2005: The īpening of the Hermitage-Kazan Exhibition Centre

On 23 August 2005, the State Hermitage opened its first representation in the Russian Federation - the Hermitage-Kazan Exhibition Centre in the city of Kazan. Among those participating in the festive opening ceremony were President of the Republic of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaimiyev, Governor of St Petersburg Valentina Matviyenko and Director of the State Hermitage Mikhail Piotrovsky.

The cultural, educational and exhibition programme of collaboration between the State Hermitage and the Republic of Tatarstan began in 1997 with the opening in Kazan of the exhibition entitled The Treasures of Khan Kubrat. During the period from 1997 to 2004, there were five major art exhibitions in Kazan which presented new approaches to world history and culture, arousing great public interest. The development of close cooperation between the State Hermitage and cultural institutions of the Republic of Tatarstan led to the signing of a Protocol of Intent between the State Hermitage, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan, the Administration of the City of Kazan and the Institute of History attached to the Academy of Sciences of Tatarstan. The focus of the Protocol was the planned creation of a "Hermitage centre in the city of Kazan" as part of a research, cultural and educational programme and in time for the 1000th anniversary of the founding of Kazan.

The Hermitage-Kazan Exhibition Centre was established with the patronage and support of President of the Republic of Tatarstan Mintimer Shaimiyev. It is a subdivision of the State Historical, Architectural and Art Museum-Reserve of the Kazan Kremlin and is situated on the territory of the Kazan Kremlin in the building of the former Junker Academy, which was constructed at the beginning of the 19th century. It has a total of around 1,000 square metres of exhibition space and service rooms. Within the exhibition centre, there are fully equipped exhibition rooms, computer classes, a video and a lecture rooms as well as information rooms.

The concept underlying the creation and operation of the centre as well as guiding the choice of equipment installed is to provide multi-functional premises, arrange exhibitions, conduct lectures, conferences and scholarly gatherings, as well as carry on museum level educational programmes.

The Golden Horde. History and Culture was the first exhibition to be held in the Hermitage-Kazan Exhibition Centre (23 August 2005 - 10 May 2006). In the framework of this festive event there was a press conference and public lecture by Mikhail Piotrovsky, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and of the Russian Academy of Arts, Professor of St Petersburg State University.

The Kazan Kremlin. Building of the Hermitage Center and the National Art Gallery (to the right)
Larger view

The Hermitage - Kazan Exhibition Center
Larger view

The Golden Horde. History and Culture exhibition
Larger view