Mikhail Piotrovsky

Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky (Russian: Михаил Борисович Пиотровский) is the Director of the Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Mikhail Piotrovsky
Piotrovsky in 2018
Born (1944-12-09) 9 December 1944
Yerevan, Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic
Alma materLeningrad State University
OccupationMuseum director, orientalist

Life and career

He was born in Yerevan in the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic on 9 December 1944 to Boris Piotrovsky, a notable Orientalist and himself the future Director of the Hermitage Museum, and Armenian mother Hripsime Djanpoladjian.

At the Leningrad University, Mikhail Piotrovsky obtained a doctorate in Arabic linguistics. After graduating in 1967, he worked as an interpreter in Yemen and took part in archaeological exploration of the Caucasus. After his father's death in 1990, Piotrovsky was appointed Director of the Hermitage in his stead.[1]

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Piotrovsky advocated the opening of the Hermitage collections to the wider world, which resulted in the establishment of the Hermitage Rooms in Somerset House, Hermitage Amsterdam and the Guggenheim Hermitage Museum.[2] 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.[3]

Awards and honors

Piotrovsky has been invested with numerous orders and medals, both Russian and foreign, including the Order of the Rising Sun and the Order of Honor. He has also had a minor planet named after him. Piotrovsky has been Chair of the Board of the First Channel of the Russian television since 2001.[1]

gollark: Syl is native to heavserver.
gollark: I don't think we have any matrix bridges.
gollark: The CC one.
gollark: #botrobot has no bridges.
gollark: Interesting.

References
  1. "Museum Director: Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky". The State Hermitage Museum. 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  2. Указ Президента Российской Федерации от 5 декабря 2014 года № 756 "О награждении государственными наградами Российской Федерации"
  3. Manuscripta Orientalia. International Journal for Oriental Manuscript Research
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