Source: newspaper Nevskoe Vremya - 24.06.09, No. 113

Source: newspaper St Petersburg Vedomosty - 22.06.09, No. 111

Source: magazine Gorod 812 - 22.06.09, No. 22

Source: Official web-site of the President of Russia 20.06.09 00:30

Source: newspaper Kommersant - 20.06.2009, No.109

Source: information television channel Vesti (www.vesti.ru) - 20.06.2009

Source: newspaper The Christian Science Monitor (http://www.csmonitor.com) - 20.06.2009

Source: information agency Baltinfo (www.baltinfo.ru ), 20.06.09

Source: newspaper St Petersburg Vedomosty - 19.06.09, No. 110

Source: web-site Izvestiya Nauki inauka.ru - 19.06.09

Source: television company NTV (www.ntw.ru.) - 18.06.2009

The Dutch Will Get to Know Our Tzars

Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of the State Hermitage:
- The Hermitage resembles a planet circled by various satellites. However, the centre opened in Amsterdam is not quite a satellite, but an entire international space station, as it is really big. We launch these satellites, let them go, alter the programmes. Quite soon one of such satellites will show in Vyborg, but there, as opposed to Amsterdam, smaller, youth- and children-oriented exhibitions will take place.

Whereas the centre in Amsterdam is oriented on Europe in its entirety, the plan is to hold here large-scale exhibitions, which will represent the Russian history and Russian culture relying on the materials. At that, let us say, should we bring Rembrandt, this will be a part of the Russian history too, while this will indicate that Rembrandt's works used to be bought in Russia at the time when they failed to be sold in Holland.

We do not spend a penny on all our centres all over the globe, they are fully supported by local foundations. But on the other hand - which is far more valuable - we grant the name worth millions, and arrange the exhibitions.

There is no doubt that the new centre can impress you with its developed infrastructure - a spacious computer room, touch-screens and what not. But all of this is designed in a very smart way in order that it would obviously look as an accessory, whereas the authentic items in the museum are of the paramount importance. The items which send forth energy. And this is what we love the museum for.

The Hermitage is Not Only Ours

It must be noted that the Hermitage • Amsterdam centre is a common offspring of the two initiatives - the public and private ones. In the Netherlands there has been nothing of the kind so far. The Amstelhof restoration and its accommodation for the museum facilities cost forty million Euro raised by the governments of the Netherlands and North Holland, the Council of Amsterdam, foundations, companies and private individuals. Eventually, there sprang up a modern museum complex with the exhibition area of ten thousand square metres, lecture halls and conference rooms, the Cafe-Restaurant Neva and two museum shops.

The opening of the Russian museum centre in Amsterdam was attended by seven hundred journalists from European countries: Germany, France, Greece, Italy, Belgium... The four hundred-seat conference hall could not accommodate all participants at the same time. The press-conference had to be convened twice over, it turned into a press-day. The journalists did interviewing, surveyed the complex and the exhibition, shared their impressions. There were things to discuss.

The Dutch architects and designers have done their work magnificently. They introduced no changes to the building exterior, handled the preserved historical interiors and yards delicately while applying state-of-the-art technologies to the extent possible. The interiors of the building, which has lived through quite a number of centuries, turned light, spacious and somehow resembling the Winter Palace.

With all due respect for the Dutch specialists it should be admitted that At the Russian Court: Palace and Protocol in the 19th Century became after all the focal point of the occasion. This is the title of the exhibition which travelled from the banks of the Neva river to the banks of the river Amstel. Everybody who contributed to or had a chance to view it agreed that this event has more to it than just an exhibition. In the Netherlands the Hermitage displayed a layer of the Russian history and culture, and a collection unique both in scope and quality.

Why the Hermitage opened its centre in Amsterdam, while Abu Dhabi would be more profitable

What did the Hermitage need this centre for, does it yield a good much-talked-about return to the museum, what do the Dutch gain from all this? These were the points of the conversation held before the vernissage with the Director of the Hermitage Mikhail PIOTROVSKY.

- What is the difference between the Hermitage centre in Amsterdam and a regular museum branch?

The Centre is an independent legal entity acting under the legislation of its country. It concludes an agreement with the Hermitage acting under the laws of our country. We supply the so-called content, prepare the exhibition by way of providing the concept, the materials and the catalogue, and restoring the items. The centre is responsible for the infrastructure - financing, facilities, the presentation of the exhibition, that is its design and adaptation to the inexperienced audience.

- As far as the agreement goes, you are to collect one Euro for every visitor. Does it mean that you are going to gain 300 thousand Euros?

This means that we are going to gain many times as little as we could have gained for this exhibition where it would be of far greater interest for the host party than for us.

- For instance, where?

In Japan, in Latin America, in Abu Dhabi. In dozens of places where you can find companies willing to bring an exhibition. There exists such a thing as the exhibition market. Many Russian museums hold a position on this market too, a large-scale project can be displayed in a little-known city. As for Amsterdam, we are concerned with the cultural exchange and just a small material consideration. Hundreds of people contributed to exhibition At the Russian Court. Smart people will call us poor profit-makers. In fact, we are not obsessed with the money, a ticket is a social programme.

AMSTERDAM. Dmitry Medvedev and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands opened the branch of the State Hermitage in the Netherlands - the Hermitage on the Amstel

The protocol of intent On Opening a Branch of the State Hermitage in Amsterdam was signed in 2000. The Dutch authorities rendered assistance in finding a building and in the legal registration of its use. The Hermitage Friends' Club in the Netherlands undertook the organisational issues related to the branch concept elaboration and the search for sponsors. The selected building of Amstelhof was built in 1683 and now presents a historical architectural monument of Amsterdam. The financial support for the branch opening was rendered by the government of the Netherlands, the authorities of the province of North Holland, the municipality of Amsterdam. The project of reconstruction was developed by the architect Hubert-Jan Henket, Wim Krouvel was in charge of the interior decoration works.

'Russian Court' On Tour

The exhibition At the Russian Court opened the branch of the State Hermitage in Amsterdam. The programme scheduled has already been announced - the first exposition will be followed by the Origins of Contemporary Art. Braque, Matisse and Picasso and Alexander the Great. The Way to the East.

The architecture, the interior improvement and the lay-out of a new interior garden were the Dutch party's responsibility. The St Petersburg Hermitage was engaged with the exposition. Watercolours, paintings and lithographs of the 18th - 19th centuries give one an opportunity to study Petersburg and the Winter Palace interiors in minute particulars. To see a variety of ball gowns worn by Russian beauties and to take delight in the skill of Russian tailors, which was not a whit behind their European counterparts' work or even excelled it. To marvel at the elegance of the uniform and to envy the splendour of the Russian Empire military medals.

"We wanted to show to what extent Russia is a constituent of Europe and how much it differs from it",- summarised Mikhail Piotrovsky.

The State Hermitage Branch is opened in Amsterdam

On Friday, late in the evening, the President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands opened in Amsterdam a branch of the State Hermitage, which bears the name of the Hermitage-on-the-Amstel. The Russian President accompanied by his wife and the members of the Royal Family of the Netherlands were the first to visit the exhibition telling the life story of the Russian Imperial Court of the 18th - 19th centuries. After the excursion around the Hermitage-on-the-Amstel Dmitry Medvedev and his wife Svetlana, Queen Beatrix, Crown Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Maxima proceeded to the opposite side of the river Amstel to watch the grand performance on the occasion of the opening.

The idea of opening in Amsterdam a branch of the major St Petersburg museum occurred back in the end of the last century. In 2001, during the visit of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands to Russia, an appropriate agreement was executed. It took eight years and 40 million Euros to restore the antique building of Amstelhof, which had served the location for the nursing home till the end of the 20th century. The Council of Amsterdam assigned the architectural monument for use of the Dutch Foundation Hermitage-on-the-Amstel for the period of 50 years at the nominal charge of five Euros with an option to renew the lease for extra 50 years on the same terms. The branch of the State Hermitage - the Hermitage-on-the-Amstel - is to hold pride of the third place after the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum in the city of over 50 museums.

In tough times, new Hermitage Amsterdam offers gilded oasis

AMSTERDAM - The Russian satellite about to debut on the banks of the Amstel River this month will never take flight: its mission is cultural and its structure includes massive stone bloc.

"These days we've got a lot of adrenaline, in a positive way, because a dream becomes reality," says Ernst Veen, director of Hermitage Amsterdam. The Hermitage "belongs to the world, and we must open it to the world."

The museum will be the first independent institution west of St Petersburg to bear the name of the Hermitage. Set within the Amstelhof, a hulking 300-year-old former nursing home, the institution will hold exhibitions from the collections of the Hermitage. Spaces for performances, study, and lectures will focus on Russia's artistic heritage.

Before Amsterdamers get their first look, the inaugural ceremony for Hermitage Amsterdam will be attended by members of the Dutch royal family and high-ranking Russian officials, including President Dmitry Medvedev.

The inaugural exhibition, titled "At the Russian Court: Palace and Protocol in the XIX Century," will feature more than 1,800 objects recreating the court life of 19th-century Russia. Organizers are promising "one of the most lavish [exhibitions] ever presented in Europe," according to a statement.

Dmitry Medvedev and the Queen of the Netherlands Opened the Hermitage-on-the-Amstel

The Russian President accompanied by his wife and the members of the Royal Family of the Netherlands were the first to visit the exhibition telling the life story of the Russian Imperial Court of the 18th - 19th centuries.

On the occasion of the museum opening the Russian delegation handed over to the Dutch party copies made from the originals of the unique documents belonging to the Archives of the Russian Empire foreign policy. This gesture served a worthy contribution to the exposition, which will display for all comers, from Saturday on, works by Russian painters, military uniform, personal belongings of the imperial family members and even the throne of the House of Romanov.

The idea to open the Hermitage • Amsterdam centre rose after the building of Amstelhof erected in the centre of Amsterdam back in 1681-1683 had been recognized by its proprietor - the Dutch Reformed Church - as unfit to be the residence for old people, and a decision had been made to move the nursing home to more comfortable facilities. The building was assigned to the foundation Hermitage-on-the-Amstel (the managing company of the Hermitage • Amsterdam centre) free of charge on the terms of using it for cultural purposes.

The Hermitage in Amsterdam

The solemn ceremony of the official birthday of the major Russian museum branch on the banks of the river Amstel is to take place today in the presence of Her Majesty Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and the President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev.

It is on record that the head of the Russian Federation is to arrive in Amsterdam on a working visit, to meet the Queen and the business community of the Netherlands. The President will devote a substantial portion of his short-time day in the Dutch capital to the Hermitage • Amsterdam centre. It seems a rare chance, but the first persons of the two states will not be the first to visit the centre and the splendid exhibition called At the Russian Court: Palace and Protocol in the 19th Century.

Since last Saturday the centre and the exhibition have been already attended by more than four and a half thousand people. They had good reasons to do so.

The families of the specialists involved in the reconstruction of the building and its accommodation for the museum facilities were among the first visitors of the Hermitage in Amsterdam. The same honour was given to the employees and dwellers of the nursing home formerly located in the Amstehof since the 17th century and now moved to a specially constructed modern facility. Before officially opened, the centre had also been attended by the residents of the neighbouring houses. Each resident's permission was crucial for the implementation of the project. The neighbours of the new museum had to go through all the inconvenience caused by the big construction site close to their houses.

Russian and Dutch specialists in museum issues, the project sponsors, the members of the Dutch society the Hermitage Friends' Club in the  Netherlands have also visited the centre and raised a glass of champagne to its long happy life... In a word, all people who have made efforts to bring forth a unique Russian cultural centre in the country which once favoured the founder of St Petersburg with a variety of ideas.

On the 19th of June Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and the Russian President Dmitry Medvedev are to open a new exhibition complex called the Hermitage • Amsterdam, which will become a branch of the Russian museum in Holland.

Experts refer to the outpost on the river Amstel as the most ambitious project by the Hermitage. "We created a museum of the 21st century in the Amstelhof, a building dating back to the end of the 17th century, which is to become the site for the treasures from the Hermitage and other Russian repositories. We intend to play the role of a cultural centre which will introduce the great Russian art to the Dutch," - Ernst Veen, Director of the branch, reported to Izvestiya.

Mikhail Piotrovsky and Ernst Veen became the movers of the project Hermitage • Amsterdam in the end of 1990s.

One of the most outstanding Russian museums opens its official branch in the Netherlands. The cultural co-operation, which has been in progress for a few years, is being rewarded by opening a large-scale exhibition complex for the purposes of the Russian collection.

On the river Amstel, in the antique building of the Amstelhof, which used to accommodate an alms-house and neighbour the lodging of Peter the Great, has sprung up a modern exhibition complex. One can already find the following in Amsterdam guide-books: "Our hotel is close to the Russian Hermitage".

Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director of the State Hermitage: "In fact, the Hermitage, as we see it, is the museum of the Russian culture, it is a cultural Russian phenomenon which represents the Russian culture within the context of other world cultures. For this reason, the Russian Imperial Court is the first thing we found necessary to show."