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 The
academician Nicholas Roerich is one of the most outstanding representatives
of the Russian culture of his time and a symbol of that artistic
expansion which became world-wide in the 20 century. He managed
to make internationally known the St. Petersburg experience and
ideas of the conservation of cultural values when he initiated
the forming of the Protection Pact of cultural, scientific and
educational items (Roerich Pact, Washington, 1935).
The question of the Roerich Museum in St. Petersburg cannot be
put off any more.
The first Roerich museum and his friends society on the territory
of the former Soviet Union was founded in Riga in the years of
independence of the Baltic republics. At the same time the support
groups of the Pact were organized in Estonia and Lithuania.
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After the annexation of the republics by the
USSR all the groups were banned and many participants were exiled
to labor camps. The restoration of those societies was initiated
only in the end of 50-ies.
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It is known that from the end of the 1930-ies
the Roerichs tried to come back to their motherland. Only in 1957
after the death of Nicholas and Helena Roerich became possible
for his eldest son George Roerich, a famous orientalist. G. Roerich
lived in Moscow and was the head of the department in the Institute
of Oriental Studies. At the same time he made a lot of efforts
to organize a Nocholas Roerich Museum in Leningrad, a home city
of the Roerichs.
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The basis of the exhibition was supposed to be
objects of fine arts, personal belongings and documents from the
huge collection brought by George Roerich to the Soviet Union
and also documents, memorial objects, belongings and furniture
from their former apartment on the Moika embankment kept in Leningrad
by the Mitusovs family. (Stepan Mitusov (1878 - 1942), a cousin
of Helena Roerich, was the closest friend and also employee of
Nicholas Roerich in the Emperor's Society of the Fine Arts Support).
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That was the will of N. Roerich and H. Roerich.
The destinations of the parts of the artistic collection were
museums in Moscow, Novosibirsk and some other cities of the
country. Certainly in the times of proletariat dictatorship
the Russian branches of the Roerich museum or Roerich Pact committees
were out of question. However S. Mitusov and his family kept
for the future generations not only the cultural heritage of
the bygone epoch (including the Roerich heritage) but also its
special spirit. Mitusov maintained contacts with the New
York Museum, took a very active part in the preparations
for the second part of the Central Asian expedition of Roerich
and met Nicholas and Helena Roerich in Moscow in 1926. |
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At that time they handed him over some items
and documents which he considered very valuable. The Roerichs
also supplied him with some material help. Later Mitusov gave
a part of Roerich's belongings, paintings and documents to the
brother of N.Roerich - B.K. Roerich but that was not approved
by the Roerichs. Later some documents from that collection were
included in the funds of the State Tretyakov Gallery. A part
of the Mitusov archives and the furniture were lost during the
siege. The war took lives of nearly all members of the big family.
Only the second and the youngest daughters of S.Mitusov Liudmila
and Tatiana survived. In 1927 Liudmila Mitusova got to know
Zinaida Lihtman (Fosdik) who later became the director of the
Roerich Museum in New York. From that time till the last days
of Z. Lihtman they kept contacts by correspondence. "Now
you are in charge of the part of the legacy of Nicholas Koustantinovitch",
- S. Mitusov wrote to his second daughter in 1933 from Hibinogorsk
where at that time he organized a Workers Conservatory.
"We'll achieve our goal", - G. Roerich told L. Mitusova
in 1960 about N. Roerich museum in Leningrad. By that time the
idea was already approved by the Ministry of Culture of the
USSR. The correspondence was very intensive. The Geographical
Society and other organizations took an active part in the preparations.
Leningrad authorities supported the efforts. But the sudden
death of G. Roerich didn't make it possible and the urgent problem
was not resolved. At that time the organization of the N.
Roerich Museum - Estate in Izvara became a relative achievement.
The basis of the collection of the real objects was the donation
of the Mitusovs sisters and only thanks to them the museum was
opened in 1984. Some documents and exhibits from the Mitusov
collection were also handed over to the State Museum of history,
literature, art and culture of the Altai (city of Barnaul),
Leningrad State Public Library, State Russian Museum.
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 In
1970-ies the last living member of the family artist Svetoslav
Roerich continued the fight for the museum involving in the project
famous personalities of art and science. He addressed the Academy
of Sciences, Academy of Fine Arts and Leningrad authorities and
it helped to protect the family belongings of the Roerichs. But
still the question about the St. Petersburg Museum of N. Roerich
and his family was left open.
By 1998 the fund of documents conserved by a
group of scientists, employees of the St. Petersburg State University
and members of S.
Mitusov memorial Society , became the basis for the regular
University science - art edition "Petersburg
Roerich Articles". Later its editorial board formed the
University Roerich Center and a working group of the museum founders.
It should be the first museum of the Roerich family. Scientific
researches, seminars, conferences, exhibitions of N.K. Roerich's
masterpieces, varied activities with the aim to perpetuate the
memory of the artist and his family will be carried out in the
memorial museum. The organization of the future museum will be
based on the Roerich's idea that a Museum in the broad sense is
not only a collection of objects with artistic, historical or
any other cultural values, it is first of all the House of the
Muses of all kinds of human creative activities, their Unity as
an evidence of the spiritual unanimity of the mankind and the
inner aspiration for perfection, creativity and beauty. There
can be no doubt that the Roerich museum will be 'the house of
all kinds of beautiful, not only in the sense of conservation
of some items but in the sense of their use in real life and creative
process. (N. Roerich). Taking into consideration varied talents
and achievements of Nicholas, Helena, George and Svetoslav Roerichs
we should speak about Museum - Institute of the Roerich family. |
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