The award ceremony took place in the St George Hall of the Winter Palace as part of the 11th St Petersburg International Forum of United Cultures.
The winners were announced by Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Tatyana Golikova.
“The laureate of this year’s prize from the Russian Federation is the Director General of the State Hermitage Museum, Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovsky.
He is a unique figure, a historian and Orientalist of international renown, a cultivated and erudite person who has devoted his entire life to culture and to the State Hermitage, and continues to do so.
The foreign laureate is the world-renowned conductor Teodor Currentzis. He is someone who, in creativity and spirit, has chosen our country and who, with great enthusiasm, advances both world and Russian art,” said Tatyana Golikova.
She recalled that the Hermitage Prize was established three years ago as a sign of respect for Russian and foreign cultural figures for their contribution to the development of world culture and the shaping of cultural dialogue.
Mikhail Piotrovsky accepted the award in person. The prize is a reduced replica of the Kolyvan Vase, a famous exhibit of the Hermitage. Teodor Currentzis could not attend the ceremony, so the award was handed to Pavel Kurdakov, director of the orchestra musicAeterna.
The ceremony was attended by the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Olga Lyubimova, the Governor of St Petersburg Alexander Beglov, and Russian and foreign participants of the 11th St Petersburg International United Cultures Forum.