While the Hermitage is excellent, the State Museum is the ideal place to see any Russian painters or sculptors that you love. Exhibiting only Russian artists from different periods of Russia's history, this huge museum needs a large portion of your time. It's just that good.

Mostly visited by me for Malevich Kandinsky and other modern painters who can really make changes in Russian art. Of course something old is great too.) Toilet is too dirty for such a great museum..(

What a understated gem of a museum which houses the biggest collection of Russian art and the biggest secret is, it is not crowded

This museum was once used by the erstwhile kings in the past, now maintained by the state. The interior paintings and carvings on the ceilings, walls and doors are simply superb. The craftsmen have extensively used gold to add lot of glitter to the carvings. Though in general the kings palace is very large, some of the rooms said to... More 

This is a fantastic museum with a great collection of Russian art. We especially loved the Malevich and Kandinsky paintings and the works of some of the Russian Fauvre artists. This is a huge museum which, for some reason attracts only limited tourist interest which means one can walk straight in and purchase a ticket without any delay and the... More 

One hears so much about the Winter Palace and the Hermitage that it is easy to forget this wonderful museum. It was quite a revelation to us. Why had we never heard of all these talented Russian artists, we asked? The displays and descriptions, helpfully translated into English, were excellent and we were impressed by the quality of the work.

A much more rewarding experience than trying to fight through the football crowds at the Hermitage. Very large and diverse exhibit, focusing more on art and related items than on building architecture. Provides an excellent overview of the history of Russian art, imagination and creativity, from the earliest iconography through to the 20th century. Very nice display of Vrubel's work,... More 

The Russian museum has a special, very calm and peaceful atmosphere. The museum has a vast collection of premium Russian painters, which is an absolute must, you've got to see and admire that.

We'd had a week of seeing the glories of St Petersburg and were not at our best. Verging on exhausted and a bit glazed. But we were so very glad we made the effort to see the Russian Museum. Though we couldn't make it through the many rooms and exhibitions, we saw enough to gain a much finer appreciation of... More