"Rembrandt Laughing" was a genuine self-portrait

[Nik]

Сообщение от Meister

I know that after Peter I "opened a" window to Europe, there was the formation of collections of museums, but that on such a scale? are we really so lost?

It is also necessary to consider that in those days, the Russian tsars were the richest people in the world, as Russia had abundant natural resources, which, after Peter I became well developed, but such a mess, as later under the Soviet regime, while still not there, all the resources belong to specific owners, interested in multiplying their own capital. And the state is well earned on this.

Not for nothing that in Soviet times, all statistics of the "achievements" of the Soviet people was based on a comparison with the 1913-th year - last year before the First World War, when capitalism developed in Russia, coupled with the Stolypin agrarian reform have raised the country's economy at an unattainable height. Russia was then the richest and most dynamic country in the world. Therefore, the Western powers (especially Germany) and were very interested to overthrow our country and not lose their position in world economics and politics - that they had succeeded with the help of the Bolsheviks, who were actively subsidized.

A Russian tsars highly favored the development of the arts, to be reputed the world the most enlightened and cultural - is still with Peter I went and later became fashionable and prestigious. And in fact the kings of the past (for example, our last tsar, Nicholas II) were very educated and enlightened people and invest more money in the form of museum collections, including the Hermitage collection, which the world bought up all the worthy work of art that can be to buy. And not only the kings - all the rich people of that time. Take the richest family in Russia Yusupov, whose state was comparable to a king - they were huge art collection, which are constantly replenished and purposefully.

So ... Ah! but what to say! .. Not for nothing that in those days said that the Bolsheviks were sold to Russia. So it.