Hermitage Museum Under Investigation By The Russian Government? Find Out More Here

The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg has come under the cloud of investigation. Despite the Federal Security Service officials searching the m useum facility on Tuesday, the museum director, Mikhail Piotrovosky maintains that there is nothing much to worry about.

According to Artnet News, the State Hermitage Museum was investigated by the FSB right after the Staraya Derevnya restoration and repository designed by Rem-Koolhaas crossed the budget of $68 million. As per Mr. Piotrovosky, the search was intended to find out the "operational procedures" of the State Hermitage Museum. He also said that the investigators were looking into the building of the latest restoration and storage facility. The main reason behind this is supposed to be the building cost of the facility in the State Hermitage Museum. Its projected cost was first announced to be around $62 million, whereas now the cost of the project has increased to a whopping $126 million.

Mr. Piotrovosky blamed the associated construction company for going over budget. He said the State Hermitage Museum was always at loggerheads with the construction company, as they had to abide by the law by selecting the agency with the cheapest bid.

According to the Art Newspaper, Mr. Piotrovosky has been protecting the State Hermitage Museum from dishonest construction companies. During the FSB's investigation, he reportedly said, "They track all of our construction from the outset, check our documents, because there are swindlers all around, especially in the field of construction."

Interestingly, the investigation of the State Hermitage Museum comes at the same time when Piotrovsky has spoken against a museum being reconstructed into a Church. The Russian government has taken the decision of handing over the St. Issac's Cathedral which was turned into a museum during the Soviet era and is now a renowned landmark in St. Petersburg to the Russian Orthodox Church. Mr. Piotrovsky has been voicing his protest against the decision ever since. The opposition media is speculating the searching of the State Hermitage Museum as a government warning to Mr. Piotrovsky because of his recent protests.

The decision of building the new facility at the State Hermitage Museum was undertaken almost two years ago. The new storage facility is believed to house many more artifacts thus enriching the Museumgoers experience.

TagsHermitage, Museum, Russia, Russian Security Service, FSB