Director-General of the Museum by name of Nicholas Roerich receives European cultural heritage Award

Director-General of the Museum by name of Nicholas Roerich Lyudmila V. Shaposhnikova was presented with the European Union Prize for cultural heritage / Europa Nostra Award for her outstanding achievemnts in preservation of European architectural, natural, archeological and artistic heritage.

The award ceremony was held as a part of a conference, dedicated to the 75^th anniversary of the Roerich Pact and hosted in Moscow. When presenting the award the Vice-President of All-European Federation for Cultural Heritage Preservation EUROPA NOSTRA Alexander Sayn-Wittgenstein emphasized that: “EU highly appreciates Russia’s efforts in restoration of historical monuments”. The highest accolade has been bestowed on Lyudmila V. Shaposhnikova’s contribution to the restoration of the architectural monument of the 17^th – 18^th centuries – the Lopukhins’ Estate, Moscow, where the Museum by name of Nicholas Roerich is housed. Alexander Sayn-Wittgenstein asserted that - “The signing of the Roerich Pact had a great influence on civil society. This agreement became the basis for new legal initiatives concerning cultural heritage preservation”. He also said that “Russia and EU have established a constructive cultural dialogue”.

The Roerich Pact on “the Protection of Artistic and Scientific Institutions and Historic Monuments” – the first international treaty on the protection of cultural heritage – was signed on April 15^th 1935 in the White House, Washington. This document was signed by the representatives of the 21 countries in Franklin D. Roosevelt’s presence.