The Winter Palace: A fleeting moment of prosperity.

The Winter Palace, located in Palace Square, St. Petersburg, was originally the private collection of Catherine the Great. After several developments, it became the Winter Palace Museum. It is said to be one of the four major museums in the world, along with the British Museum in London, the Louvre in Paris, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Catherine the Great is the only empress in Russian history to be crowned "the Great". She was a remarkable leader and under her rule, Russia reached its peak and became the most powerful country in Europe. It is said that Catherine the Great bought a large number of artworks during her reign, including oil paintings, works by Voltaire and Rousseau, coins, and medals. The breadth of her collection is astonishing. For example, the Oriental Art Museum exhibits ancient Egyptian sarcophagi, mummies, reliefs, and cultural relics from Iran, Babylon, Assyria, and Turkey. The Far East Art Museum has a large collection of Chinese cultural relics, such as oracle bone inscriptions from the Yin and Shang dynasties, Dunhuang sculptures and murals, and Chinese porcelain. The Western European Art Museum mainly features paintings, sketches, and sculptures from the Renaissance period, including works by Da Vinci and Michelangelo. There are also ancient Greek and Roman statues and other cultural relics on display. The Winter Palace Museum witnessed the supreme glory of Catherine the Great for decades, but as the wheels of history rolled on, the collections and treasures of the past have become exhibits that represent a historical story in the museum.