The Exhibition ‘Lugansk Worker, the Last Resident in the Kremlin. In Memory of Marshal K.E. Voroshilov’ to run in the Moscow Kremlin Museums

The Exhibition ‘Lugansk Worker, the Last Resident in the Kremlin. In Memory of Marshal K.E. Voroshilov’ to run in the Moscow Kremlin Museums

This exhibition, dedicated to the eminent figure in Russian and Soviet history, the first Marshal of the Soviet Union Kliment Efremovich Voroshilov (1881-1969), is to open on 3 November in the Anteroom of the Armoury Chamber. His turbulent career turned him into a symbol of the epoch and a cult figure for the youth and the military.

Same as many other state and party officials, Voroshilov was living on the territory of the Moscow Kremlin. Starting from 1918, when the Soviet government moved into the Kremlin, there were situated the cabinets and apartments of the country rulers. Such a situation remained until 1955 when N. S. Khrushchev made a decision to bring to a close the residency of government members and their relatives on the Kremlin territory. K. E. Voroshilov remained in his apartment that adjoined the Armoury Chamber longer than anyone else. He did not leave until 1962, thus becoming ‘the last resident in the Kremlin’.

Being the People’s Commissar of Defence of the USSR, Voroshilov participated in the battles of the First Cavalry Army, the defence of Tsaritsyn, which made him – ‘the first red officer’ and comrade of Stalin – both the symbol of the Red Army and the Soviet sport. The years of his work at that post coincided with the milestones in the history of the country and the establishment of the arms industry. A series of heavy tanks was named after him (KB – Klim Voroshilov), and in 1932, the title ‘Voroshilov Marksman’ was established together with the badge to award those who had reached a qualifying standard in marksmanship.

The exhibition aims to reveal different facets of the marshal’s personality and to show how his image was transforming through time: Voroshilov came a long way from the Lugansk worker to ‘the patriarch’ of Soviet political life, impressing his contemporaries with intellectuality and good manners.

The display reflects the change of spheres and genres, where the commissar managed to manifest himself. The visitors will have an opportunity to see the orders and awards of the marshal, his personal belongings, collection of weapon from his cabinet, rare photographs and the uniform, attributed to the time when Kliment Voroshilov occupied the post of people’s commissar.

The separate theme of the display will be the image of K. E. Voroshilov in official Soviet art, embodied in painting, sculpture, graphics and even folk crafts – lacquer miniature of Palekh. 

Duration of the exhibition: 3 November 2023 – 28 February 2024

Anteroom of the Armoury Chamber

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