Kseniia Bilash, “Culture” column editor.
The Hermitage Foundation UK halts its cooperation with the Russian State Hermitage. This was reported by ARTnews.
The foundation was established in 2003 as a charitable organization to support the Russian Museum, and its president since 2015 is Mikhail Piotrovsky, the director of the St. Petersburg Hermitage for nearly 30 years.
"We are deeply shocked by the events in Ukraine, and have suspended all our activities with immediate effect and canceled all scheduled events. Our thoughts and prayers with the people of Ukraine, " - a statement of the founfation’s website reads.
Earlier this week, the Amsterdam Hermitage, a museum of Russian art in Amsterdam that assembled its collection in collaboration with the State Hermitage in St. Petersburg, announced that it was severing ties with Russia.
The institution said it had attempted to remain politically neutral, but "the recent attack by Russia on Ukraine means that neutrality is no longer tenable." The management has decided to end 30 years of cooperation between the two museums, but hopes that one day the ties can be reforged if "changes in Russia" take place.