Hermitage Museum private mansions were nationalized and redistributed among major Soviet state museums. Particularly notable was the influx of old masters from the Catherine Palace, the Alexander Palace, the Stroganov Palace and the Yusupov Palace as well as from other palaces of Saint Petersburg and suburbs. In 1922, an important collection of 19th-century European paintings was transferred to the Hermitage from the Academy of Arts. In turn, in 1927 about 500 important paintings were transferred to the Central Museum of old Western art in Moscow at the insistence of the Soviet authorities. In the early 1930s, 70 more paintings were sent there.
Vilnius Guggenheim Hermitage Museum forms and the vertical forms of nearby skyscrapers. The top of the building reflects surroundings of the Vilnius city. Hadid asserted that ""It is especially important today to acknowledge cultural buildings, that they have unique and special morphologies. Those buildings should make an impression on people, people should accept them."" The director of the Hermitage Museum Mikhail Piotrovsky, the director of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation Thomas Krens, the director of Frankfurt's Museum of Architecture Peter Schmal, and the vice-chairman of the Lithuanian Architects Union, Gintaras Čaikauskas, were members of the jury that evaluated the designs. Lithuanian Prime Minister Gediminas