Hermitage Amsterdam is marking the centenary of the outbreak of the Russian Revolution with an exhibition that explores the collapse of Tsarist power in 1917.

Incorporating many rarely seen items from the collections of the State Hermitage Museum in St Petersburg, the displays include films, photographs and paintings.

Tsar’s execution

The objects tell the tale of a monarch and a wealthy elite that oversaw a flourishing artistic scene in early 20th-century St Petersburg, but who failed to grasp the depth of social and political undercurrents that would lead ultimately to a revolution that brought with it the execution of the Tsar and his closest family members.

It also considers how Russian hopes unravelled during the First World War, with class divisions underlined by officers who showed little regard for the lives for men they viewed as serfs with little if any importance.

The exhibition runs from 4 February to 17 September.