologist and director of Kalklandet, part of the Museum of East Zealand, gave a talk, «Archaeological Excavations on Bering Island in 1991», at the conference’s plenary session.

Orla Madsen told about the results of the «Bering 91,» international historical and cultural expedition, which he participated in. One of the aims of the expeditions was to find and excavate the grave of Vitus Bering, seafarer and explorer, captain-commander of two Kamchatka expeditions, exploring the relative positions of the coasts of Siberia and North America.

The International Peter the Great Congress is aimed at the research and study of Peter I’s epoque, preservation and promotion of his heritage, and development of cultural tourism.

The Congresses are held under the aegis of the Russian Ministry of Culture and St. Petersburg Committee for Culture. This year the Congress is organized by the State Hermitage, Peterhof State Museum Reserve, Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography (the Kunstkamera), St. Petersburg State Academic Capella, St. Petersburg Institute of History of Russian Academy of Sciences, Danish Cultural Institute, Institute for Cultural Programs, Peter the Great Institute, and Dmitiry Likhachov Foundation.

In 2018 the Congress was attended by researchers and experts from St. Petersburg, Moscow, Astrakhan, Kazan, Lipetsk, Makhachkala, Perm, Ryazan, Saratov, Tolyatti, Voronezh, and Yaroslavl, as well as from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Italy, and France.