Agreement on the transfer by the State Hermitage to the Alexander Nevsky Monastery of the memorial complex of the tomb of Alexander Nevsky for use for a limited time without compensation

The State Hermitage is handing over the memorial for a period of 49 years with the possibility of further extension. The document has been approved and agreed by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. The tomb is the property of the state and a part of the Museum Fund of the Russian Federation.

The Hermitage is carrying out the transfer proceeding from the particular significance that the image of the Sainted Pious Grand Prince Alexander Nevsky has acquired today as the patron saint of Russia’s army and the nation’s diplomacy. The meeting of the tomb and the relics on the territory of the Alexander Nevsky Monastery will be a mark of particular social and spiritual unity.

The Hermitage was able to keep and preserve this great artefact of Russian history and culture for posterity at the cost of some serious sacrifices. Over a 100-year period, the museum has saved the tomb from loss four times. The latest act of salvation lay in the restoration of the tomb from the effects of time that has been unique in terms of method, depth and quality. Compulsory requirements with regard to the conditions in which the memorial complex will be kept and its restoration formed an inseparable part of the agreement. In the event of those rules being broken, the possibility of a unilateral discontinuation of the agreement on the part of the museum has been laid down.

The Alexander Nevsky Monastery of the Holy Trinity is undertaking to establish the regime of temperature and humidity determined by the State Hermitage’s specialists, including a special display case. That regime is incredibly strict as the artefact is very delicate. The transfer of the memorial complex of the tomb of Alexander Nevsky will take place only after the Hermitage has confirmed the existence of conditions ensuring its preservation.

It is planned that the main part of the tomb will be transferred by 1 December 2023, with the remainder following as the restoration that the State Hermitage has been carrying out since 2011 is completed.