On the morning of May 18, 2025, International Museum Day, the lecture “World Heritage in Russia: The National Image Reflected Through the Prism of Cultural Heritage,” co‑organized by the College of Urban and Environmental Sciences at Peking University and the UNESCO Asia‑Pacific World Heritage Training and Research Center Beijing Branch, was successfully held in the Main Lecture Hall of the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture at Peking University.
Ms. Nadezhda Filatova, Deputy Director of the Scientific Research Institute of Cultural and Natural Heritage of Russia and Vice President of ICOMOS‑Russia, using the historical development of Russia as a guiding thread and focusing on Russia’s World Heritage properties and significant sites on its Tentative List, vividly introduced the national image of the distant and vast country to the audience. In addition to already inscribed properties, the lecture also presented the latest nomination projects, including the “Great Tea Road” transnational serial nomination jointly pursued by China, Mongolia and Russia.
Lecturer Ms. Nadezhda Filatova
Experts including Song Feng, Associate Professor at the College of Urban and Environmental Sciences, Peking University, and Deputy Director of the UNESCO Asia‑Pacific World Heritage Training and Research Center Beijing Branch; Cao Xin, Associate Professor at the School of Landscape Architecture, Beijing Forestry University, and Director of the BFU‑ICCROM International Joint Laboratory of Heritage and Landscape Conservation; Yan Haiming, Director of the Secretariat Office of ICOMOS China; and Liu Mingqian, Lecturer in the “Cultural Heritage Development” Sino‑foreign cooperative education program at the School of English and Advanced Translation, Beijing Language and Culture University, attended the lecture and engaged in in‑depth discussion with the guest speaker. Guo Boya, Researcher at the College of Architecture and Urban Planning, Tongji University, moderated the lecture event.
Scene of the lecture
Although it was a Sunday morning, dozens of students from Peking University, Renmin University of China, Communication University of China, Minzu University of China, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beijing Language and Culture University, and the High School Affiliated to Renmin University enthusiastically came to the venue, listened attentively, and actively raised multiple questions during the Q&A session. Ms. Filatova answered each question posed by the teachers and students.
When asked about the current attempts by some countries to erase important shared memories under the pretext of World Heritage nomination and protection issues, Ms. Filatova offered a firm and powerful critique, which resonated with the audience and drew applause.
Finally, the guests and the attending teachers and students took a friendly group photo. The lecture concluded successfully in a warm and amicable atmosphere.
Group photo at the lecture
