A bankrupt entrepreneur climbed onto the imperial throne at the Hermitage museum and threatened staff with a knife while demanding Putin’s attention

A 45-year-old entrepreneur from the Leningrad region climbed onto the Great Imperial Throne at the Hermitage on May 17, sat down, and read aloud an address to Vladimir Putin. The St. Petersburg-based news outlet Fontanka and other outlets reported on the incident.

The incident unfolded around 2 p.m. Sunday in the St. George Hall of the Winter Palace. A man dressed in a robe stepped past the barrier and climbed onto the pedestal where the throne stands. According to published video, he read from several sheets of paper and at one point sat down on the throne itself.

Eyewitnesses said the man spoke about bribes, loans, and financial ruin before addressing the president directly. Among other things, he said:

• “Vladimir Vladimirovich, I know that great responsibility has been placed on you for preservation, and great tasks stand before you at every moment. Just like me, you have 24 hours in a day and not a moment more. But there are no trifles, and we need to sort out what is lawful.”
• “I am not used to losing or abandoning what I have set out to do, however pompous that may sound, while making the world a better place. I don’t need leniency — I need the law to be upheld and the guilty to be punished.”
• “Powerful people of this world have sat on this throne. And I’m not talking about physical strength right now. What matters to me is the result, not this stool.”

When a Hermitage employee tried to get the man down from the pedestal, he produced a knife and threatened the employee, who then retreated behind the barrier. Fontanka reported that the man had concealed a tanto samurai knife in his shoe. Other reports said he was carrying two knives.

Officers from the Russian National Guard arrived at the museum and detained the man, who actively resisted, the agency said. He was taken to a police station and later transferred to a specialized medical facility for examination and treatment. Police are conducting an investigation.

The Hermitage described the incident as an “armed provocation,” noting that May 17 was a free-admission day at the museum. “No visitors or museum employees were harmed. A preliminary visual inspection of the throne chair and its footstool was carried out. Museum specialists will examine the condition of the exhibits in greater detail,” the Hermitage press service said.

Fontanka identified the detained man as Alexander, a father of three and a “bankrupt entrepreneur” from the village of Gorbunki in the Leningrad region. On social media, he had taken part in discussions about local initiatives in the village and had criticized local authorities.

According to the SPARK business registry, Alexander had at least four business ventures. His software development company posted a loss for 2025. Two other companies were liquidated by order of the Federal Tax Service, and a fourth “shows no signs of life,” Fontanka reported.

This is not the first throne-related incident at the Hermitage. In March 2025, a visitor named Alexander Drobyshev sat on the throne of the Grand Master of the Order of Malta in Hall No. 172, deforming the seat and tearing the upholstery. A year later, a court ordered him to pay 825,000 rubles to cover the cost of restoration work.