Mikhail Piotrovsky: What we bring to St Petersburg

The Hermitage is a special phenomenon, a city-forming institution for Saint Petersburg. What it does for the people of the city is an example in many ways. This year we stressed one of the main directions in the life of the museum – the creation of a Public Forum.

We do not only constantly shout about what ought not be done on Palace Square, but also show what can take place there. This time a large screen appeared on the square that was removed that same evening. It did not take up much space. On the contrary, it became part of the queue waiting to get into the Hermitage on a day when entry was free. The screen presented an attractive picture. Touching Nativity scenes appeared on it thanks to some of the latest technologies.

That is what ought to be presented on the city’s main square, and not vulgar pop music, motorbike races and so on… Recently one gets the impression that taste is lacking, and that manifests itself in various ways.

The argument about what can be done on Palace Square is a perpetual one. The first thing that comes to mind is a parade. On Red Square in Moscow they cut off people’s heads and organized popular celebrations. Palace Square is intended for parades. It’s another matter, that the parade should be a proper military one, without make-believe dressing up and field kitchens offering vodka…

I remind you that on one occasion the organization of the parade was entrusted to the Hermitage. Alexander Sokurov acted as director. The Alexander Column was turned into a remembrance candle with the military parade marching past it.

The tastefulness of events on Palace Square is determined by the sculpture, by Rossi’s arch. You need to look at them and think what to do. Sadly, not everyone does think.

In connection with the Hermitage Day, the museum demonstrated an example of interaction with the city’s cultural institutions. An exhibition from the Imperial Porcelain Factory opened in the General Staff building. We have close ties with that business. The museum on its premises is a branch of the Hermitage, with exhibitions being held there. They are important for the preservation of taste and traditions. I think that without the connection to the Hermitage, the factory might have descended to the production of cheap mass-market items, as happened with many manufacturing enterprises.

On the same day, an exhibition of the everyday life of the nobility opened in the Yusupov Palace. At one time, that palace was a subsidiary of the Hermitage, then it became a club, a place of entertainment. Now tourists are brought there. It hosts balls and receptions, while there is also a museum part, where the Hermitage presents something. To some extent this too is a part of the Public Forum that we are creating.

Another remarkable event of the museum’s celebration is the exhibition “Piero della Francesca. Monarch of Painting”. The exhibition is sensational. No-one apart from the Hermitage could have achieved it. The paintings are staggering; you could get down on your knees in front of each of them. An amazing artist. An indubitable giant of the Renaissance, he was discovered only in the 19th century and became an embodiment of the mystery of art and of elegance. A mysterious elegant artist.

The Hermitage contributes much to St Petersburg, underlining our city’s singularity and uniqueness.

An absolutely new theme is the exhibition devoted to semblances in art. It is satisfying and at the same time prompts philosophical reflection. If you cannot think philosophically, you will still get pleasure from it. Trompe l’oeil works are interesting. There are lots of illusions in them: the two-dimensional seems three-dimensional, the unreal real, bronze looks like porcelain and vice-versa.

Art is an illusion, an imitation of the world. The museum is a symbol of authenticity. That contradiction makes one reflect on the essence of the museum and its multi-layered nature.

In our city we need to think about the Siege Museum. There is a good design for the new complex. The arguments around it and the museum in Soliany Gorodok are not dying down. It is becoming clear that not everyone understands what the siege is. Still today there is no unanimous opinion: was it a military victory, a tragedy, a crime? And if a crime, then whose? Undoubtedly the siege was one of the major events of the Second World War. And that is how the world regards it.

The museum in Soliany Gorodok preserves the memory of the repressed museum, of the time when the siege was passed over in silence. One of the arguments in the Leningrad Affair was that people were exaggerating the significance of the Siege of Leningrad.

The museum in Soliany Gorodok is a place of remembrance. We need to think how to get its premises back. Will the Ministry of Defence hand them over, will the city buy them back, or do we need to announce a public collection? An important stage in the life of St Petersburg that is bound up with reflections on the fate of a museum.

Museums should not be streamlined, cut back, subjected to economy drives. In the recently adopted strategy for the development of museums in Russia there are points about the expansion of their premises. A museum expands its premises so as to show its collections. Collections that ought to be indivisible.

An important event in the life of the Hermitage was the opening of the Hall of Vases. We have been working for many years to get this to happen.

The Union of Museums of Russia is proud to have successfully defended the museum in the town of Sovetsk – the former Tilsit, a historic place. Pursuit of economy there led to the closure of the museum. The museum community stirred itself in time, reminding people that museums cannot be closed without our knowledge. And we won.

Today a problem has arisen over the Museum of Urban Sculpture in St Petersburg. This is not only about the pretentions of the Church. The Museum of Urban Sculpture is a unique phenomenon in St Petersburg’s cultural life. It unites several buildings, a burial vault, necropolises and monuments in the city. The Alexander Column that has been transferred to the Hermitage is also monitored by the Museum of Urban Sculpture. I repeat, this is a unique institution and not a storehouse.

The museum can move elsewhere only if in exchange it is offered variants for which it is prepared to alter its structure and principle. This is a matter of structure and principle and not of real estate and the relocation of objects. Such discussion has ended. Everything that could be moved was moved long ago. There has been enough talk about property or about someone having little space, no room to stand or sit.

In that regard, everything has turned out well in St Isaac’s Cathedral. Services and museum work are being conducted there in accordance with the existing agreements. The cathedral will be a museum, even if all the icons in it are adorned with flowers and candles. St Isaac’s is Russian history.

Recently, the Church and museum sides have returned to discussing the joint usage of buildings. A while ago, everyone adhered to that principle. Then the prevailing opinion became that there should be only one proprietor. That’s not necessarily so – there can be several owners, if everything is organized well. Relations between them should be based on the principle of mutual assistance and respect.

The museum community are constantly reminding people that our profession is not part of the service industry. Sometimes it is said that in Russia there is no intelligentsia and no culturedness [intelligentnost’] left. There may be an intelligentsia, but there is a shortage of culturedness. Museums preserve that concept. They do so in the face of a general animosity to and persecution of the intellectual, on the part of the public as well.

When a museum is regarded as a storehouse, and a storehouse of plundered gods, moreover, that is a reason for museum people to stand up and fight. An attitude of that sort is being cultivated by some members of the clergy, some collectors and some administrators. Chinese guides tell people that the museums contain stolen goods and former wartime adversaries want to get some things back.

The museum is becoming a focus of ideological battles. That is why it should go on the offensive.