Russia refuses to send Chagall paintings to Sweden over Yukos dispute

Russia has refused to send paintings by Marc Chagall to Sweden for a planned exhibition at the Millesgarden Museum in Stockholm. Vladimir Gusev, director of the Russian Museum, told the news agency Interfax there are fears the paintings could be confiscated by Swedish authorities.

Gusev explained that the freezing of Russian state-owned assets in Europe has shown that not all states are ready to guarantee the safety and return of Russian cultural artifacts, referring to moves by Belgium, France, and Austria, which have frozen Russian assets in connection with a lawsuit brought against the Russian government by former shareholders of the oil company Yukos.

The exhibition in Stockholm will be cancelled.

“We have not been authorized to ship some of our exhibit items and cultural artifacts, [but] we have not gotten clearance,” said Gusev.

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• In July 2014, the European Court of Human Rights awarded former Yukos shareholders 1.86 billion euros ($21.2 billion) in a settlement. The ruling came into effect on December 16, and Russia had six months to draw up a compensation plan. In June 2015, the Council of Europe demanded to see a schedule of compensation payments. Russia's Ministry of Justice has stated that these demands are unfounded. In addition, the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague ruled in July of 2014 that Russia must pay $50 billion in compensation to former Yukos shareholders.
• In connection with the lawsuit, Belgium, France, and Austria have frozen assets belonging to the Russian state.
• Russian authorities have stated the claims made by European courts are unfounded, saying Russia will not pay.
• Chagall was born to Jewish parents in 1887 in the Russian Empire, in what is now in Belarus. He fled to the United States during World War II and eventually settled in France, where he died in 1985.