News

WINTER ADVENTURE ON LAKE BAIKAL

07 December 2023

Lake Baikal is one of the most picturesque places in Russia. Tours to Baikal are interesting at any time of the year, but in winter they are especially unique. The lake, covered with ice as clear as glass and seemingly with a pattern painted on it, has long been a popular destination for photographers and nature lovers. 
31ST ANNIVERSARY OF MIR TRAVEL COMPANY

18 November 2023

November is a special month for our company because on the 26th of November, MIR Travel Company celebrates its anniversary. The company was established in 1992, so this year we are turning 31...

31 years of operating as a domestic and incoming tour operator.
31 years of constant development.
31 years of preparing new tours and things to surprise our guests.
31 years of experience and successful work.

RAPHAEL'S MASTERPIECE IN THE HERMITAGE MUSEUM

08 December 2023

The painting The Beautiful Gardener, also known as Madonna and Child with Saint John the Baptist, by Raphael was delivered from the Louvre Museum (Paris) to the Hermitage Museum (St. Petersburg). From 21 July to 19 September Raphael's masterpiece can be seen in the Apollo Hall of the Winter Palace. The canvas was supposed to be part of the December exposition Raphael's Line, timed to coincide with the 500th anniversary of the artist's death, but due to the pandemic it was brought in only now. Raphael created the Beautiful Gardener at the age of 22. The artist was inspired by the works of Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, whose works are on display in the Hermitage Museum as well. Many elements of the painting are symbolic. Flowers mean sorrow, suffering and humility of the Virgin Mary. During the restoration, experts discovered Raphael's signature on the hem of the Mother of God's mantle.

"Raphael did not sign all of his paintings, and this is especially important. If you look closely at the edge of Mary's dark blue cape, you will see an ornament drawn with a gold line, - in fact, this is the master's signature," said a researcher at the Department of Western European Fine Arts of the State Hermitage Museum.