On 8 August 2007, the Director of the State Hermitage Museum, Mikhail Piotrovsky made a response to the numerous questions concerning the Rolling Stones concert held on Palace Square.

Loud noises are one of the most powerful weapons that can harm people and works of art. For this reason there are specific health standards for sound levels. These levels should not exceed 85 decibels.

It is clear that monuments, preserved in the State Hermitage Museum can be damaged by vibrations caused by loud concerts. Since both the public and government have demonstrated that they are completely indifferent to the fate of the displays in the museum, the State Hermitage Museum is funding experimental research into the effects of vibrations on the structural integrity of the building and canvases, in collaboration with the All-Russia Art and Science Restoration Centre named after Academician Igor Grabar and the CSRI Elektropribor. Special experiments are being conducted on the impact of sound on specially prepared and aged paintings.

During the Rolling Stones concert, readings were taken from the paintings and buildings of the museum. The final results of this work will be released following the completion of all experiments.

The State Hermitage Museum reached an agreement with the organizers of the concert (see the State Hermitage Museum website), one of the points agreed upon was that the sound levels should not exceed 85 decibels.

During the concert the sound was measured by the appropriate staff of the State Hermitage Museum, and by specialists contracted by the concert organizers. The instruments used for measuring the sound showed that the volume in closed halls was approximately 75-80 decibels. The sound levels measured on the walls of the Hermitage building exceeded the standards and was measured at 90-95 decibels.

It must be noted that the concert organizers did take into account the demands of the State Hermitage Museum, and the sound levels on the whole were more civilized than has been the case for other concerts that have taken place on Palace Square (Alie Parusa among others)

The State Hermitage Museum continues to believe that similar concerts on Palace Square are inappropriate, since they not only damage the exhibitions and the buildings, but also as they do not fit the spirit of the square.

Palace Square should not be turned into a city stadium.