The display "Conquerors of Olympus. Exhibition of artefacts from the Vladimir Potanin Collection”, organised by the Russian International Olympic University (RIOU) in cooperation with the Ministry of Sport of the Republic of Tatarstan and the National Library of the Republic of Tatarstan, has closed in Kazan, after running for 95 days and admitting 25 thousand people.
Apart from Kazan citizens, the visitors included guests from different regions of Russia, the CIS and other countries, young athletes from Tatarstan’s Olympic reserve sports schools, the region’s senior officials and ministers of sport and culture from other Russian territorial entities, renowned Russian and international athletes, heads of national delegations at the 2024 BRICS Games, foreign diplomatic agents, and participants in cultural events hosted by Kazan during that period (Altyn Minbar international film festival, BRICS Literature Forum 2024, among others).
The exhibition featured cutting-edge neural network technology and artificial intelligence, which brought to life the stories behind winner’s diplomas from the first Olympic Games of the modern era. The “animated” exhibits were especially popular with young visitors.
RIOU Rector, full member of the Russian Academy of Education Lev Belousov said:
“We are deeply grateful for the hospitality rendered by the city of Kazan, the Ministry of Sport and the National Library of the Republic of Tatarstan, who provided home to Vladimir Potanin's Olympic collection and the Conquerors of Olympus exhibition this summer. The valuable artefacts from the collection found their audience and, in a graphic way, told them about the glory of Russian sport, showing its heroes at the climax of their sporting triumph. I hope that the impressions that the younger generation came away with will inspire them to uphold the true values of sport, strive for excellence in any field and eventually conquer their own Olympus.”
The Olympic artefacts have left their showcases, but a collection of books on sports management and marketing donated by RIOU will remain in the National Library of the Republic of Tatarstan in reminiscence of the exhibition. These books are the product of RIOU’s own publishing programme and were published under the brand name “Library of the Russian International Olympic University”. This collection also includes books on the history of the Olympic movement, including international best-sellers translated into Russian. One of the features of the collection is a richly illustrated book “Magnetic Attraction of Sochi”, published in 2024 in commemoration of the 10th anniversary of the Sochi Olympic Games.
The display has left Kazan but it is not saying goodbye to the public. Follow our updates on future locations and dates of the exhibition.