The State Hermitage Youth Education Center the history and traditions of different countries and nations. The Youth Center was launched in 2000 when Mijaíl Borisovich Piotrovsk, Director of The Hermitage, signed the order for the creation of the Student Club which bears the same name as the museum. Since 2011, it has been located in located in the east wing of Saint Petersburg’s General Staff Building, and since its founding it’s been supervised by curator Sofía Vladimirovna Kudryavtseva. At the core of the Student Club are thematic sections, which are managed by museum staff. Membership is open to students or graduates from universities in Saint Petersburg
Hermitage Museum art: "Venus disarming Mars" by Rubens was once in the collection of the Rheinsberg Palace in Berlin, and was apparently looted by Soviet troops from the Königsberg Castle in East Prussia in 1945. At the time, Mikhail Piotrovsky said the painting would be cleaned and displayed. The museum announced in July 2006, that 221 minor items, including jewelry, Orthodox icons, silverware and richly enameled objects, had been stolen. The value of the stolen items was estimated to be approximately $543,000 but by the end of 2006 several of the stolen items were recovered. In recent years, the Hermitage launched several