The article analyzes the participation of the Petrograd Artistic and Historical Commission in the evacuation of the Winter Palace collections in 1917. It describes the process of preparation and packaging of the art treasures from the palace collections. The evacuation of the collections of the Winter Palace was combined with the evacuation of the Hermitage museum collections. As distinct from the Imperial Residence, the Hermitage staff systematically prepared museum exhibits for export to Moscow from 1913. For this reason, the evacuation of the Museum could not make any difficulties. But we could not say the same about the Winter Palace collections. The Palace was one of the main participants of the political events in 1917, moreover, most of the palace halls were occupied by the Provisional Government and its protection. In such difficult conditions, the Petrograd Artistic and Historical Commission prepared for evacuation and send to Moscow more than 50 boxes with the most valuable works of art. The article