Appeal of International Council of Roerich Organizations

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