Moscow news
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03-Jul-2008
Is it Art – or Nice Real Estate?
Just behind the State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, in an old aristocratic mansion, is the Nicholas Roerich Museum. It is dedicated to promoting the legacy of the life and works of this Russian artist and scholar of international fame. The museum may not be here for much longer, however: the Federal Property Management Agency is currently trying to evict the museum in favor of the prize real estate its location offers.
Roerich's son Svetoslav gave two conditions for the preservation of the Roerich legacy in Russia: that the museum dedicated to his father not be a state museum and that it be located at the Lopukhin estate, a unique complex with a 300-year history. He made this latter stipulation with the support of Soviet authorities, who allocated the dilapidated estate to the museum in 1989.
The museum invested out around $60 million to restore the Lopukhin estate from its near ruins - money raised entirely through donations, Alexander Stesenko, First Assistant Director of the Roerich Museum, told The Moscow News. "In the end, the government did not pay a single kopek to the restoration of the estate".
Just behind the State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, in an old aristocratic mansion, is the Nicholas Roerich Museum. It is dedicated to promoting the legacy of the life and works of this Russian artist and scholar of international fame. The museum may not be here for much longer, however: the Federal Property Management Agency is currently trying to evict the museum in favor of the prize real estate its location offers.
Roerich's son Svetoslav gave two conditions for the preservation of the Roerich legacy in Russia: that the museum dedicated to his father not be a state museum and that it be located at the Lopukhin estate, a unique complex with a 300-year history. He made this latter stipulation with the support of Soviet authorities, who allocated the dilapidated estate to the museum in 1989.
The museum invested out around $60 million to restore the Lopukhin estate from its near ruins - money raised entirely through donations, Alexander Stesenko, First Assistant Director of the Roerich Museum, told The Moscow News. "In the end, the government did not pay a single kopek to the restoration of the estate".
In 2006 Museum Director Lyudmila Shaposhnikova received the Order of Friendship from then President Vladimir Putin for the museum's preservation of cultural heritage. In 2007 she was awarded a national prize for the renovation of the estate.
"The Federal Property Management Agency has given absolutely no explanations for the eviction," said Stesenko. But the museum's location in the center of one of the world's most expensive cities leaves museum officials with no doubt that the site's real estate is exactly what is in demand.
An open letter to President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin signed by prominent figures in cultural and civic institutions from all over Russia was published June 5 in Novaya Gazeta. The letter asks the two leaders "to stop the attempt on unlawful eviction."
Nicholas Roerich (1874-1947), whose fascination with Eastern philosophy and Slavic heritage is reflected in his paintings and writings, worked and defended culture all over the world, including in Russia, the U.S., and India. Roerich proposed what became known as the Roerich Pact, which calls for the preservation of cultural values during wartime. In 1935 the pact was signed in Washington by President Roosevelt and the nations of the Pan American Union. Roerich is also known for designing the sets for the 1913 Paris premiere of Igor Stravinsky's ballet The Rite of Spring.
On display in the museum's elegant mansion are numerous paintings by Nicholas and Svetoslav Roerich, family memorabilia, exhibitions related to Roerich's Central Asian expeditions and to the Roerich Pact, and temporary exhibitions by contemporary artists.
By Alisa Ballard
The Moscow News