A decade of correspondence with the Hermitage and in particular our dear friend Curator Nina Ivotchkina, led to a close relationship with not only Nina but with the entire Numismatic Department.

Katherina and I finally undertook our first trip to Russia in October 1993, only to find ourselves caught in the middle of a historic revolutionary or counter-revolutionary events. In fact on the return for St. Petersburg to Helsinki we listened to the news of the counter-revolutionary tank attack on the newly democratic Russian Federation’s White House.

Eighteen months later, here we were in Moscow — with Katherina’s long series of exhibition events in Europe (1977 to 1987), in Borneo (1988 to 1990), in the Malay Peninsula (1988 –1990) and in Bangkok (1991) having ended in 1991. Also during the Spring of 1993 our intense litigation with Christies had terminated.

Along with time for Katherina at her studio in Tuscany we began to work towards an exhibition in Russia.

The first of what ultimately turned into a series was to take place during May of 1995 at Moscow, this timed to coincide with the 50th anniversary commemoration of the ending of the Great Patriotic War (the Second World War).

We attempted to book Canada’s Prime Minister, Jean Chretien, to attend, but regrettably in his short visit he had other commitments, what with all the Presidents and Prime Ministers including Bill Clinton and John Major.

However, this first exhibition was followed a few weeks later by a second at a palace in St. Petersburg and three years after that Katherina became the first living artist ever invited to exhibit at the world’s greatest museum, the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. Which she accepted.