Saint-Petersburg has seen the handwritten copy of the Constitution of the Russian Federation
The exclusive artwork was displayed at the exhibit hall of the Academy of Arts. The copy of the Constitution of the Russian Federation was handwritten by top calligraphers of the country.
A painstaking work on the most important book of the country has begun in May and lasts until now. In this period Pyotr Chobitko, Presidium Chairman of the National Union of Calligraphers has completed only half: 60 pages.
“Calligraphy is a very serious and long-term thing. My students, students of the Art and Industry Academy, helped me. They marked out the pages, made a preparatory part. But the main thing is the quill painting. I could not trust it to anyone. Especially because there is a special font used for the handwritten copy of the Constitution of the Russian Federation: a modern one featuring Old Slavic touches,” Pyotr Chobitko shares.
A special cast handmade paper was made for the book. It was not produced with usual timber but with the use of rag paper. The core ingredients of the drafting ink were herbs and cuttlefish. Thus the inscriptions will keep their form for many years. The book cover for the handwritten copy of the Constitution of the Russian Federation was ordered in England. It was made from the skin of a young calf.
Calligraphers estimate the cost of this book at no less than 400 thousand rubles. It is the one and only copy so far. But there is a plan to make two more copies of the Constitution of the Russian Federation. The first copy is going to be stored at the Contemporary Museum of Calligraphy in Moscow, and the fate of the second one is to tour exhibitions. The third copy will be especially made for the library of the President’s administration. The book is to be encrusted with gold and precious stones. Calligraphers believe that this book will be used for the oath of the next president of Russia.