I am not an archaeologist. I deal with burning international security issues. But today, on the 30th anniversary of the PIR Center, I feel like a bit of an archaeologist… and I would like to invite you to take part in the excavations. We will come across those artefacts that will allow us to better understand how PIR Center was born, how it matured, and how it evolved. And if someone says that 30 years is not a term for archaeologists, I will tell without any doubt: for non-profit, independent Russian organizations acting with foreign policy — oh, what a pleasure; we have already passed several epochs, where we had our own dinosaurs, our own ice ages, and our own renaissance.
Nevertheless, we shall be modest. Our museum is small, with only five virtual rooms. There you will encounter academician Mikhailo Lomonosov and poet Alexander Pushkin, Saddam Hussein and Evo Morales, you will see a fragment of a SS-23 missile, and an artefact from The Group of Eight (G8)… and some others have gone with the wind. An African rhino will run out at you… by the way, it is on brink of extinction. At the same time, “Secret Vodka” from a very closed Siberian nuclear city; Iranian USB Flash Drive with a sign “Nuclear energy for all. Nuclear weapon for none” and even ukulele from Hawaii managed to be preserved. And my favorite mug discovering the horrible truth behind whipped cream — the same one which I held in my hands on a sunny afternoon of April 30, 1994, when I put my signature on the Decision of the Founder of an NGO called PIR. Do you want to know how did they all get here? Come in!
I am opening the doors. You’re welcome to take a tour.
