Ceremony on the Russian Guard’s Day

On 2 September 2011, the Russian Guards Day is celebrated. This celebration was established by order of the President of the Russian Federation in 2000 for the 300th anniversary of the formation of the Russian Imperial Guards. According to the Orthodox calendar, it was on this day in 1700 that Emperor Peter the Great first called the Preobrazhensky and Semenovsky Regiments the Life Guards.

The State Hermitage Museum together with the command of the Western Military District held a ceremony dedicated to the Russian Guards Day at the St George Hall of the Winter Palace.

It is traditional that military ceremonies and parades are held at the Winter Palace. The Winter Palace was not only the Tsar’s residence but also a genuine military museum, preserving items connected with Russian military history. The names of the parade halls of the Winter Palace speak to this role: St George Hall, Field Marshals’ Hall, Memorial Hall of Peter the Great, Armorial Hall, Sentry Hall, Military Gallery of 1812.

The central monument for preserving Russian military history is the State Hermitage Museum, which is not only a museum for the history of world culture but one of the largest historical-military museums. As part of the State Hermitage’s collection are numerous weapons, dress uniforms, pictures and engravings of battles and military portraits. This enables the State Hermitage Museum to conduct large scale exhibitions, which have always been the best in Russia. In 1940 the first exhibition in Soviet history was opened dedicated to the Heroic Past of the Russian People; in 1962 an exhibition was held dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the Patriotic War of 1812 against Napoleon; in 1967 there was an exhibition dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the Russian flag which was held with the Central Naval Museum; in 2000 Saint Petersburg museums participated in an exhibition dedicated to the Russian Imperial Guards; in 2009 together with museums in Sweden, Moscow and Saint Petersburg a large scale exhibition was held entitled “The Perfect Victory” dedicated to the 300th anniversary of the Battle of Poltava.

Historical banners and standards of the guards’ regiments were brought into the St George Hall from State Hermitage collections. The Orchestra of Headquarters of Military District and an Honour Guards Company of the Western Military District participated in the ceremony.

As part of the celebrations for the Day of the Russian Guards, Jan Nyberg, the Consul General of the Swedish Consulate presented the Deputy Director for Science of the State Hermitage Museum, Georgy Vilinbakhov, with the Royal Order of the Polar Star in the name of the King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden for his contribution to science.

Orchestra of Headquarters of Military District

Honour Guards Company of the Western Military District

Speech by M.B. Piotrovsky, Director of the State Hermitage Museum

At the St George Hall

Award of a Royal Order of the Polar Star, Sweden, to Georgy Vilinbakhov

Georgy Vilinbakhov, Deputy Director of the State Hermitage Museum, Knight of the Royal Order of the Polar Star

Historical banners and standards of the guards’ regiments