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	Vol.6, No 131, July 29, 1999
	Treasures of Russia By Yeoshin Kim Summer Forty-Niner Dignitaries and city officials were on deck at the unveiling of a Russian art exhibit aboard the Queen Mary on Sunday.   The exhibit titled "Treasures of the Last Russian Emperor" is a rich and colorful collection of more than 430 Russian artifacts dating back to Imperial Russia.     "Long Beach is an international city and it is only fitting that the exhibit is held here," said Long Beach Mayor Beverly O’Neil.   The President of the Queen Mary, Joseph Prevratil, explained that this exhibit will be the second of its kind. It follows last year’s  "Journey Through Time" displayed at the Titanic exhibit.    This particular exhibit represents the diverse ethnic culture of Russia during the late 17th and early 19th centuries. Many items displayed are gifts the people gave to the last Russian emperor when Russia was the largest country in the world and had more than 200 languages.   Once aboard the former luxury ocean-liner the tour through Russia begins with a short video on its history and a traditional ceremony.  Before entering the exhibit, tourists will taste bread and salt, a traditional offering of welcome in Russia.   Inside the exhibit area tourists will experience eight distinct regions and cultures of Russia. The first part of the journey begins with the aristocracy of Russian nobility. Fine jewelry and lavish party gowns are in the palace ballroom. Indigenous people from the mountainous regions are shown wearing traditional costumes with their folk art.    Toward the end of the journey, tourists will see 27 ceramic dolls that represent the vast ethnic people who populated Russia during the Romanov Dynasty.     The exhibit ends with a tribute to the Romanov family, who were executed in 1918.      Nicholas II, the last Russian emperor, is said to have collected these artifacts to build a museum in his late father’s honor.      Today that museum is the Russian Museum of Ethnography in St. Petersburg.     The Treasures of the Last Emperor exhibit was previously shown in Paris and Madrid and is valued at more than $20 million.       The exhibit, on loan from the Ethnography museum, will be on board the Queen Mary until Sept. 6.		Killer bees hit LB Worker denied Release Korean language class to be offered this fall MTV reality show come to L.B. 'Runaway Bride' is no pretty woman Close encounters of the 'Muppet' kind Limp Bizkit without jam Treasures of Russia Summer 99 ISSUES DAILY 49ER HOMEPAGE