The exhibition's organizers said that it features five sections. The first section, "Ancient Monuments of Wooden Russian Architecture," acquaints visitors with XV-XVII-century northern Russian monuments, i.e. ground plans of rectangular, octagonal and even decagonal churches, single-tier and multi-tier churches replete with twin-slope, eight-slope and pyramidal tops. These ancient churches have survived because our ancestors had treated them as holy relics and because of modern restorers' dedicated work.
The second section called "Lost Wooden Monuments" tells the sad story of neglected wooden churches that fell into decay throughout the twentieth century. As a result, some two churches burn down or are otherwise destroyed each year.
The third section called "On the Verge of Destruction" warns that the destruction of architectural monuments and their disappearance may turn into a continuous and ever more rapid process. Northern Russia had several dozen architectural ensembles comprising two churches and a belfry each in the early 20th century. Unfortunately, only four such monuments remain to date, including three in the Arkhangelsk region and one on the island of Kizhi in Karelia.
The fourth section called "Russian Wooden Architecture, a Unique Element of Global Heritage" provides insight into the most famous wooden churches, the largest wooden structures in Europe.
The fifth section features photos depicting various methods for preserving wooden architectural monuments. This section tells the story of carpentry technologies dating back to the XII-XVIII-century period. These technologies were rediscovered in the 1990s during the restoration of the monumental Dmitry Solunsky church (1785) in the Arkhangelsk region, as well as during the use of other modern methods for preserving damaged wooden structures.
