The Order of Malta is a state enjoining the status of exterritoriality. Nowadays it is located in Italy. It is over nine centuries old and its history is intertwined with the past and present of Europe and Russia. The Order was founded in Jerusalem and repeatedly changed its locations. In the process it was called either the Order of the knights of Cyprus or Rhodes and, since 1530, it bears the name of the Order of Malta. In fact, it always remained to be the Order of the Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem. In the 16th and 17th centuries it became a mighty military state which put an end to the Turkish dominance over the Mediterranean. The greatest activity in relations of the Order of Malta and Russia was due to the period of Paul I, the Emperor of Russia, reign. In 1797 Paul I concluded the Convention with the Order and at the request of its leaders became its Protector. When Ferdinand Gompesh, the Grand Master of the Order, after a short resistance surrendered Malta to Napoleon no Catholic ruler of Western Europe did offer a help to the Order. However, it was the Orthodox Russian emperor who gave the help. In the subsequent 200 years history of the Order there were periods when its activity was suspended, periods of collaboration with governments of fascist Italy and Nazi Germany. Several times the Order experienced interference of Vatican, its powerful patron. More than once the problem of sovereignty emerged in the most acute forms. During the past 100 years the Order is engaged in charity and humanitarian activities and tries its best to return to Malta.