M. Shvydkoy said that part of the monuments of the Solovetsky Monastery will remain the property of the state

The head of the Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography (Roskultura), Mikhail Shvydkoy, said that part of the monuments of the Solovetsky Monastery will remain the property of the state and will form the exposition of the newly created Museum of the Russian North.

“I met with the patriarch on November 14, we discussed the issue of transferring the monuments of the monastery to the ownership of the Church. We ask that the agency retain part of the fortifications of the monastery,” M. Shvydkoy said on November 20 during a press conference at the Interfax North-West agency.

According to the head of Rosokhrankultura, these exhibits will form a museum of the Russian North, which will be located on the archipelago, but outside the monastery. The museum being created will be subordinate to Rosokhrankultura.

M. Shvydkoy emphasized that we are not talking “about denationalization and restitution.” “In general, I am in favor of giving the Church and all confessions everything that belonged to them,” he said.

Let us recall that earlier the director of the Solovetsky Museum-Reserve, Mikhail Lopatkin, expressed concern that the monastery complex would be completely transferred to the Russian Orthodox Church, which would destroy the museum.

Sources

• Some of the monuments of the Solovetsky Monastery will remain the property of the state and will form the exposition of the new museum - Shvydkoy // Interfax-religion. 2007. November 20.