SAINT PETERSBURG, RUSSIAN FEDERATION.- The State Hermitage Museum presents Mannerheim. Russian Officer. Marshal of Finland, on view through June 5, 2005. The monographic exhibition which has opened in the halls of the General Staff building is dedicated to the memory of the outstanding statesman of Finland, Carl Gustaf Mannerheim (1867-1951). Mannernheim was a count, lieutenant general of the Russian Army, knight in several Russian orders, cavalry general, field marshal and marshal of Finland. The fate of this extraordinary man was closed connected with Russia and St Petersburg. The exhibition was organized by the State Hermitage jointly with the St Petersburg Foundation (Helsinki, Finland) and presents more than 600 exhibits coming from both Finland and Russia dealing with the life of Mannerheim, his times, and the people who were close to him. Among the items on display are a great many personal possessions and memorabilia of Mannerheim which were never before exhibited in Russia: portraits of his parents, brothers and sisters, articles of daily use from the family estate, childhood toys, photographs of his wife and daughter, uniforms and articles of clothing, as well as numerous photographs and documents.

Carl Gustaf Mannerheim was born on 4 June 1867 on the family estate of Louhisaari. He was the third child born to the family of Count Carl Robert Mannerheim and Countess Helene Mannerheim, nee von Julin.

The territory of Finland was part of the Russian Empire from 1809 until 1918. It was called at the time the Grand Principality of Finland and enjoyed the status of an autonomous protectorate.

At the age of 15 Mannerheim was enrolled in the Finnish Cadet Corps, and in 1887 he entered the Nikolaevsky Cavalry School. The young officer’s military career got off to a good start. A photograph of Nicholas II’s coronation in Moscow in 1896 shows Mannerheim dressed in a special ceremonial uniform with a bared saber before the Emperor’s canopy.

In 1904-1905 Mannerheim volunteered to serve in the Russo-Japanese War and was promoted to the rank of colonel for his demonstrated heroism. During 1906-1908 he was sent by the General Staff on a trip through Central Asia to China. During this expedition, besides his military reconnaissance work, Mannerheim also conducted scientific investigations.

Beginning in 1908 he was appointed commander of the 13th Ulan Regiment of Vladimir, and in 1910 he was made a major general and put in command of the Life Guards of His Majesty’s Ulan regiment which was stationed in Warsaw. From 1914 on Mannerheim took part in the First World War. In 1917 he had command of a corps as lieutenant general.

Carl Gustaf Mannerheim honestly and professionally served as a field officer of the Russian Army. But the 1917 Revolution dramatically changed the fate of many Finns and made it possible for Finland to gain its independence. In this context Mannerheim left the Russian service and headed the Finnish White Army, then became the ruling regent of an independent Finland.

For many years Carl Gustaf Mannerheim remained the commander-in-chief of the Finnish Army. In 1933 he became a field marshal, and in 1942 he took the honorary title of marshal of Finland. During the Second World War Mannerheim headed the government and was forced to conclude an alliance with Germany, however he refused to lead his troops in the storming of Leningrad. Finnish aviation did not participate in the raids on Leningrad and their long-range artillery did not fire on the city. In 1944 Finland left the war and concluded a peace treaty with the Soviet Union.

At the end of his life, Mannerheim retired from state and political life. He died on 28 January 1951 in Switzerland, where he was receiving medical treatment. His body was returned to Finland and buried with the highest honors.

The exhibition in the Hermitage pays tribute to a man whose life and fate belong to the history of both the Finnish and Russian peoples. When the showing in St Petersburg closes, the exhibition will be presented in Finland.