The congratulatory telegram reads, in part:
“As a renowned historian and talented organiser, you have served as the director of the State Russian Museum for over twenty years. In this time, thanks in large part to your enthusiasm and creative energy, it has become one of the greatest architectural museum complexes in the world. The collection of national art gathered here includes over 400 thousand displays. In addition, leading information technologies provide access to these works for a wide audience in our nation and abroad.”
The President signed an Executive Order decorating Vladimir Gusev with the Order for Services to the Fatherland, IV degree, for his great contribution to the development of Russia’s museums and his many years of fruitful work.
The Russian Museum is the nation’s number one museum of Russian art. It was established in 1895 in St Petersburg by a special edict issued by Emperor Nicholas II. The museum’s collection covers over one thousand years of Russian art, between the 10th and 21st centuries.