The Year of Russia in the Netherlands and the Year of the Netherlands in Russia will be held in 2013, in an effort to further develop Russian-Dutch relations. The corresponding Directive No. 439-rp was singed by Russian President Vladimir Putin on September 30, 2012.

The Russian section of the organising committee is chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Arkady Dvorkovich.

The Netherlands-Russia 2013 Bilateral Year will open in February 2013 with a large exhibit dedicated to Peter the Great and hosted at Hermitage Amsterdam, a branch of St Petersburg’s State Hermitage Museum.