APPEAL
OF INTERNATIONAL COUNCIL OF ROERICH ORGANIZATIONS
AND PARTICIPANTS OF MEETING OF INTERNATIONAL COMMONWEALTH OF ROERICH
ORGANIZATIONS "DEFEND THE WILL OF S.N. ROERICH AND PROTECT THE INTERNATIONAL
NICHOLAS ROERICH MUSEUM" TO INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
Dear
friends,
We address to you at the difficult time. The Roerichs' heritage is in danger.
S.N.Roerich's creation, the public International Nicholas Roerich Center -
Museum (the ICR) is in danger. Many times outstanding figures of science and
culture warn about the threat of the Roerichs' heritage to be of the world
value in their statements in mass-media, appeals to the President of the
Russian Federation.
The world cultural community is extremely concerned with the unprecedented
violation of S.N.Roerich's will.
Svyatoslav Nikolaevich bequeathed to the Center - Museum created on his
initiative a significant part of the great heritage of his family: hundreds of
paintings, manuscripts, archives, scientific collections, the rare library,
relics and personal belongings. S.N.Roerich also included into his will 288
paintings of N.K. and S.N.Roerich, those since 1978 were on time charge of the
Ministry of Culture, and have been hitherto illegally kept by the Ministry of
Culture. On August 6, 2002 the Khamovnichesky District Court of Moscow took a
decision for the International Center of Roerichs to come into lawful
possession of the Roerichs' inheritance.
On December 18, 2003 the Presidium of Moscow City Court satisfied the
supervision appeal of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and
cancelled the preceding decision of the Khamovnichesky District Court .
Throughout 15 years of the hardest ways of formation and development the ICR was
constantly in the state of struggle to survive. Nevertheless, in conditions of
the imposed struggle and opposition the ICR became the large cultural and
scientific center of the worldwide importance.
In scientific conferences organized by the Center, scientists, public figures,
representatives of the cultural community and visitors from the entire world
participated. Each of these conferences becomes bright event in scientific
world. Exhibitions and concerts are carried out, frequently the halls of the
museum cannot house all comers. The center holds an active publishing work. And
all these achievements are the consequence of selfless work of the staff led by
the authorized proxy of S.N.Roerich - the General director of the International
Nicholas Roerich Center - Museum, academician of the Russian Academy of Natural
Sciences and the K.E.Tsiolkovsky Russian Academy of Cosmonautics Lyudmila
Vasilyevna Shaposhnikova.
The Roerichs' heritage is unique phenomenon of the world Culture. We should
understand, that destructive actions of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian
Federation is nothing else but one more attempt to hold up the dissemination of
new evolutionary ideas the center of those to be the ICR. Protecting the ICR, we
thus protect the future of independent culture in Russia. In due time such
outstanding figures of Russian culture and science as D.S.Likhachev and
A.L.Janshin spoke in defence of the ICR. D.S.Likhachev wrote to President of
the Russian Federation B.N.Yeltsin (November 10, 1993): "I am completely at one
with the Roerichs' position of principle about the necessity of development of
new public forms of protection and use of the cultural heritage. I consider the
encroachments of the Ministry of Culture or other departments and the
organizations on legitimate rights of the International Center of the Roerichs,
conducting cultural, educational and scientific work necessary in many
countries, to be unfounded". At present time the ICR and the execution of
S.N.Roerich's will is supported and protected by O.L.Kuznetsov, A.Ye.Karpov,
Z.K.Tsereteli, N.A.Petrov, V.T.Spivakov, Yu.M.Luzhkov,
Е.M.Primakov
and many other outstanding figures.
V.V.Putin before the state visit to India in 2000 stated to Indian mass media
and Russian RTR TV-channel: "First, we at once should recollect Nikolai
Roerich, an artist, known both in Russia, and in India. It is surprising life,
surprising creation, surprising example of spiritual affinity, maybe, not
laying on a surface, but, nevertheless, spiritual affinity of our peoples". And
speaking in the Parliament of Republic of India on October 4, 2000 V.V.Putin
told: "Especially I would like to mention the contribution of the artist and
the whole Roerich family to rapprochement of our peoples".
Our task is to defend the Roerichs' heritage and the ICR from illegal claims,
and also to execute the will of S.N.Roerich expressed in his Appeal to the
Roerich societies and the wide community on April 26, 1992: "...I should
mention that Lyudmila Vasilyevna pronouncedly carries out my instructions on
use and storing of my parents archives. Any other candidacy in this respect for
me as a successor and a donator, are unacceptable.... Protect the International
Roerich Center, help its employees, do not allow anybody to prevent its work".
We, participants of the International meeting of heads of the Roerich
organizations Defend S.N.Roerich's will and protect the International Nicholas
Roerich Museum address to the international community with strong appeal to
give its vote to protection of independent Culture and the rights of the
International Nicholas Roerich Center- Museum - the unique center of Culture!
It is necessary to give publicity to the developed critical situation. The
International Council of Roerich movement and the Commonwealth of the Roerich
organizations support the open letter to president of the Russian Federation
V.V.Putin from members of the Board of Guardians of the International Nicholas
Roerich Center - Museum published in the newspaper "Komsomolskaya Pravda" ("Komsomol
Truth") on December 10, 2003. The International Council and Commonwealth of the
Roerich organizations join their request to create in Russia, by an example of
the Government of India, the special governmental commission on celebrating the
centenary of S.N.Roerich in which the General director of the International
Nicholas Roerich Center - Museum, the Honored Worker of arts of the Russian
Federation, academician of the Russian Academy of Natural Sciences
L.V.Shaposhnikova, the proxy and the legal executor of S.N. Roerich's will
should by all means be included. On the eve of the jubilee 2004 year the Moscow
City Court actually cancelled by its decision S.N.Roerich's will. It really
cleared the way to nationalization of the Roerichs' heritage, bequeathed to the
International Nicholas Roerich Center - Museum - public organization of
independent culture being the nongovernmental organization at the United
Nations. Only in close cooperation of all creative forces, conjointly and openly
it is possible to stop the arbitrariness of the Ministry of Culture of the
Russian Federation and not allow it to outrage finally upon the last will of
S.N.Roerich.
We call everybody to take part in the international action "SOS of Culture -
Roerich's heritage in danger! ".
As an alarm S.N.Roerich's words sound today: "To hesitate is impermissible!"
Moscow.
February 13-14, 2004
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