Our best videos

The Museum Day

To the 125th anniversary of the Russian Museum

In March 1898, 125 year ago “The Russian Museum of Emperor Alexander III” opened its doors to the public in St. Petersburg, the capital of the Russian Empire. It became the first state museum of national art in Russia.

Emperor Alexander III took a lively interest in art. He considered that the spreading of art is the matter of state significance. The foundation of the Russian Museum became the great educational project of the Emperor that was realised by his son, Emperor Nicholas II.

The leading specialist of “The Virtual Russian Museum” Service Maria Viktorovna Rudenskaya will tell about the preparations for the museum’s opening, about the alterations for the museum’s purposes that were done in the Mikhailovsky Palace, the former Grand Ducal residence where nowadays the main exposition of the Russian Museum is located, about the official opening of the museum. The audience will see the old photographs and documents and will take the virtual tour round the museum and compare the present exposition with the museum’s rooms that the public saw 125 years ago.

Language: Russian/French