Dina Ruzha: From Traditional Cyrillic to Contemporary Cyrillic

From this presentation, you’ll know about the history of Cyrillic calligraphy and how it influenced artists in the 20th Century and in contemporary times.

By the beginning of the 18th Century, the medieval Cyrillic letter was replaced by newer designs, but its rich artistic traditions were not lost in oblivion. New generations of artists have resorted to it, again and again, reappraising and using the medieval shapes for their purposes.

From this lecture, you’ll know about historical old Cyrillic handwritings such as ‘ustav,’ ‘polu-ustav’, ornamental ligature script ‘vyaz’ and cursive script ‘skoropis.’ You’ll see the extensive development of the letterforms in the 18th Century because of the reform of Peter the Great. The most exciting part is the revival of Old Cyrillic in the 20th Century and contemporary times. New experiments with old Cyrillic styles do not break away from the high and lasting tradition of the noble art of lettering.

The Lecture will consist of 3 parts: in the first part Dina Ruzha will introduce the audience to the history of Cyrillic calligraphy; the second part will be devoted to the amazing works of artists in the 20th Century, and the last part will be about contemporary Cyrillic works. 

Dina Ruzha is a lettering artist, calligrapher, and illustrator. She works with publishing houses, makes book covers, and lettering. Her calligraphy works are exhibited in the Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy in Moscow (Russian Federation), and in private collections in Russia, Norway, and the USA. Dina Ruzha has a solid academic background in design, illustration, typefaces, calligraphy, and typography and devotes a significant part of her time studying the history of those as that’s important for an artist. Also, she dedicated a large part of her life to teaching calligraphy and lettering.