Informal meeting of CIS heads of state

The working visit of Belarus President Aleksandr Lukashenko to Russia continued with an informal meeting of the heads of state of the Commonwealth of Independent States in St. Petersburg.

The CIS leaders met at the Hermitage. It is one of the world's largest museums, housing over 3 million cultural artifacts from various countries and nations. The collection includes paintings and graphics, sculptures, coins and medals, and archaeological materials. The Hermitage's exhibits are displayed in more than 500 halls covering an area of approximately 100,000 square meters.

The main Hermitage complex comprises five buildings: the Winter Palace, the Small Hermitage, the Old (Large) Hermitage, the New Hermitage, and the Hermitage Theater. Before the informal meeting Aleksandr Lukashenko and other leaders of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) toured the halls of the museum complex. The tour for heads of state was conducted by Mikhail Piotrovsky, Director General of the State Hermitage Museum.

Guests were shown a variety of museum exhibits, including the Peacock [Pavlin] automaton clock. It was crafted from gilded bronze and silver in the late 18th century. This is the only large 18th-century automaton in the world that has survived intact and remains fully functional. The operation of the Peacock's mechanisms consistently awes visitors. Though the automaton is typically wound only on Fridays, an exception was made for the CIS leaders.

Another stop on the tour was the 1812 War Gallery. Its walls display 329 portraits of the generals who participated in the Patriotic War and foreign campaigns of 1813-1814.

The leaders of the CIS countries also viewed works by the Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn. The Hermitage features a rich collection of more than 20 paintings by this renowned artist.

During the informal meeting President of Russia Vladimir Putin opened the proceedings with a welcome address. The Russian leader noted that over more than three decades the Commonwealth had solidified its position as a respected regional integration organization, in which member states build relations on the principles of genuine good-neighborliness, equal partnership, mutual benefit, and mutual consideration of each other's interests.