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Nikolai Mukhin gave a lecture to students of Belgrade University and Art University entitled “History of the Project of Mosaic Decoration of the Church of Saint Sava” Nikolai Mukhin spoke to students in detail about the tradition of mediaeval Byzantine mosaic, contemporary artists' principles of work, described how the artistic concept of the project was born and how the programme of the Church's interior decoration has been developed. The lecture, held at the Banquet Hall of the University of Belgrade, gathered students of the Faculty of Applied and Fine Arts, Faculties of Philosophy, Philology and Theology, and many interested citizens. The Church of Saint Sava in Vračar is the most important architectural structure in Serbia and one of the largest Orthodox Christian churches in the world. It was built in the place where the Ottoman authorities burnt the relics of Saint Sava in 1594. The church was designed in late 19th century, but its construction did not start before 1935 and was postponed because of the start of World War II. The erection of the dome was completed in 1989 and the Church was officially opened in 2004. “Gazprom Neft” is funding the project of mosaic decoration of the Church's dome within the framework of a major programme of support for projects of culture and preservation of Serbia's historical heritage. The total volume of funding is EUR 4 million. The interior design project of the Church's dome involves making 1,230 square metres of mosaic composition by using glass and natural stone. The completion of the interior decoration of the central dome has been planned for the end of this year. Nikolai Mukhin – Russian artist, founder of the creative association “Yaroslavl Icon Painting”. He has been a member of the Presidency of the Russian Academy of Arts since 1999. He has been a member of the Presidency of the Culture and Art Council with the President of the Russian Federation since 2000. Academician of the Russian Academy of Arts, distinguished people's artist of the Russian Federation, art director of the project of mosaic decoration of the Church of Saint Sava in Vračar.
