On 21-22 November 2006 the regular annual scholarly conference entitled the Age of Peter the Great through Personalities - 2006 was held in the Menshikov Palace, a department of the State Hermitage. Among those taking part in the conference were scholars from St Petersburg, Moscow and Petrazavodsk. Reprts devoted to the personality and activities of A.D. Menshikov sere delivered at the conference by T.A. Lapteva, S.S. Moldovanova, V.V. Meshcheriakov. The history and restoration of the Menshikov Palace were discussed in a speech by E.A. Tikhmeneva and the joint report by V.V. Meshcheriakov and I.V. Saverkina.

Information devoted to Peter the Great was delivered at the conference (M.V. Babich). A report on the symbolism in the engraving of the Triumphal Entry of His Tsarist Majesty in Moscow was given by A.A. Karev. Yu.B. Fomina analyzed the history of the publication of Letters and Papers of Emperor Peter the Great. The conference also heard reports devoted to the life and work of Peter I's contemporaries prepared by B.X. Makarov, I.N. Yurkin, P.A. Krotov, V.A. Kovrigina, as well as a joint report by O.S. Evangulova and I.V. Ryazantseva and M.Yu. Dankova.

Various aspects of the construction of Petersburg in Peter the Great's time were dealt with during the conference: a report by E.A. Andreeva dealt with how a qualified work force was assured for the construction; M.V. Nikolaev spoke about the development of private construction. Reports by T.A. Bazarova and E.M. Boltunova addressed questions of the cartography of Petersburg. Presentations by A.E. Gunich, V.N. Sedykh and the joint report by S.Yu. and M.Yu. Kargopoliev covered the history of how certain monuments and ensembles of Petersburg and its suburbs were created. Cemeteries of Peter's time were analyzed as important historical monuments in papers by S.V. Beletsky and E.V. Pchelov. G.K. Smirnov's speech was devoted to depictions of the Moscow Kremlin in blueprints from the Berkhgolts collection.

The reports of O.S. Andreeva, E.S. Gusarova and Yu. V. Trubinov touched upon later pages in the history of the Menshikov Palace, when the First Cadet Corps was housed in this building. S.A. Kapralov spoke about the interpretation of the age of Peter the Great in the museum exhibition.

In the near future the materials of the scholarly conference on the Age of Peter the Great through Personalities will be published in a regular volume of the Works of the State Hermitage.

Booklet for the conference