From January 16 to February 28, 2026, the exhibition "The Great Russian Northern Way. The Golden Thread of Centuries", which will present an educational, historical, patriotic, pilgrimage and ecological route passing through 12 regions of Russia and uniting 14 UNESCO World Heritage Sites.
The route begins at the Novodevichy Stavropol Convent in Moscow, passes through the shrines of the Moscow Kremlin, the ancient temples of Veliky Novgorod, Pskov and Yaroslavl, the monastery ensembles of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and Ferapontov Monastery and ends at the Spaso-Preobrazhensky Solovetsky Stavropol Monastery.
The starting point of the Great Russian Northern Way is the Novodevichy Monastery, founded in 1524 by Grand Duke Vasily III of Moscow. The celebration of the 500th anniversary of the monastery, which was included in the UNESCO calendar of commemorations for 2024-2025, testifies to its international cultural and spiritual significance.
The exhibition draws the viewer to the origins of the spiritual and artistic experience of the Novodevichy Monastery.
Since the 16th century, veils, shrouds, veils and icons have been created in the monastery, which were distinguished by their refined composition, complex decorative structure and the highest level of craftsmanship. After the resumption of monastic life in 1994, the gradual return of ancient crafts began. The modern craftsmen of the gold embroidery workshop creatively interpret classical church motifs, preserving the characteristic features of the Moscow school — strict compositional precision, expressiveness of iconographic faces, fine work with gold thread and attentive attitude to ornament. The technique of gold embroidery is one of the most refined and time-consuming types of applied art. Embroidery is performed on silk and velvet fabrics using gold and silver threads, pearls, precious stones and small decorative elements. Each stitch requires extreme precision, and creating a single shroud can take several years.
The monastery's icon-painting workshop develops the principles of the Moscow icon-painting school, which developed in the XVI-XVII centuries. The works of the craftsmen are distinguished by the soft modeling of the faces and a restrained, noble palette.