Putin Tours Hermitage Amsterdam With Queen

Putin Tours Hermitage Amsterdam With Queen

Published: April 10, 2013 (Issue # 1754)

ST. PETERSBURG (SPT) — The director of St. Petersburg’s State Hermitage Museum, Mikhail Piotrovsky, took President Vladimir Putin and Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands on a tour of the exhibition “Peter the Great, An Inspired Tsar,” which opened at the Hermitage Amsterdam on Monday, Interfax reported.

The exhibition marks the start of the Netherlands-Russia Year of bilateral cultural exchange.

The Dutch queen also provided commentary on the exhibition for Putin, particularly about the objects related to Peter the Great’s special interest in Dutch shipbuilding and medicine.

The exhibition features pictures, sculptures and historical documents that reflect the close relationship between the Russian tsar and the Netherlands.

At the end of the tour, Putin and Queen Beatrix unveiled a memorial plaque in honor of the official start of the two countries’ year of cooperation. The plaque is in the form of a bronze octagon bearing the imprint of Peter the Great’s palm that was made during one of his visits to Amsterdam.

The plaque bears a quote by the Russian tsar: “If God spares my life and health, St. Petersburg will be another Amsterdam.”

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