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The State Hermitage and the power company TGK-1 sign a letter of intent

Published 28 February 2018

On 28 February 2018, the Council Hall was the setting for the signing of a letter of intent by the State Hermitage and the Territorial Generating Company No1 (TGK-1). The signatories were Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky, General Director of the State Hermitage, and Alexei Vitalyevich Barvinok, General Director of the public joint-stock company TGK-1.

“The collaboration with TGK is a very important stage in our development. We are talking about power engineering: power engineering has changed; lighting has changed; light is completely different. Light, lighting, the chandeliers are all a very important element. In this sphere, as always, the Hermitage is ahead of everyone along with our partners, and we have the very best partners. TGK is a company with a very good reputation. Thanks to TGK we receive the latest advances, the best the world can offer,” Mikhail Piotrovsky said.

“The history of the development of power engineering is inseparably connected with the Hermitage. We are very proud that the work of power specialists is furthering the preservation of our country’s cultural heritage. Collaboration with the Hermitage is an inseparable part of our cultural policy,” Alexei Barvinok added.

The letter of intent defines the main aspects of a three-year programme of collaboration for the preservation of cultural heritage and the development of the State Hermitage. TGK-1 will provide the Hermitage with assistance in the design and development of museum lighting projects in the Main Museum Complex and the General Staff building, the open-storage facilities of the Staraya Derevnya Restoration and Storage Centre and in the Hermitage’s restoration laboratories. The company also expresses its intention to provide support for the museum restoration projects connected with the preservation of historical chandeliers and other lighting devices in the Hermitage collection.

TGK-1 is the leading producer and supplier of electricity and heat energy in North-West Russia. The company unites 53 power stations in four constituent territories of the Russian Federation – St Petersburg, the Republic of Karelia, Leningrad and Murmansk Regions.

Collaboration between the Hermitage and TGK-1 began in 2015. Alexei Valentinovich Bogdanov, Deputy General Director of the State Hermitage, spoke about joint projects, both completed and planned. With the help of TGK-1, the Hermitage has created a new lighting scheme in the Romanov Gallery, the Gold Rooms, the Poussin Room, the display of Russian Culture of the second half of the 18th century, on the Commandant’s Staircase, in the reading room of the Research Library and in the permanent display of the Museum of the Russian Guards in the General Staff building. The lighting of the ovoid vase (Hall 307a) and of the Peacock Clock has also been refurbished. Plans for the immediate future include new lighting on the Council and Church Staircases.