The leaders of Russian museums condemned the pogrom in the arena

The leaders of a number of largest Russian museums made an open letter in connection with the pogrom of the exhibition in the Moscow Manege. The document is published on the website of the ART Newspaper Russia.

"As a result of the incident, the entire museum community of the Russian Federation was threatened, which turned out to be defenseless in the face of the vandals that destroy works of art exhibited at exhibitions. If society closes its eyes to the fact of causing damage to the state museum funds, then tomorrow no museum in our country will be insured from the pogrom, who consider it to be the cultural property of the society of society and states, ”the open letter says.

Museum workers demand to punish vandals. “It is necessary to take measures so that such extremist actions in the future will never happen again,” the letter, which was signed by the director of the State Museum of Fine Arts named after A.S. Pushkin Marina Loshak, the head of the Tretyakov Gallery Zelfir Tregulova, head of the State Center for Contemporary Art Mikhail Mindlin, director of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Anton Belov and another nine more.

On August 14, a group of Orthodox activists, headed by the leader of the “God's will” movement Dmitry Tsorionov (Enteo), damaged several exhibits at the exhibition “Sculptures, which we do not see”. According to pogroms, sculptures insult the feelings of believers ( responses ).

“This blasphemous exhibition, for example, Jesus Christ is depicted in an indecent form,” Enteo said. “We want this exhibition to be closed so that the law on the protection of the feelings of believers is really observed so that in the main exhibition center of the country there is no such dirty, rigid mockery over Jesus Christ and the saints.”

“Four works of Vadim Sidur were damaged - this is a thread on linoleum 30 by 30 cm. Visually visible corners are visible, parts of the drawing flew off. We hope that next week the expert will evaluate the inflicted material damage,” said Elena Karneeva, spokeswoman for the Manege association. She emphasized that the organizers of the exhibition will insist on initiating a criminal case. All work is the property of the State Fund and were insured.

The head of the HRC, Mikhail Fedotov, said that the hooligans should bear criminal punishment. “There is a corpus delicti in their actions. Moreover, this is not about one, but about several articles of the Criminal Code. Do not be like barbarians from ISIS,” he said. “I am sure that our investigative authorities will give an adequate legal assessment to a perfect act. No one is allowed to destroy cultural values. This is a criminal offense.”

The Russian Orthodox Church did not unequivocally condemn the actions of the pogromers. “The legality should be observed in everything. If the law has violated the law, let them answer in all severity. But those who arrange exhibitions must comply with the law,” said Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin, head of the synodal department of the church and society.

On Monday, the head of the State Duma Committee on Public Associations and Religious Organizations, Yaroslav Nilov, appealed to the Prosecutor General’s Office with a request to conduct an audit on the fact of the pogrom of the exhibition in the Manege . Earlier, a member of the State Duma Committee on Constitutional Legislation and State Construction, Vladimir Ponezhezhsky called on law enforcement agencies to hold Enteo and his supporters.