OREANDA-NEWS. On May 25, 2007 Mikhail Piotrovsky, the Director of the State Hermitage Museum, said: “We didn’t choose the book ‘1917’ accidentally. The Winter Palace and the General Headquarters building are two places in St Petersburg which are the most related to the events of February and October, 1917”, reported the press-centre of Interros.  

He also cited a passage from the article ‘On the destruction of the Winter Palace’ published in the December issue of the Den’ newspaper, which was also included in the book ‘1917’. The monthly ‘Hermitage Wednesdays’ traditionally take place in the newly redecorated Rose Chamber of the General Headquarters. There used to be the Foreign Minister’s Home Chancellery in the Chamber before the Revolution.

The Publishing Program of Interros was introduced by Ms Irina Ostarkova, Head of the Program; Mr Arseny Mescheryakov, Project Art Director; Mr Vladimir Gonikberg, the draftsman of the book ‘1917’, and Ms Olga Seryozhina, Head of the Main Collection of the Russian State Library which is a permanent partner of the Publishing Program.

Historians, experts in political and military history of Russia and the 1917 historiography were also invited to take part in the presentation. Dr Bella Galperina, Chief Expert, Russian State Historical Archive, Repository, noticed the raising interest for the year of the two revolutions and the importance of the modern publishing about it. Historian Boris Kipnys of St Petersburg State University of Culture and Arts stressed the high polygraphic quality of the book. The special guests of the meeting were the directors of St Petersburg museums, scholarlike and university libraries which will receive the book pro bono. The central and city media participated in the open discussion which followed the speeches.

On the same day the book ‘1917’ was presented by Echo of Moscow Radio Station. The Razvorot (U-Turn) program’s host Natalya Kostitsyna and her guests Ms Julia Kantor, Advisor to the Director of the State Hermitage Museum, Mr Gonikberg, and Ms Seryozhina were discussing modern historical literature and methods of the information sources updating; ability of unbiassed apprehension of newspaper chronicle and documentary evidence of past times; cooperation of the Publishing Program of Interros with museum and library state collections and the ‘No Comments’ conception, the pattern of which is the book ‘1917’.