Museum Libraries: Exhibition “The Hermitage Library. Pages from Recent History (1918-2018)” is opening in St. Petersburg

The exhibition “The Hermitage Library. Pages from Recent History (1918-2018)” is opening on October 24, 2018 at the State Hermitage Museum (The Main Museum Complex, Arapsky Hall and the Rotunda).

The exhibition is timed to coincide with the centenary of the museum’s library formation after the 1917 revolution. Books cast light on the milestones in its century-long history.

The history of the Hermitage Library is closely linked with the history of the museum and the country. The exhibition showcases books, which preserve the memory of repressed Hermitage staff. Many publications also suffered from repressions: pages were cut out, names were blacked out and books were locked away in special repositories. Other books remind of the hardships of the war years, the lives of Hermitage staff members who lived through the siege of Leningrad or were evacuated and those who fought at the front.