Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky (russian: Михаил Борисович Пиотровский) is the Director of the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is the list of ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, Russia.

Life and career

He was born in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

in the

Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic,; russian: Армянская Советская Социалистическая Республика, translit=Armyanskaya Sovetskaya Sotsialisticheskaya Respublika) also commonly referred to as Soviet A ...

on 9 December 1944 to Boris Piotrovsky, a notable Orientalist and himself the future Director of the Hermitage Museum, and

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian Diaspora, Armenian communities across the ...

mother Hripsime Djanpoladjian. At the Leningrad University, Mikhail Piotrovsky obtained a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in Arabic linguistics. After graduating in 1967, he worked as an interpreter in

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

and took part in archaeological exploration of the

Caucasus The Caucasus () or Caucasia (), is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically ...

. After his father's death in 1990, Piotrovsky was appointed Director of the Hermitage in his stead. Following the

collapse of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...

, Piotrovsky advocated the opening of the Hermitage collections to the wider world, which resulted in the establishment of the

Hermitage Rooms The Hermitage Rooms was the name by which a series of rooms at Somerset House, London, were known from 2000 to 2007. During this period they were used as a venue for temporary exhibitions from the collection of the Hermitage Museum in Saint Pet ...

Somerset House Somerset House is a large Neoclassical complex situated on the south side of the Strand in central London, overlooking the River Thames, just east of Waterloo Bridge. The Georgian era quadrangle was built on the site of a Tudor palace ("O ...

, Hermitage Amsterdam and the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum. His tenure was not entirely free of scandals, however. After the museum announced in July 2006 that 221 minor items, including jewelry, Orthodox icons, silverware and richly enameled objects, had been stolen by one of the museum officials, there were calls for Piotrovsky's resignation. After

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, which began in 2014. The invasion has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths on both sides. It has caused Europe's largest refugee crisis since World War II. An ...

, Piotrovsky spoke of the importance of cultural bridges and made sure major loans avoided seizure and were returned to Russia. He spoke out against the cancellation of Russian culture but avoided direct references to the war, even as museum partners and international supporters suspended ties. Four months later, Piotrovsky has opened up about the war. He describes Russian culture as an important export, similar to the country's war in Ukraine. "Our recent exhibitions abroad are just a powerful cultural offensive. If you want, a kind of 'special operation', which a lot of people don't like. But we are coming. And no one can be allowed to interfere with our offensive".

Awards and honors

Piotrovsky has been invested with numerous orders and medals, both Russian and foreign, including the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge features rays of sunlight ...

(Japan) and the

Order of Honor Order of Honor may refer to: *Order of Honour (Armenia) *Order of Honor (Belarus), established in 1995 * Order of Honor (Georgia) *Order of Honour (Greece), an award that replaced the abolished Royal Order of George I in 1975 *Order of Honour (Moldo ...

(Russia). He has also had a

minor planet According to the International Astronomical Union (IAU), a minor planet is an astronomical object in direct orbit around the Sun that is exclusively classified as neither a planet nor a comet. Before 2006, the IAU officially used the term ''minor ...

named after him. Piotrovsky has been Chair of the Board of the First Channel of the Russian television since 2001. On 1 October 2009, Piotrovsky received the Woodrow Wilson Award for

Public Service A public service is any service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through public sector agencies ...

from the

Kennan Institute The Kennan Institute of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars was founded in 1974 to carry out studies of the Soviet Union (Sovietology), and subsequently of post-Soviet Russia and other post-Soviet states. The institute is widely ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Piotrovsky, Mikhail 1944 births Living people Soviet expatriates in Yemen Russian orientalists Armenian orientalists Russian people of Armenian descent Saint Petersburg State University alumni Corresponding Members of the Russian Academy of Sciences Full Members of the Russian Academy of Arts Directors of the Hermitage Museum People from Yerevan Knights of the Order of Orange-Nassau Grand Cordons of the Order of the Rising Sun Recipients of the Order of Alexander Nevsky Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Republic of Poland Recipients of the Order of Honour (Russia) Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 2nd class Officiers of the Légion d'honneur