Soviet sale of Hermitage paintings National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. In the late 1920s, the Soviet government urgently needed foreign currency to finance the rapid industrialization of Russia ordered in the first Five Year Plan. The government had already sold off collections of jewelry, furniture and icons seized from the Russian nobility, wealthy classes, and the church. In February 1928, the State Hermitage Museum in Leningrad, along with the Russian Museum, was ordered to make a list of art works worth at least two million rubles, for export. A special agency called 'Antiquariat' was created under the "Narkompros" (the People's Commisariat of Enlightenment)
The State Hermitage Youth Education Center meet with principal figures of the museum - the director, restorers, curators, for example - and thereby learn about the real work of different departments of the museum. This program was developed by the Youth Center in collaboration with the Yamalo-Nenets Fraternity – members of the Student Club - to teach about the colorful history of this indigenous people. The program includes an exhibition of applied art, workshops, masterclasses, folk concerts and documentary film screenings. The State Hermitage Youth Education Center The State Hermitage Youth Education Center (Russian: Молодёжный образовательный центр Государственного Эрмитажа), is a contemporary art education program in