Russian art evicted as money moves in with 'land grab'

"The Times" (London), June 24, 2008

In a former aristocratic mansion on a leafy side street within walking distance of the Kremlin, the Roerich Museum occupies an enviable location in the centre of Moscow.

Too enviable, it seems. Museum staff say that they are fighting for survival in the face of an attempt by the State to grab their property and other buildings belonging to cultural organisations.

Their prime locations have made them targets for takeovers by government officials eyeing Moscow's booming property market, where soaring city centre prices now rank behind only London and New York.

Opened in 1990, the Roerich Museum is dedicated to the life and teachings of Nicholas Roerich, an early 20th-century Russian philosopher and artist who advocated a universal harmony between Western science and Eastern spirituality.

He also proposed a global treaty to protect mankind's cultural heritage against destruction in wartime, an idea that became the Roerich Pact signed by the President Roosevelt and the heads of 21 other nations in 1935. The elegant 19th-century mansion holds more than 700 paintings and archive materials bequeathed by Roerich's son, Svyatoslav.

The director of the museum, Lyudmila Shaposhnikova, told The Times that Soviet authorities allocated the building to the public organisation in 1989. “It was in ruins when we got it. There was no floor and the walls were falling down. We did all of the restoration without any state support, by appealing to supporters for help and money,” she said.

“An expert recently valued everything we did at $60 million [£30 million] and we even won a state prize last year for the restoration of the gardens. Then we received an official demand to leave. The reason is obvious: the value of the building is very high now. They want to take it for themselves and then they will decide what to do with it later.”

A court hearing on an application by the Federal Property Management Agency to evict the museum in favour of a state-owned rival was adjourned last week until July 28. An open letter to President Medvedev and Vladimir Putin in the official Rossiiskaya Gazeta from prominent public figures and civil organisations in support of the museum has met no response.

Other organisations facing official pressure to vacate prime sites include the House of Actors, the Central House of Artists, the Moscow House of Sculptors and the Central House of Cinema. The House of Actors In the Old Arbat pedestrian street has been earmarked for conversion into an exclusive apartment complex, while federal authorities want to oust the sculptors in favour of a Kremlin-linked cultural organisation promoting ties between former Soviet republics.

Ivan Kazansky, chairman of the board at the House of Sculptors, said: “It's simple banditry and theft but we will keep fighting. This is a political problem and there are no legal protections open to us. Our only hope is that President Medvedev will intervene.”

Tony Halpin

"The Times", London, United Kingdom, June 24, 2008

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4200480.ece