Non-museum assets

The State Duma adopted in the first reading a bill on the transfer of state property to the church

The State Duma approved in the first reading a draft law designed to regulate the process of returning to the church the property that belonged to it before the revolution. The government bill was supported by the majority of deputies, with the only exception being the Communist Party faction. “Property for religious purposes,” the document explains, includes both real estate (temples and other buildings) and “interior furnishings of religious buildings and structures, items intended for liturgical and other religious purposes.” The bill establishes the rules for the free transfer of all of the above from state (or municipal) property to the ownership or free use of the Russian Orthodox Church and other religious organizations.

It is assumed that the bill in its current version should dispel the fears of museum workers who suspect that after the adoption of the law the church will “recover” ancient icons, expensive utensils, archival documents and other valuables now stored in museum funds. The relevant State Duma Committee on Affairs of Public Associations and Religious Organizations emphasizes: the bill does not affect museum objects and collections that are part of the museum fund of the Russian Federation, and does not apply to documents from the archival fund of Russia or the national library fund.

From the text of the document itself it follows that the basis for the transfer of real estate and “movables” to the church is an application with the necessary documents attached, which must be considered by the relevant federal, regional or municipal authority within one month. “The authorized body has the right to decide to refuse to transfer property to religious organizations on grounds, the list of which is closed,” emphasize the Duma Committee on Public Associations and Religious Organizations. In addition, the transfer of cultural heritage objects to the church is subject to certain conditions. The bill states that a religious organization, having received ownership of such a valuable object, assumes the responsibility to keep it safe and sound. Deputy Head of the Ministry of Economic Development Igor Manylov, speaking to deputies yesterday, also said that cultural objects that are under the protection of UNESCO cannot be transferred to religious organizations. Let us note that in the text of the bill itself there is no mention of this international organization.

As the Vremya Novostei newspaper has already reported , representatives of the Moscow Patriarchate are quite satisfied with the current version of the bill, and museum workers, in turn, do not hide their concern, although it would seem that the document leaves out church property located in museum collections. At yesterday's meeting of the State Duma, the role of principled opponents of the adoption of the bill was assumed by the Communists. Communist Sergei Obukhov, a member of the State Duma Committee on Public Associations and Religious Organizations, said that the Communist Party faction will vote against it, since “the bill contributes to the destruction of a single cultural and historical space that has been created in our country for decades.” The problem under discussion raises many questions that can only be resolved through a referendum, comrade emphasized. Obukhov. Representatives of other “small” Duma factions spoke less clearly. LDPR deputy Maxim Rokhmistrov called for serious revision of the document for the second reading, “so that the bill does not look like a disguised restitution.” In turn, the first deputy chairman of the culture committee, deputy from A Just Russia, Elena Drapeko, said that the Socialist-Revolutionaries would vote in favor, and emphasized that “the adoption of such a law, which should strictly regulate the responsibilities of the parties, is late.” “An intolerable situation has created when we receive tens of thousands of signatures from citizens who are outraged by the procedure for transferring ownership or use of various objects to religious organizations in a number of regions of the country,” Ms. Drapeko explained her point of view.

Mikhail MOSHKIN