Russian Museum
The Russian Museum is the first state museum of the Russian fine art in the country. It was established in 1895 in St Petersburg under the decree of the Emperor Nicholas II, the last Russian tsar. Grand opened for visitors on March 19 (March 7, the Old Style) 1898. The Russian Museum today is a unique depository of artistic treasures, a famous restoration center, an authoritative institute of academic research, one of the major cultural and educational centers, research and methodological center of art museums of the Russian Federation, overseeing activities of 260 art museums of Russia.
The Russian Museum collection contains about 400.000 exhibits. The main jewel of museum complex - the Mikhailovsky Palace and Benois Wing - houses the permanent exhibition of the Russian Museum, tracing the entire history of Russian art from the tenth to the twentieth centuries. The museum collection embraces all forms, genres, schools and movements of art. The Russian Museum loans its collections to various Russian and foreign museums. The Museum holds more than 50 temporary exhibitions and organizes annually more than 10 in other cities as well as inside and outside of Russia. Catalogs, albums and booklets made by museum researchers accompany many exhibitions.
Over the past twenty years, the museum complex has grown to include the Stroganov Palace, St Michael's (Engineers) Castle and the Marble Palace. The complex also includes the Mikhailovsky Gardens, Engineering Gardens, Summer Garden (including the Summer Palace) and the House of Peter the Great.