Profound thinkers of the past centuries have asserted that life without friendship is worthless and that to exclude it from life is like depriving the world of sunlight, since friendship is valued on a par with wisdom and surpasses talent. Each of us -- the eight billion people on the planet - has some memory of this feeling. Friendship has always been honored as the greatest ethical criteria and value. Examples of sincere mental affection can be found in any historical era, it adorned the lives of statesmen and military commanders, writers and artists. Often friendship between two famous personalities, such as Catherine the Great and Princess Dashkova, contributed to the development of a huge country, served for the good of the whole nation. Even today, friendly feelings do not just unite people, they give us support and strength, serve as a source of creative inspiration, contribute to the birth of new works of art and literature, to the development of joint programs and projects.

The new date, International Day of Friendship, was inspired by the Declaration and Program of the International Decade for a Culture of World and Non-Violence, covering the period from 2001 to 2010. Summing up this full-scale action, the United Nations -- at its 65th session in April 2011, proposed to choose an appropriate day in the calendar – July 30 -- and at the same time for states and international organizations to focus on activities aimed at promoting dialogue and mutual understanding between countries and people. Humanity was invited to remember that we are all, regardless of race, gender, religion, one family on our one and only planet....

For more than fifteen years, within the framework of friendly cooperation, items from the museum Collection repository have been exhibited at various thematic expositions. Today we recollect the joint projects implemented with the museum Collection friends and colleagues – art museums and exhibition halls.

Participation of the museum’s items in the exhibition "Princess Maria Tenisheva in the Mirror of the Silver Age" in the State Historical Museum in 2008 was one of the first joint projects.

In March 2015, the State Central Museum of Contemporary History of Russia hosted the exhibition "White Angel" dedicated to the 150th birth anniversary of Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna. Among the items that were provided by the museum Collection was the miniature portrait of Grand Duke, the Crown Prince, Alexander Alexandrovich in his childhood (the 1850-1860s)  by Mihaly Zichy, as well as seven miniature portraits of Tsar Alexander II and Maria Alexandrovna children (the 1850-1860s).

In March 2016, Edison “Gem - model A” phonograph (1900) from the museum Collection repository was presented at the exhibition “One-storeyed America: based on actual events”, which was opened in Moscow Museum of Modern Art. This project was dedicated to the trip of writers Ilya Ilf and Yevgeny Petrov to America in 1935-1936.

In November 2016, the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg hosted the exhibition dedicated to the anniversary of Paolo Troubetzkoy. The sculptures from the museum Collection repository were presented there - "Portrait of V.S. Sofronov" (1907) and "Dancer Tamara Swirskaya" (1911).

In March 2017, the State museum of A.S. Pushkin hosted the thematic exhibition "Our Wizard, Artist And Poet ...", dedicated to the 240th birth anniversary of Alexander Orlowsky. The exhibition featured eleven graphic works of this remarkable artist provided by the museum Collection.

In December 2017, four works by Artemy Aubert from the museum repository took part in the exhibition “Artemy Aubert. 1843-1917. To the 100th anniversary of death". They were sculptures and sculptural compositions - "Jack and Jill, the dogs of Caesar Kavos" (circa 1878), "Fox Catching a Partridge" (early 1880s), "Malorussian Ox" (1878), "Pointer" (mid-1880s).

In June - July 2018, the exhibition "Sculptor Paolo Troubetzkoy" was held in the Tretyakov Gallery. Almost half of the exhibits - 40 portraits, statuettes, sculptural compositions -- were provided by the museum Collection.

In October 2018, within the framework of the 44th Russian Antique Salon, an exhibition was held in the Central House of Artists. It was dedicated to the 170th birth anniversary of the Russian sculptor Eugene Lanceray. The Gallery “Cabinet” organized the exhibition in cooperation with the museum Collection and the International Confederation of Antiquaries and Art Dealers (ICAAD). Sixteen sculptures by E. Lanceray from the museum Collection exposition were presented there.

In July 2020, the thematic exhibition “Abrau-Durso”: 150 years on the bright side of history" was opened in the All-Russian Decorative Art museum. The exhibition featured art objects of table decoration and serving pieces from the museum Collection repository.

The All-Russian Decorative Art museum and museum Collection have long-standing friendly relations . A long-term tradition has developed since 2015 – the first exhibition “Magic of Dolls”, - mechanical musical instruments and objects from the museum Collection annually participated in the New Year exhibitions, which were held in the All-Russian Decorative Art museum.

We have posted a photo album that features items that took part in the museum joint projects.