The gallery's history starts in 1856 when theMoscow merchant Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov acquired works by Russian artists of his day with the aim of creating acollection, which might later grow into amuseum of national art. In 1892, Tretyakov presented his already famous collection of approximately 2,000 works (1,362 paintings, 526 drawings, and 9 sculptures) to the Russian nation. The collection contains more than 130,000 exhibits, ranging from Theotokos of Vladimirand Andrei Rublev's Trinity to the monumentalComposition VII by Wassily Kandinsky and theBlack Square by Kazimir Malevich. In 1977 the Gallery kept a significant part of the George Costakis collection. In May 2012, the Tretyakov Art Gallery played host to the prestigious FIDE World Chess Championship between Viswanathan Anandand Boris Gelfand as the organizers felt the event would promote both chess and art at the same time.
They say that people’s standard of living is going up all the time. Well, I don’t know about the standard of living, but the cost of living is certainly going up. Before I even see my salary, the Government takes about 30% of it away in income tax. Then I have to pay the rent for the apartment, which the landlord’s just put up again. And on top of that there are all the payments for heating, phone and electricity. It’s no better at the shops, either. The price of food is unbelievably high these days. I used to be able to save money, but last year I had to close my savings account, because there was no money left in it. And it’s getting worse: last month I spent my whole salary in just one week, and I had to ask my bank manager for a loan to last me till the end of the month.
Before I even see my salary, the Government takes about 30% of it away in income tax. Then I have to pay the rent for the apartment, which the landlord’s just put up again. And on top of that there are all the payments for heating, phone and electricity. It’s no better at the shops, either. The price of food is unbelievably high these days.
I used to be able to save money, but last year I had to close my savings account, because there was no money left in it. And it’s getting worse: last month I spent my whole salary in just one week, and I had to ask my bank manager for a loan to last me till the end of the month.