Ryazan Polytechnical University opened a 2-day conference "Architect and His Time" commemorating the outstanding Russian masons and architects, Vasily Bazhenov, Matvey Kazakov and Nikolai Voronikhin. 

      Scholars, architects, art historians and students from several Russian regions are taking part in the conference.

      The conference aims to attract attention to the legacy of Russia's celebrated architects. 2012 marks 275th and 200th birth anniversaries of Vasily Bazhenov and Nikolai Voronikhin, respectively, as well as 200th death anniversary of Matvey Kazakov. A monument to Kazakov will be erected in the near future, to acknowledge his contribution to Ryazan's architecture. 

      One of the practical questions to be discussed at the conference is the problem of preservation of the objects of Russian cultural legacy, rather than mere protection of "old buildings".