The exposition benefits from Presidential support and coincides with the 60 th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations.
At the exhibit's opening ceremony, Vladimir Putin noted that the exposition highlights the importance of Russian culture for world civilization.
The exhibition's basic concept is to show that Russia's contribution to the world's art treasures is not limited to achievements in icon painting and the avant-garde. The exhibition shows how during its entire history, Russian culture responded to new developments in art, mastered and refashioned foreign traditions. As such, the brilliant Russian school of fine arts was already created in the beginning of the 19th century.
The largest Russian museums – the State Hermitage Museum, the State Tretyakov Gallery, the State Historical and Cultural Museum-Preserve ”The Moscow Kremlin“, the State Russian Museum, the State Historical Museum – as well as a number of regional Russian art galleries and private collections contributed to the exhibition.