>> rose: welcome to the program. it is the end of summer, and we're looking back at some of our favorite moments from the past year. tonight, we take a tour of the hermitage museum in st. petersburg with the director mikhail piotrovsky. >> this is the throne room of the russian empire. >> rose: the throne room of the russian empire. >> the throne is here, and the room. the main room is called st. judge hall. stand here to look at the throne. it has its history. after the revolution, it was

demolished and the map of the soviet union was put here, made of precious stone. >> rose: and concluding remarks from mark kelner, vice president of the hermitage foundation. >> it's not an art museum. it's a museum of civilization. it's a museum, when catherine the great founded it, we're having our 250th centennial, she's, like, look, russia demands and deserves a museum much like nothing world's ever seen. that was very much her personality, and she started collecting. what's interesting is everyone thought she was collecting work that was very ancient but the joke among everyone is she was collecting work that's contemporary, 20th, 21s 21st century. >> rose: a tour of the hermitage when we continue.

>> and by bloomberg, a provider of multimedia news and information services worldwide. captioning sponsored by rose communications from our studios in new york city, this is charlie rose. i grew up in this museum. my fathers was director of the museum, 26 years, for the first place i came as a child, it was the hermitage. a little bit old fashioned. not modern. when we live in difficult situations, the culture is the bridge which kept us all

together. all russians wanted to re-create the great russia. we told the story of imperial russia which everyone wants to re-create, and we told the true story by objects. it is a kind of a frame that helps you understand what really is needed to create something which will look as good as the imperial russia. it's called great hermitage. the central buildings. then we've built big buildings for open storage to show everything what we have and be successful for the public and have all the characters. our goal is to collect for hermitage all the collections. a great economy and a great collection.

we live for the future and we live because of the past. >> rose: tonight, we tour inside one of the largest and oldest repositories of art and culture in the world. all of my life, i've wanted to visit the hermitage museum in st. petersburg, russia, where catherine the great began assembling her personal art selection in 1764. today it houses more than 3 million items including everything from antiquities to the largest painting collection in the world. on a recent trip to st. petersburg, i was able to finally visit this historic palace of arc. my guide, mikhail piotrovsky, hermitage director and a good friend. many consider him the most influential art director in the world. he inherited the post from his father in 1992, and has guided the museum through its transition from the soviet union to the presidency of vladimir putin. with little notice, very little

notice, he made time for me and invited me to visit on a saturday afternoon. the museum was full of people. this is not movie-making perfection, but it is what it would be like if you were there yourself. so join us as we examine the history of its vast interiors and look at some of the most famous works of teeshen, rembrandt, picasso and mattis. matisse. we began in mikhail piotrovsky's office, one camera, no lights and no preparation. we took advantage of an extraordinary opportunity and wanted to take you with us on the journey. we are in the office at the hermitage of mikhail piotrovsky. he and i have known each other a long time and he has been on my program a number of times, including most recently when he came to europe to talk about the 250th anniversary of this remarkable museum. this is his office. it looks like anybody's office

that loves books, that loves art, that loves culture, but it is from this office that he directs this magnificent museum and its extensions and the art that he brings in and the art that he allows to be seen around the world. this great museum is put together by catherine first at the palace and then the museum, recently celebrating its 250t 250th anniversary, he has assumed the directorship of this museum following his father. there is a photograph of his father here. he's been to america a number of times. this is the first time i have been in st. petersburg and in hermitage. of all the things i wanted to do, certainly high on the list was to interview the president, but secondly was to come here to this place and see this man. >> thank you, and welcome to

hermitage and the office. it is my office now. it was my father's office for many years. historically, it was the office of cabinet ministers of the russian empire. and now it's a working office. i work here. all is historical. the desk belongs to alexander iii. >> rose: the desk belongs to alexander iii. >> we have many desks like this. the clove belonged to tchaikovsky. this belonged to our founder and his tapestry. these are diplomatic gifts they gave. this is the queen of netherlands. >> rose: monaco. these are friends of hermitage. it has a lot of friends. >> rose: this clock tells us

it's noon in st. petersburg. >> and the cannon. >> rose: wow. and here is -- may i take this? >> yeah, sure. >> rose: this was your father's? >> yes, my father worked all his life in hermitage, 26 years as director, and from a young man to the director. he was a great archeologist. >> rose: but your expertise was arab and islamic art. >> it is, and ancient history. >> rose: and you took over for him at his death? >> at his death, yes, it was in 1991, he died. in 1992, i was appointed director of hermitage. >> rose: there is a remarkable similar later between the two of you. >> not exactly. he was very tall. he was a little bit taller than you.

my mother wasn't. >> rose: what was the legacy he left you? >> well, the legacy was the first one, the scholarship is the main thing for the museum. it was a tradition of the director of this museum, the scholarship, publish books, my last book came out two days ago. this is my legacy, which you need a lot of time and effort to protect because this problem of the distant land is not -- >> rose: repeat the question you have to ask. the museum is more a temple and university. >> rose: so the museum is more of a temple and a university, it is not a disneyland. it is the home of the best

civilization can produce. >> yes, and it needs some explanation. we have to explain to the people. it's not just something you drink a glass of wine and you're happy. you have to study. you have to think. you have to look. you have to listen to some explanation, then you understand how beautiful it is. >> rose: and also, you've noticed well as countries go from one administration, one rule to another, it has to be always protected as the center of learning and the best of civilization. it has a unique place, you hope. >> we hope. >> rose: above politics. we think it i it is above politics. we have to use to connect the nations. but we also have to protect it when the political situations

change. we have to protect the national treasure from all different kinds of intervention, ideological or monetary or whatever. >> rose: we'll talk more about that later. but you want to show me today what? >> i want to show you one important thing -- two important things. the first one, tradition. this museum and the palace, it was always palace and museum because catherine the great established hermitage as a part of her palace, then she built buildings for her collections, but it was also part of her palace. so it was the royal life, full of political decisions and pictures and sculptures around. so this combination of a museum and palace is more or less unique. that's why the hermitage is a great collection, a great museum of art, history, empirical political history. russian empire began with peter the great and ended here.

>> rose: she was a remarkable woman. >> catherine was a fantastic woman. she has done so many things from which we can learn now beginning from presenting the history, collecting, behaving when a woman behaved like a man and it was still feminine. so we study every year and make an addition about her and it's always very interesting. >> rose: so what we will do this afternoon is not only see some of the best art, but also the fact that the hermitage has expanded beyond its original. >> yes. >> rose: you've got new buildings. >> yes, we have new buildings. we have a system or a conception which is called the great hermitage, which means expansion, but not exactly just new buildings. it's sometimes new buildings,

then new buildings for storage where we show everything what we have in the storage, then the hermitage is in europe and russia, so it's a very dynamic two sides on the internet. it's a dynamic system, a global hermitage. it's more than just extension. it's a global hermitage. we are rather ambition. >> rose: ambition to be global as an expression -- >> as an expression of world culture. this great museum was collected in russia for us, but it belongs to the world. that's why we have presence all the over the world and we have connections and friends and organization all over the world. that's why when we have problems, we have friends all over the world and we ask them about this kind of help and that kind of help, so we belong to the world and the world to us.

we think it's very important. it's a world museum, it belongs to the world. >> rose: not everybody in russia likes that or where? >> not everybody in russia likes it. >> rose: let's go... i could not be more excited to come here and see. i'm almost happy i've not seen it before. >> it's good for people who see it for the first time. it's definitely interesting. >> reporter: you lead the way. i'll lead the way. this is one of the inner parts of the hermitage. it's also the hermitage theater. there is a small theater in the hermitage which was for catherine the great, it was for 150 persons. >> rose: it was for she and her friends. >> she loved theater. she was writing for historical

operas. >> rose: this is the museum. this is the museum. >> rose: with the saturday afternoon crowd. how many people on average. >> 3.5 million every year. the problem is most come in the summer. that's why there are so many. >> rose: as we do this in june, we have all the people who are away from school. >> exactly, from school. this is the room that's italian. this istthis is -- this is the n department. this is the peter and paul fortress. and the celebration of the niva. >> rose: this is the niva right here. >> one of the special features of hermitage, is it's not only one of the best collections,

it's the best view from the windows in the world. (laughter) no other museum in the world has this. >> rose: you say that as the proud director of the hermitage. >> right. well... this is one of the most famous rooms. >> rose: what are we seeing here? >> the room of leonardo da vinci. >> rose: the room of leleonardodleonardo da vinci. wow. >> these rooms have been used as guest rooms for the guests of the czars. >> rose: for the guests to have thtohave -- for the guestse czars. this is the room of the most important painting in our

collection. >> rose: has any other leader done as much for art as catherine in. >> well, it's difficult to compare. she was certainly in competition with louie the great but she has done more and managed better than he. also, he had another trick. she was buying the best collections. she bought collections from paris, from the prime minister of britain, his collection. she knew to just buy the best. >> rose: she must have had a group of people that informed her. >> she had some friends, intellectuals who advised her.

she had russian diplomats who knew what she liked. she also had dealers, friends. so she had a lot of advice. >> rose: about quality and price. >> quality and price. >> rose: this? one to have the first paintings done -- one of the first paintings done by teeshen. this is scientific, always with the x-rays. just to clean up to paint. >> rose: one treasure after another, isn't it? >> yes. well, this is the problem. this is wonderful, but it's also a problem.

this is why you have exhibitions all over the world because you must show all these things and also to show them apart because we only have ten titians in one room, it's difficult to appreciate each one of them. >> rose: the u.s. would just like to borrow one. >> that's what we try to do here, from time to time, we bring one masterpiece from one museum. now we're crossing the room to the italian painting. >> rose: with changes in politics, is it difficult to get museums in other parts of the world to loan to you? or have you -- >> sometimes it is difficult. now it is difficult because it also depends on politics and economics. now in the treasury for two years, we don't have exchange

with america. there is the russian state about the library. the russian state is afraid someone could be arrested and we demand the proper guarantee of the state, not just legislation, the guarantee that it comes and it comes back. so we are now in the middle of negotiations. >> rose: so this is -- this is one of the most important, the best pictures in the world. this is the rembrandt, the return of the prodigal son. this is rembrandt's room. this is one of the biggest treasures of hermitage. the return of the prodigal son. books are written just on the theological sense of this painting. >> reporter: rembrandt and the return of the prodigal son. we're in the room where it is. so this is another rembrandt room. >> this is another rembrandt

room. we have approximately 21 rembrandts. >> rose: 21. let's look at this one, which is one of the most beautiful ones. this is the holy family. >> rose: this is the holy family. >> the most human picture by rembrandt. >> rose: rembrandt, holy family, dated 1645. rembrandt lived from 1606 to 1669. 1772, acquired by the hermitage. >> during the first world war, they wanted to evacuate hermitage in three trains. two trains left, one train stayed because the revolution happened. >> rose: right. in the second world war, they prepared also three trains, two

left, and the one stayed. >> rose: where did they take the art when they took it away? >> the mountains. >> rose: what is this room? this room is italian and spanish rooms. this is the room of the spanish collection. this building was built for nicoli i. he planned to build this museum which is still a masterpiece of museum architecture, the lighting and everything. it is decorated by objects from stone, from nikoli iii.

>> rose: where do we go from here? >> we go to the dutch paintings. >> rose: okay. peter the great. >> he thought holland was the most technically developed country in the world in europe. he learned a lot from holland. he visited holland. also he loved dutch art. iwe have the best collection of dutch art outside of holland. certainly rembrandt, and many, many other rooms. >> rose: did she buy a lot of flemish art as well? >> yes, and we will see some of the flemish art as well. the dutch, small paintings. >> rose: just look at this room. >> this is one of the rooms

called the tent room. that's one of the problems of the room. it's so beautiful. when you view the lighting, aware of how to concentrate the light on the pictures, definitely, but the ceiling, the walls -- >> rose: because everything is beautiful. >> everything. >> rose: everything has been so thoughtfully considered. how many employees at the hermitage? >> we have 2,500. >> rose: curators? now, it's terrible, we're having more and more people in security. >> rose: because of terrorism, period? >> because of terrorism, we have increasing security. but in general we have something like 300 curators, 300 restorers and engineers. >> rose: you're constantly restoring?

>> yes. every picture which goes to exhibition must be restored when it comes back. and you clean the picture and study the history of it. >> rose: so it may give you insights when you lean it? >> absolutely. now, here are the flemish paintings. these two paintings are from the first paintings bought by hermitage. >> rose: this one? this one and this one. >> rose: the first paintings bought -- >> bought for hermitage. it was 1764. >> rose: 1764. where did she buy it from? >> it was a political story. it was the war between russia and prussia, and it was ended. during the war, german -- they

had a good collection of paintings. but the war ended, catherine had no money to buy the collections and russia had the money so catherine bought the collection. so the beginning of the collection and an important political gesture. >> rose: this is crossing from -- >> this is crossing from the hermitage building, the build wig is called herm -- the weldin -- thebuilding with the . from one to the other. the building was the small hermitage. the first floor. the dutch. >> rose: so we're now -- now we are in the rooms, we are going along the garden and

we are in the rooms for the early netherlands painting. and these galleries, catherine build for her collections. we are crossing and entering the winter palace. >> rose: we scribe the winter pal -- describe the winter palace. from the beginning, it was the palace and the museum. >> yes, the museum was put in the palace and then, from the beginning, it was buildings built for the museum near the palace. so they had reception here's and there. so it was a combination of museum and palace. now we turn into the winter palace. official residence of the russian czars. >> rose: vice presidents.

we enter from the main entrance to the throne room of the russian empire. >> rose: the throne room of the russian empire. >> the throne is here. and the room, st. judge, st. judge was considered the main room. the main room in moscow is called st. judge hall. you stand here to look at the throne. it has a history. after the revolution, it was demolished, and the big map from soviet union was put here. then the soviet union and that was taken out to another museum, and then we began to restore the throne. and we found pieces to have the throne in -- and we found pieces

of the throne in different places over here. >> rose: what happened in the throne room? >> the the throne room, it was part of the museum. there was reportedly a big map of the soviet union with precious stones. here we have big ceremonies and display some gifts which we are getting. they are gifts for the anniversary, they have been displayed here. >> rose: so vladimir putin gave the museum -- >> yes. >> rose: two faberges. yes, one faberge egg and one big faberge clock. >> rose: he gave it to you from where? he acquired it or -- >> he acquired it. it was bought by some russian businessmen. >> rose: and presented to you? and then presented to the

president to give it to the museum. this was a way to return back. >> rose: so these russian businessmen, oligarchs, very wealthy, as they travel around the world, they see art that's for sale -- >> they buy a lot for their collections. it's not easy to bring them. so this is a gift. >> rose: until vladimir putin says you're president would like for his hermitage -- >> well, it's a good thing. >> rose: yeah.

usually -- >> rose: he was never sitting? always standing. >> reporter: the czar was always standing. >> always standing. the ambassadors, before coming into the throne room, they crossed through this room. the military corridor which have portraits of all the generals who fought napoleon. >> rose: who fought napoleon. so a special room for the victory over napoleon. >> rose: first the russians showed napoleon no and said to hitler no. >> exactly. and the 19th century war is much cleaner than the 20t 20th century. >> rose: these are the generals who fought napoleon.

>> yes. it's all the great families. >> rose: unbelievable. it just goes on and on and on. we're still in the palace. >> the main rooms of the winter palace. this is called the room of the crest of arms. we have the crest of arms of tall governors of russia on the chandelier. so when the governors have been coming to be presented, there have been everybody standing under the symbol of the wonderful picture of the russian army entering berlin for the first time in 1716, which is time t of elizabeth ii. >> rose: and here now because of the commemoration of the -- >> of the 70 years --

>> rose: -- 70 years since the end of world war ii? >> 70 years since the storming of berlin. >> rose: yes. the second time it was napoleon. the time together was the pruss. >> rose: and this room? this room is called alexander's hall. it's about napoleon, the victory over napoleon. this portrait of alexander. and then the exhibition of european silver. the room by itself has symbols of different battles between the russians and the french. >> rose: in a way, napoleon gave a lot to russian art, didn't he? >> absolutely, absolutely. absolutely. >> rose: his defeat

commissioned so much. >> this war was a very clean war for russia. some wars, nobody's right. this is a war that was very clean. we had a right to defend our country and we have everything to be proud of. that is why always commemorating the victory over napoleon. we are leaving the winter palace. still a lot of things to see. >> rose: we will see some of the new. >> we will see some of the new. we'll cross the square. we'll see the eastern wing of the building. >> rose: a beautiful day! ♪ beautiful st. petersburg day in the summer. >> this is one of the most important, the collection of

matisse, one of the best in the world. >> rose: look at this. experimenting with the new lighting because not every picture likes big halls and much light. it's always kind of an experiment. this is madame matisse. this is a portrait in which she looks very much like a prussian miniature. >> rose: houm how many matisse? about 40. this is, for me, the best. >> rose: the best. the best one. >> rose: but you have something on loan to the new

museum. >> yes. it's music and dance, and dance is very famous. it's very fragile. the dance was given to the museum. we have agreements with them for certain exchanges and cooperation. >> rose: i love the color. fantastic. >> rose: you must be very proud of this. >> we now have proper space and can experiment. this is a fantastic portrait and now it looks very well. also there are discussions now. it's a kind of recommend recommended of visitors.

how do you like it to be displayed. so people who come to see the museum, ask them what do they think about having matisse on white walls, red walls. >> rose: and what's the response, do you know? >> i don't know. i've just decided to ask the question. i think they look very well. >> rose: how do you feel about it yourself, from your own sense? >> i think it's good. >> rose: it works for you? it works for me. >> rose: the light? a week ago, i was here. it was very different. >> rose: you said wrong. absolutely wrong. so now i think it looks great. this is picasso. >> rose: so here we are. how good is your picasso collection? >> also very good. matisse is the best.

>> rose: this is picasso. this is a wonderful picasso. this is the best picasso we have. >> rose: oh, sure. and this is, like, on the level of -- >> rose: yes. you can see the connection. 1908. >> 1908. >> rose: you still see the painting at the museum of modern art? >> yes, the same period and the same way of showing the forms. >> rose: every one of these rooms has natural light. >> yes, every one of these rooms. most have the natural light.

and this play between modern and classical. >> rose: and light floors. it's an historical buildings, so we can only do some things here and we have a lot of places where we show historically. this is two cyst snores tell me about the painting. >> this is one to have the great -- this is one of the great picasso paintings called sisters. has a lot of stories, sisters meeting in the hospitals, has many explanations. >> rose: how long has this been in the russian collection? >> it is from beginning of the century. it was the most private collection that came to hermitage. >> rose: so this is the gift of the -- >> the gift from the united states of america. our anniversary. a big collection of american art, applied american art of

masterpieces collected by english and american historians given to us from the american foundation of hermitage. so it's a roomful of masterpieces of american decorated art. so it's a big piece of our collection and a big gesture -- >> rose: so the hermitage is not only building, it's acquiring. >> yes, acquiring. we have a lot of friends. this is another gift given by the artist considered to be one of the masterpieces of the art of the 20th century, and we have to build a hall suitable for this. it's a wonderful thing. it's a history of russia. inside, you have the picture of soviet russia with some old

soviet songs that are very nostalgic. then there is the translation itself. we added another thing to. this this is the next stage. >> rose: so are you saying this is in the bin of history? >> it destroyed everything to build something. everything was destroyed. i think we have shown we can build something. >> rose: yes. it is a very important gift. you know, artists are always more generous. this cost at least 5 million or 6 million. >> rose: and given to you by the artist? >> by the artist himself.

>> rose: ah. do you ever think about stopping work? >> no. (laughter) >> rose: no. why? >> because my work is -- this will never stop. it is my hobby. >> rose: quite a hobby, sir. quite a hobby. after you. so after a couple of hours walking around, looking at this amazing museum and not only the past and the present, but the future, we watched at the end the mounting of an exhibition. what does it mean to you, this place? >> well, for me it is my home

because i've grown up here and, for me, it's one of the greatest working symbols of russian culture and world culture. it's a wonderful place. it's a place which helps people to live, you know. it's not called hermitage because of isolation. it's lates you from all the terrible things happening around, political and troubles and not only political. people can relax in this museum and i think it's a function which does work. >> rose: thank you for being our guide. thank you for being our friend. thank you for keeping this place in such a remarkable way so that it continues, we saw, with new exhibitions, with new space, yet, at the same time, acquiring art across the spectrum. thank you. >> thank you very much. sorry for taking so much of your time.

i wanted to show you. >> rose: i have friends around the world. this is a remarkable place. this is beyond politics. this is a place that harbors some of the great, great treasures of the world, and for me to come and be here and to see it with my own eyes and to have such an articulate and brilliant and honored guide has been one of the great pleasures of my life. you should all come to russia and you should all come see the hermitage as a reflection of a great country. >> rose: continuing our exploration of the hermitage, we talked to mark kelner, vice president of the hermitage foundation, and we begin with the question, twhas hermitage foundation? >> hermitage foundation is a group of american friends interested in supporting the hermitage and its director in

whatever they might need, logistically, creatively, financially in exhibiting western and american art, or restoring work that needs help in the hermitage. we have a very interesting situation because, in the post-soviet period, there's a period that involves cultural diplomacy that they can call on us, saying we're interested learning about american art and what access can you offer in new york, you know, in ohio. >> rose: we're in the post-soviet period. >> and it's sometimes difficult politically. but truly these are servant of culture that aren't paying attention to what's happening politically because one doesn't affect the other. >> rose: but your central function is to serve the hermitage yes. and specifically whatever question they may have logistically. >> rose: a bit about you, russian parents. >> yeah. >> rose: you were conceived in russia. >> yes. >> rose: you were born in

america. >> in cleveland, very proudly. >> rose: and you want to be or are an artist? >> i'm an artist. a lot of my work is flute rooten that russian-american duality. anything that happened with russian art coming from a russian place i was involved in. there are russian imgray tores considered staples of russian work. i was around them and because of that the hermitage foundation found me and we got to work on a couple of interesting international contemporary projects. i have to really, really kind of cool. hard to say no to. >> rose: yeah, considering your background, characterize this museum for me. >> it's not an art museum. it's a museum of civilization. it's a museum that catherine -- when catherine the great founded it -- we're having our 250t 250th centennial -- she's, like, look, russia demands and

deserves a museum much like nothing world's ever seen, and that was very much her personality, and she stafortd collecting. what's really interesting, everyone is thinking she's collecting work that's very ancient, but the joke among hermitagenics is she's correcting work that's contemporary to her. and i'd like to think we're collecting work contemporary to us, 20th and 21st century. when dr. piotrovsky comes, i introduce him to people who are interested in using the hermitage as a means to promote culture they've never seen before. >> rose: who is this man my audience just had a chance to walk through the museum that he has been a director and his father has been a director of for a number of years, who is he? >> he's an interesting guy. he's the decider.

the hermitage is a very totalitarian environment. one man makes all the decisions. >> rose: in addition to what art goes on the wall, where they put it? >> or when charlie rose shows up on any specific day unannounced, yes, i'll lead him on a tour right now. it's very much his schedule and it's his home. that's it. there is no separating in one from his station. that's his life. he very much curates every part of that museum. it's his life. when he comes here, he's not just representing the hermitage museum, he's representing russian culture and culture that is essentially world culture that needs to be -- >> rose: and how does the museum and the director handle those times in which the politics are strained between russia and the united states or russia and much of the western world? >> i think, right now, it makes

for a sad state of affairs that we always have to -- that russian art has always been politicized that, no matter what, whether it's avant-garde or otherwise, russian art is censored. there's a self-censorship among artists in russia -- >> rose: for fear of challenging the state? >> for fear of prosecution, that if my voice speaks up, am i going to jail for it? and a lot of these actionisms that we see are artistic in their root and a lot of people are scared, and we don't know what direction things are going to go. on the other side of that coin, we have the hermitage museum that has been around 250 years and governments and regimes have come and gone but the hermitage has stayed, historically. that's the world i like to occupy. that's when i go out with my tin cup and talk to people about,

hey, let's start supporting the hermitage museum in terms of building their contemporary art collection for the first time. you know, names like -- let's get a warhol. let's try to get people who might be interested. you know, if we're in the service of culture, politics really shouldn't be something we should be concerned about. it's gotten more difficult to talk to people and be a true leader for the museum, but, among our crowd, i don't think many people care. >> rose: there is a lot of rich people in russia now, too. >> there is a lot of rich people in russia and there is this misguided notion i have a trouble with, oh, we're a 5013c, we have a situation with rich russians in, no why can't they help their culture? here's the crux of what i'm trying to say -- in the america, we have a system where the wealthy have supported art and museum and museum culture, nothing like that exists in russia and never has. we don't have a situation --

we're trying to show -- and i speak with russian-americans -- we're trying to show that, look, it's your responsibility for -- you know, you have a choice, you have an opportunity to promote culture in russia, outside of russia, supporting the hermitage, and it's your responsibility. no one else is going to do it if not you. and i want the hermitage museum foundation to be a leader in holding that flag saying, we need help. look at our system and how can we -- how does that behoove the hermitage museum? the hermitage has a lot of friends. there are a lot of people who recognize the hermitage without having to recognize, oh, we live in salad salad' salad vladimir . >> rose: it's been said we have been through the cry mean war, the russian revolution, the cold war and the friendship

survived, the friendship between the museum and the world, has survived all the way through. none of us in any great museum has had to confront anything like the changes and transformation that the hermitage has. it's stayed completely true to the traditions of being a great repository of great things and the international community. one can only guess how complicated that may be administratively, politically and financially." >> 3 million objects are displayed, there's no way anyone can see it in a lifetime. it's a huge museum. also a museum really interested in establishing satellites. all throughout russia, in moscow, there will be a satellite concerning contemporary art and that extends to europe, you know, my goal would be -- i would love to see a hermitage museum here in united states. you know, that would be a dream.

why not? despite whatever political manifestations of relations and, you know -- it's tough. we're in a cold war 2.0, perhaps, but i hope not. but i don't see why that has to be -- why art has to be politicized in that way. i mean, it's the common core of what we have. >> rose: two sul cultures, two civilizations. >> yeah. >> rose: we live in a very, very difficult time in terms of culture because we see people for a variety of reasons destroy culture as a political statement. >> the people at the leadership of the hermitage museum foundation, or chairman of the board is the antequarium, been in business since early 1972, and i asked him about this.

he's turkish. i said, look what's going on the i.s.i.s. and people destroying culture and trying to make their own by destroying, trying to make a legacy by destroying what's been before. he said, mark, it's a terrible situation, but we move forward. there's no choice but to. you know, there are wars going on. we are involved in preventing it by sharing what we have in common. >> rose: thank you for coming. thank you. thank you for having me. >> rose: pleasure to meet you. my pleasure. >> rose: this was an amazing experience for us and lots of people deserve credit and you will see a special credit list at the end, but i want to single out some people who, without them, it would phot have been possible. mikhail piotrovsky, of course. my executive producer. our cameraman did a remarkable job under difficult circumstances. my colleagues jeff and craig who

helped us put together the package here on my own staff, christine edwards was wonderful this editing this thing and making it presentable to you. and corey who helped write and put this together our understanding of what the hermitage means. it has been for all of us an unbelievable experience. take a look at others who made it possible. >> rose: for more about this program and earlier episodes, visit us online at pbs.org and charlierose.com. captioning sponsored by rose communications captioned by media access group at wgbh access.wgbh.org

>> rose: additional funding provided by: >> and by bloomberg, a provider of multimedia news and information services worldwide.

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