Mikhail Piotrovsky

Mikhail B. Piotrovsky, a member of the board of trustees of the Open Russia Foundation, was "appointed Director of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia in 1992 by the Prime Minister. He succeeded his father, Boris Piotrovsky, an eminent archeologist who served as Director at the Hermitage from 1964 until 1990."

"Prior to joining the State Hermitage Museum in 1991, Dr. Piotrovsky worked at the Institute for Oriental Studies. During his tenure there, he participated in several archaeological excavations in the Caucasus, Central Asia and Yemen and was head of a team in the Soviet-Yemen Expedition from 1981 to 1991, and its director from 1989 to 1991."

"Dr. Piotrovsky is also a professor at St. Petersburg State University and is a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Russian Academy of Art, and the Russian Academy of Humanities. He serves on the boards of the President's Committee for the Russian State Prize, the President's Council for Art and Culture, the Foundation for Research in the Humanities, the Exhibitions Experts' Committee of the Council of Europe, and other national and international organizations."

"Honors bestowed upon Dr. Piotrovsky include the Dutch Order of Orange-Nassau (1996), the Russian Order of Honor (1997), the French Legion of Honor (1998), the Swedish Royal Order of the Polar Star (1999), the Order of Merit of the Republic of Italy, and the Order of Saint Mesrob Mashtots by the Armenian Apostolic Church (2000). In 1997, a planet was named Piotrovsky in honor of Dr. Piotrovsky and his late father."

"Dr. Piotrovsky was born in Yerevan, Armenia in 1944. He graduated with honors in 1967 from the Faculty of Oriental Studies at Leningrad State University, specializing in Arabic Studies. He attended Cairo University from 1965 to 1966 and later joined the Institute for Oriental Studies, where he earned his doctorate in history."

"His publications on the Arab world include: The Saga of the Yemen King Asad (1977); Fundamentals of Arab-Islamic Art (1984); Southern Arabia in the Early Middle Ages (1985); Islam: An Encyclopedia (1991); and Tales of the Koran (1991). He is also the co-author, with Oleg Neverov, of The Hermitage: Essays on the History of the Collection (1997) and edited Earthly Art - Heavenly Beauty: Art of Islam (2000)."

Dr. Piotrovsky's is married and has two children. His wife, Irina, is an economist, specializing in international finance.