Formula of Love by Anna Barusseau. About Museumifications of the Lyakhovo Estate and the Role of Archived Criminal Cases in Museum Practice
Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The Vargins’ estate Lyahovo near Moscow is an architectural monument and the location where the famous television film «Formula of Love» was shot. There are additional opportunities for designing the museum exhibition related to the forgotten case of Anna Barusseau. In 1908, a girl from a circle of golden youth was murdered on the estate. The story had a public resonance and can be interpreted in the museum space of the estate. In addition to the memorable relationships of love and jealousy, the murder case provides an opportunity to show the peculiarities of the judicial system of the Russian Empire, the jury trial, the acquittal verdict and the peculiarities of its appeal. A separate topic is the activities of court reporters and the reflection of major trials in the media. Impunity of the act allows us to raise complex issues of responsibility of the individual and society to the victims of crimes. The way the prosecutor’s office and the defense presented evidence to the jury, interrogated witnesses, participated in the debate, is interesting material for showing the legal culture of Russian society of those years in the context of the events of a high-profile case. The presence of an estate park in Lyahovo creates opportunities to involve animators in the work and provides space for the use of modern information technologies (for example, additional reality). Mistakes made by the police during the investigation of the case can become the basis for the creation of excursion programs dedicated to the forensics of those years (lost evidence, missed details of the inspection of the crime scene). The Barusseau case is not only a tragic story of love and crime, but also an interesting example of how an accidentally discovered archival document can expand a museum exhibition.
Source: Culture and Text
Authors: I. S. Izbachkov, K. E. Rybak
Language: English
Subfield: Museology
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W4410904234