FORCE WAS APPLIED AGAINST THE NGO MUSEUM NAMED AFTER NICHOLAS ROERICH
On March 7, 2017 the Lopukhins’ Estate in Moscow was blocked by the representatives of law enforcement agencies (about 60 people), where the international non-governmental organization, the International Center of the Roerichs (later “the ICR”), is located. The basis of the ICR is the non-governmental Museum Named after Nicholas Roerich, where the heritage of the Roerich family – outstanding representatives of world culture – has been preserved for more than 25 years.
The phones of the executives of the International Centre of the Roerichs were taken away from them, and they were cut off from the outside world.
According to the deputy director of the Museum Pavel Zhuravikhin, "without waiting for the arrival of the executives and lawyers, the doors of the museum were cut down. Some unknown people began to take paintings from the walls and pack them".
«Right now the building of the Centre – at 3/5 Malyi Znamenskyi Lane in Moscow, Russia – is being blocked by the representatives of law enforcement agencies. The armed special mission unit has taken away the keys from us. They are carrying out the search and seizure», – said the First Vice-President of the International Centre of the Roerichs Alexander Stetsenko.
The founder of the Museum is Svetoslav Roerich, the youngest son of an outstanding Russian artist and public figure with a worldwide reputation, Nicholas Roerich.
The Roerichs are a renowned family of great Russian artists, scholars, philosophers, and public figures. The Roerichs heritage was transferred by Svetoslav Roerich (1904-1993) – a citizen of India – to the non-governmental organization “The International Centre of the Roerichs” founded by him in Moscow.
The International Centre of the Roerichs on the basis of the heritage transferred to it by Svetoslav Roerich and in accordance with his will established a world-class museum – the non-governmental Museum Named after Nicholas Roerich – which is situated in the very heart of Moscow, the Lopoukhin Mansion. The basis of the heritage, preserved for more than 25 years in the non-governmental Museum of the ICR, is the largest collection of paintings of the Roerichs and an invaluable archive of world significance.
The material value of the heritage of the International Centre of the Roerichs is enormous. The value of Nicholas Roerich’s paintings is estimated in millions of dollars, and they are among the most expensive lots at the auctions of Russian art of the leading auction houses.
The non-governmental Museum Named after Nicholas Roerich of the International Centre of the Roerichs is the largest non-governmental museum in Russia and the biggest center of the independent culture in the country.
According to the latest information, searches and confiscation of paintings from the Museum lasted nearly 20 hours. More than 200 art works of the Roerichs were removed from the museum, as well as the registration documents for the art works and the ICR archive documents.
The International Center of the Roerichs regards the military action against a well-known non-governmental organization as unprecedented pressure, violation of the rights of civil society, and manifestation of repressive measures aimed at the destruction of the ICR and the non-governmental Museum Named after Nicholas Roerich, which contradicts established and generally accepted democratic principles and norms.