The director of St. Petersburg's Hermitage museum, Mikhail Piotrovsky, has publicly apologised for the disappearance of artefacts worth $5 million, missing from the museum's collection.

His regrets addressed Russian museum directors meeting in the northern capital, discussing how to protect collections and preventing future losses.

Disappearance of 221 treasures is reckoned to have cast a shadow on Russia’s museum society, putting its reputation at stake. As the meeting gathered, 50 officials from across Russia agreed there was not enough money to keep exhibits safe.

The Hermitage director has been rebuked but calls for him to step down have been dismissed. He is judged to be taking the right action to have the missing pieces returned. Four pieces of a silver set worth $80,000 were returned to a police station on Monday, as 200 more pieces are yet to be found.