An exhibition of the Soviet heritage of the Elbrus region opens in Nalchik.

Kavkaz.RF and the Nalchik Administration invite you to the exhibition "Infrastructure of Expectation" from November 14 to December 7, dedicated to the Soviet architectural, scientific, and cultural heritage of the Elbrus resort and the entire Baksan Gorge. The exhibition will be held in the contemporary art pavilion of the 100th Anniversary Park of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic.

On the opening day at 11:00 AM, a mediation session will be led by curator Yulia Senina, known for her work with Joseph Brodsky's "One and a Half Rooms" museum and the OBERIU Museum in St. Petersburg. Yulia is a cultural figure whose name was included in the updated list of the 2026 RBC Visionaries project. She was recognized in the "Culture" category as a professional capable of shaping new cultural and economic trends. Admission is free upon registration.

The exhibition's opening was preceded by extensive archival research in Moscow and the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic, as well as several expeditions. Exhibits include archival photographs from TASS and the A.V. Shchusev Museum of Architecture, scientific instruments from the Baksan Neutrino Observatory of the Institute for Nuclear Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences, sketches of the Tyrnyauz entrance stele by the renowned monumental artist Yevgeny Ablin from 1965, an original chair from the Cheget cable car from 1963, household items and equipment used by mountain climbers, books, and records.

During one of the trips, physicists donated archival newsreels from 1978 to the exhibition's creators. This footage, digitized and presented to the public for the first time, became a truly emotional window into the exhibition (the video depicts the daily life of the residents of the Neutrino settlement, their dreams and aspirations).

Soviet architecture, including Vladimir Ezdekov's famous mosaics in Tyrnyauz, the pendulum cable car on Elbrus, the Itkol and Cheget boarding houses, and the Moscow State University educational facilities, were photographed by renowned architectural photographer Alexey Naroditsky. The everyday life of scientists studying neutrinos underground was captured by photographer Maria Gelman.

The exhibition is moving to Nalchik from Moscow, where it opened and ran in the center from October 14 to 31. More than 4,000 people visited the exhibition in the capital, including Deputy Ministers of Economic Development of the Russian Federation Sergey Nazarov and Dmitry Vakhrukov, Head of Mosturism Evgeny Kozlov, owner of Azimut Hotels Alexander Klyachin, Vice President of MTS Bank Akhmed Zhamanov, Directors of Kavkaz.RF Andrey Yumshanov and Hasan Timizhev, and others.

"Our 'Archive of Heights' is a living organism that evolves, tests audience interest, and seeks its place in the cultural landscape of the North Caucasus. We created it because we are passionate about the history of Elbrus's development and admire the people who created it in the 1960s and 1970s. An important new section of the exhibition is dedicated to the stories of the builders of the legendary Elbrus resort. These are brave and strong people who took risks every day, lifting building materials and components to heights using equipment they personally adapted to the mountains. The technologies they used had never before been used in high altitudes. Thanks to this feat, the famous red carriages of the pendulum cable car, familiar to anyone who has visited Elbrus, began operating. I believe the project will continue to develop and unite people around it," says Tatyana Baeva, the exhibition's initiator and Communications Director at Kavkaz.RF.

The exhibition's creators would be grateful for any information, archival materials, and recollections that could aid in further research into the Soviet legacy of the Elbrus region. The project has a social media account, @elbrus_archive, where you can write and share information.

"Archive of Heights" is a research project by Kavkaz.RF about the Soviet legacy of the Elbrus region. "Infrastructure of Expectation" is its first traveling exhibition. It was created with the support of the Russian Ministry of Economic Development and the Institute for Nuclear Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences. Information partners include TASS and the multimedia portal "This is the Caucasus."

The pavilion is open from 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM, closed on Mondays. After December 7, "Infrastructure of Expectation" will move to the Elbrus region.