Presentation of completed restorations in the Winter Palace to journalists

The Malachite Room was created after the fire of 1837 to the design of architect Alexander Briullov. The finishing of the hall is unique: the columns, pilasters, elements of the fireplaces and decorative vases are faced with malachite in the "Russian mosaic" technique. The interior is endowed with a special elegance by the combination of the bright green colour of the mineral with abundant gilding and the intense crimson of the drapery. The ornate pattern of the 17,000 - piece parquet floor is made up of fourteen precious varieties of wood. In 1978 the floor in the Malachite Room was covered with a water - based lacquer and over the years as a result of further coats the layer of lacquer grew so thick that the pattern of the parquet could hardly be made out at all.

The restoration of the parquet has taken three months. After the removal of the layer of lacquer and repairs to the underfloor (panels of pine boards laid on the joists), losses in the parquet were made good and the engraving recreated. The parquet was covered with six coats of water - based lacquer that doe not give off any substances harmful to the museum exhibits.

The Gallery of 1812 is a historical and artistic monument to Russia's martial glory and was created in the Winter Palace to the design of Carlo Rossi in 1826. The walls of the gallery carry the portraits of 332 generals who took part in the Patriotic War against Napoleon in 1812 and the foreign campaign of 1813 - 14. They were painted by George Dawe with the assistance of Alexander Poliakov and Wilhelm Golike. All the paintings were saved from the fire in 1837. Due to the considerable amount of wear to the roof of the Gallery of 1812 (the last repairs had been in the 1960s), the management of the Hermitage decided to carry out a reconstruction of the roof and the skylights. After the repairs to the skylights had been completed in January 2001, work began on the installation of a new roof. The roof was produced using a complex four - layer technology, including the use of polished sheet steel as a base, cement - chipboard as a heat - insulating material, a layer of vapour seal and finally galvanized - iron roof sheeting. The roof is fitted with an electrical heating system. The skylights are an integral part of the Gallery of 1812 as the long room does not have windows. When they were being reconstructed waterproofing and thermal insulation of the surfaces were included in the plan. Special glass was used that does not allow ultraviolet light to penetrate as well as laminated safety glass. An important aspect of the reconstruction of the skylights was the inclusion of electrical lighting so that they could continue to provide the necessary illumination during the hours of darkness.

The vaults of the gallery were originally painted by Giovanni - Battista Scotti, and his work was recreated after the 1837 fire by the brothers L. and V. Dodonov. In subsequent years the painting was refurbished on several occasions, which led to certain distortions of the artist's original concept. The restoration work now underway involves strengthening the plaster base weakened after repeated leaks and reinforcing and cleaning the paint layer, recreating losses in the compositions and returning the painting of the vaults as closely as possible to its original appearance.

The Malachite Drawing - room

Participants of the meeting in the Gallery of 1812

Participants of the meeting on the roof of the Winter Palace

In the Gallery of 1812