Prof. Mikhail Piotrovsky
Director general of the hermitage museum

Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovskiy was born in Yerevan in 1944.

In 1967 he graduated with honors from the School of programs of study Oriental of the former Leningrad State University, where he specialized in programs of study Arabic. Between 1965 and 1966 he attended academic year at Cairo University.

From 1967 to 1991, Mikhail Borisovich worked at the Leningrad branch of high school of programs of study , where he received his doctorate in history. In 1991 he was invited to join the staff of the Hermitage as Deputy Director. In July 1992 he was appointed director of the Hermitage by decree of the Prime Minister.

Borisovich is the author of more than 250 works, including catalogs of Arabic manuscripts, publications on medieval monuments and ancient inscriptions, works on the history of Islamic politics and Arab culture, and works on the archaeology of Arabia.

Borisovich is a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, the Presidium of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Russian Academy of Arts. He was also a member of the committee of the Presidium of the Russian Federation of Culture and Art (from 2001 to 2011 he was vice-president of the committee) and of the committee of the Presidium of the Russian Federation of Sciences and Education.

She is also professor at St. Petersburg State University, where she directs two Departments: Museology and Ancient Oriental History. He is also Dean of the School of programs of study Orientals.

In addition, he is president of the Union of Museums of Russia, head of essay of The Christian Orient magazine and president of the St. Petersburg branch of the Imperial Russian Orthodox Society of Palestine.

In 1997, the Astronomical Union named a small planet "Piotrovsky" in honor of Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovskiy and his father Boris Borisovich Piotrovskiy.

In May 2011, Mikhail Borisovich Piotrovskiy was appointed Honorary Citizen of St. Petersburg.