The Director General of the Hermitage named a way to preserve the historical center of St. Petersburg

The only way to preserve the historical center of St. Petersburg is to create a second center, which will house skyscrapers and business buildings. Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director General of the State Hermitage Museum, spoke about this in the Izvestia studio on June 18 as part of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF-2025).

"Now such a center has emerged. It's not only the Lakhta Center, it's next to the stadium, it's the second Hermitage Museum in the old village. A place is gradually being formed there where it is possible to transfer painlessly...> A certain St. Petersburg version of high-rise construction in one place, separately allocated, it may well be. And I think that Lakhta Center is doing it," Piotrovsky said.

According to him, such a step will preserve the historical center of St. Petersburg, and business centers can be painlessly transferred to the second center.

Piotrovsky also stressed that the Hermitage will also be represented in the new center.

"The second Hermitage has six buildings, there is an open storage facility, it is a unique thing in the world <...> it has the same functions that the Hermitage has.: These include lectures, excursions, and everything else," he said.

Chief at the exhibits: Mikhail Piotrovsky - 80

What path the Hermitage Director has traveled and to whom he may pass his post

On December 24, 2024, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova called Piotrovsky the personification of the museum. The Deputy Prime Minister thanked Piotrovsky and his family for the work done, which brought the museum, as Golikova noted, to the first place in the world. She also stressed that the director of the Hermitage managed to breathe life into the museum.