The STaTe hermiTage muSeum annual reporT

General InformatIon
J general informaTion on The main deparTmenTS and SecTorS of The muSeum
deparTmenT of The archaeology
of eaSTern europe and SiBeria
Founded in December 1930 on the basis
of the former Department of Antiquities.
The Department consists of two sectors –
Sector of the Forest and Forest-Steppe Zone
of Eastern Europe and Sector of the South
of Eurasia. Its collections include approximately
500,000 objects. Among its thirty-four
staff members, four hold doctorates and
thirteen Kandidat degrees.
deparTmenT of claSSical
anTiQuiTy
One of the oldest departments
in the Hermitage, it consists of two
sectors: Art and Culture of Ancient Greece
and Ancient Rome, and Art and Culture
of the Northern Black Sea Area. Eight of
the Department’s twenty-six staff members
hold Kandidat degrees.
orienTal deparTmenT
Founded in 1920. The Department’s
geographical and chronological coverage
is very broad, so it consists of four
sectors: Art and Culture of the Ancient
East; Byzantium and the Near East; Central
Asia, the Caucasus and Crimea; the Far
East. The Department’s collections number
about 150,000 items. Of its forty-six staff
members, six hold doctorates and twenty
Kandidat degrees.
weSTern european fine arTS
deparTmenT
One of the oldest and largest departments
in the Hermitage, it consists of four sectors:
Painting of the 13th to 18th Centuries;
Painting of the 19th to 20th Centuries and
Sculpture; Drawings; Prints. The Department’s
collections boast approximately
400,000 objects. Among its sixty staff
members, four hold doctorates and thirteen
Kandidat degrees.
deparTmenT of weSTern european
applied arTS
The Department consists of two sectors:
one devoted to applied arts and the other
to precious metals and stones. Its stock
comprises about 150,000 items. Of its thirty
staff members, two hold doctorates and nine
Kandidat degrees.
deparTmenT of The hiSTory
of ruSSian culTure
Founded in April 1941, the Department
acquired its present-day form after
the Second World War. It has two sectors:
Fine Arts Sector and Applied Art Sector. Its
collections include more than 300,000 items.
Of its fifty-three staff members, two hold
doctorates and fifteen Kandidat degrees.
numiSmaTic deparTmenT
It is one of the oldest departments
in the Hermitage, along with the Classical
Antiquity and Western European Fine
Arts Departments. The first coins were
purchased by Catherine the Great in 1764.
It contains 1,200,000 items and consists
of two sectors: one deals with works from
Antiquity and those from Asia and Africa,
the other comprises numismatic pieces
from Europe and America. Among the
Department’s twenty-four staff members,
two hold doctorates and three Kandidat
degrees.
arSenal
The Department was founded in 1972
on the basis of the collection of arms and
armoury kept in the Oriental and Western
European Fine Arts Departments.
In 2010 the Department was substantially
expanded. Now it also includes collections
of banners and banners’ accessories,
banners’ and other military graphics.
The Alexander Column standing in Palace
Square is considered an exhibit of this
Department. The Arsenal consists of two
sectors: Sector of Arms and Armoury
and Sector of Military Heraldry. The former
boasts some 16,000 superb examples
of arms and armaments from various
epochs and countries. The main exhibition
space is the Knights’ Room. The Military
Heraldry Sector has over 60,000 items,
including banners, their accessories and
military graphics. Of the Arsenal’s ten staff
members two hold Kandidat degrees.
menShiKov palace
Founded in February 1981 as “Menshikov
Palace. Russian Culture in the First Quarter
of the 18th Century” Sector within
the Department of the History of Russian
Culture. The status of department was
received in 1996. Most noteworthy are
the interiors with their original eighteenthcentury
furnishings. Among the Palace’s
twenty-five staff members two hold
Kandidat degrees.
imperial porcelain facTory
muSeum
Founded in February 2001 on the basis
of the historical collection at the Lomonosov
Porcelain Factory Museum. Presently,
the Department boasts over 30,000 items,
the most part of which consists of objects
made at the Imperial, then the Lomonosov
and from October 2005 again the Imperial,
Porcelain Factory. The collection also
includes porcelain ware produced by private
works and European manufactories, glass,
ceramics, drawings and photographs.
The Department has eleven staff members.
deparTmenT of The hiSTory
and reSToraTion of archiTecTural
monumenTS
Founded in 1975, the Department functioned
as the Department of the Chief Architect of
the Hermitage. In 1992 it was given the status
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