RUSSIA-MUSEUMS/SECURITY Hermitage director criticizes decision to stop police protection of Russian museums

Record ID: 140665

  • Title: RUSSIA-MUSEUMS/SECURITY Hermitage director criticizes decision to stop police protection of Russian museums
  • Date: 28th August 2015
  • Summary: ST. PETERSBURG, RUSSIA (AUGUST 27, 2015) (REUTERS) VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF STATE HERMITAGE MUSEUM HERMITAGE GATES PEOPLE PASSING THROUGH METAL DETECTOR AT MUSEUM ENTRANCE PEOPLE WALKING PAST MUSEUM GUARD PEOPLE QUEUING TO ENTER MUSEUM EXHIBITION GROUP OF TOURISTS TAKING PICTURES IN MUSEUM HALL TOURISTS WALKING UP STAIRS VARIOUS OF STATE HERMITAGE MUSEUM DIRECTOR, MIKHAIL PIOTROVSKY, WORKING IN HIS CABINET (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) STATE HERMITAGE MUSEUM DIRECTOR, MIKHAIL PIOTROVSKY, SAYING: "One of the main dangers is vandalism. As for the theft - the theft is a danger and it is dealt with by police criminal investigators, our own security service and guards. But vandalism should be resisted by a person in uniform, who has the right to immediately handcuff (offenders) and stop illegal activities." VARIOUS OF TOURISTS IN MUSEUM HALL (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) STATE HERMITAGE MUSEUM DIRECTOR, MIKHAIL PIOTROVSKY, SAYING: "The diagnosis of this illness is that our society does not understand the meaning of culture. Our society as a whole - and the state machine just reflect this situation. When all these events happened - I mean an attack on the museum - we witnessed strange semi-silence - no one wants to speak aloud about it." HERMITAGE SECURITY GUARD TAKING SEAT IN FRONT OF CCTV DISPLAYS CCTV DISPLAYS GUARDS IN FRONT OF DISPLAYS TOURISTS WALKING IN MUSEUM HALL SEEN ON DISPLAY (SOUNDBITE) (Russian) HEAD OF STATE HERMITAGE MUSEUM SECURITY, ALEKSANDER KHOZHAINOV, SAYING: "Museums can deal with this problem. But whether these private security firms that will or could replace police would be able to deal with it - this is a big question." VARIOUS OF TOURISTS IN MUSEUM HALLS SECURITY CAMERA VARIOUS OF PALACE SQUARE
  • Embargoed: 12th September 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVA4Q9KZU4MKEFKNOTCYQ2PA66WL
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: A decision by the Russian authorities to stop police protection of the national museums raised concern among the art lovers and museum staff.
    According to the Russian Interior Ministry the decision was taken because of the budget cuts. An announcement on the ministry's website says private security firms can guard collections of the country's museums.
    The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, one of the largest and oldest in the world, which hosts collection of over one million pieces of art and over 750 000 archaeological artefacts, can be left without police protection already as of November 1.
    The head of the museum, Mikhail Piotrovsky, told Reuters that vandalism is one of the biggest threats museums in Russia are faced with now.
    "One of the main dangers is vandalism. As for the theft - the theft is a danger and it is dealt with by police criminal investigators, our own security service and guards. But vandalism should be resisted by a person in uniform, who has the right to immediately handcuff (offenders) and stop illegal activities," said Piotrovsky, referring to the recent incident in which a group of people calling themselves Orthodox activists attacked an exhibition in central Moscow and damaged several artefacts in protest against depiction of Christ and other religious figures.
    "The diagnosis of this illness is that our society does not understand the meaning of culture. Our society as a whole - and the state machine just reflect this situation. When all these events happened - I mean an attack on the museum - we witnessed strange semi-silence - no one wants to speak aloud about it," Piotrovsky said.
    Several people entered the exhibition just outside the Moscow Kremlin on August 14 and damaged four pieces by a Soviet avant-garde artist Vadim Sidur. Video footage of the incident showed that security guards did not actively prevent attackers from disrupting the exhibition and breaking works of art. Attackers said these works insulted their religious feelings. They were detained by police when it arrived and released few hours later.
    The Hermitage security chief, Aleksander Khozhainov, doubts that private security firms are qualified enough to provide reliable security for tens of thousands of art treasures exhibited or stored in the museum.
    "Museums can deal with this problem. But whether these private security firms that will or could replace police would be able to deal with it - this is a big question," he said.
    Russian museums are worried they will not be able to afford hiring good private security firms and that foreign museums will not lend their art objects for exhibitions in Russia out of concerns about their safety.
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