It is now a tradition to celebrate the Days of the Hermitage on 7 to 9 December. The dates are not chosen by chance. 7 December is the day of St Catherine , saint patron of Catherine the Great who founded the Hermitage. 9 December is the day of St George - saint patron of Russia.

7 December, the St Catherine day, was devoted to the staff of the Hermitage. The same day Mikhail Piotrovsky spoke at the press-conference devoted to the Days of the Hermitage and addressed the staff at the great meeting congratulating them on this occasion. Concert of the orchestra St Petersburg Camerata was held in the evening for the Museum staff. Within the programme of restoration and reexhibition of the three galleries containing works of art of the Antiquity the hall with the new exhibition Decorative Arts of Ancient Rome in the 1st to 3rd Centuries opened on 7 December. The restoration works were financed by Ms. Jayne Wrightsman (the USA), an old friend of the State Hermitage Museum and one of its main sponsors.

The exhibition The Hermitage in the World of Publications opened in the foyer of the Hermitage Theatre. It features editions reflecting scientific and exhibition activities conducted by the Museum staff.

8 December the exhibition Drawing Distinctions (Twentieth Century Drawings and Watercolours from the British Council Collection) opened in the Museum being accompanied by the lecture on the subject given by Frances Spalding.

8 December was the meeting day with the Friends of the Hermitage. In the evening the members of the International Friends' Club of the Hermitage got acquainted with the rooms of Dutch painting of the 17th century. The rooms are under restoration within the programme of the Dutch Friends’ Club of the Hermitage known as The New Roof and the New Illumination for the Dutch Masters in the Hermitage - 2000. The members of the Club participated in the meeting with Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of the State Hermitage Museum, held in the Hermitage Theatre and at the presentation of the new book Painting in the Hermitage by Colin Eisler published in Moscow by the Russian Booking Comany Biblion, 2000. At the ceremony in the Hermitage Theatre diplomas and medals were awarded to the corporate sponsors of the State Hermitage with the concert of the orchestra St Petersburg Camerata to follow

9 December the St George Hall (Large Throne Room) of the Winter Palace was opened for the public after the restoration of the Throne dais. Here the ceremony of awarding State rewards to the members of the Hermitage staff was held the same day. The Apollo Hall of the Winter Palace housed the exhibition "For the Service and Valour". The Military Order of St George the Great Martyr and Vanquisher.

The Days of the Hermitage were concluded with the concert of the Admiralty Orchestra of the Leningrad Naval Base held in the Hermitage Theatre.

Meetting of the staff of the Museum in the Hermitage Theatre

The newly opened rooms of Dutch painting of the 17th century

The Throne Dais after the reconstruction

The Military Orchestra in The St. George Hall