Museum of Nature in Belovezhskaya Pushcha. Museum of Nature in Belovezhskaya Pushcha Exhibition in the Roerich Family Museum

Speakers: V.G. Shatko, S.A. Potapova,
research staff of the Main Botanical Garden RAS (Moscow),
L.V. Surgina (in absentia),
employee of the International Center of the Roerichs (Moscow), Russian curator of the International Roerich Memorial Trust in India.

Seminar topic:
“The Himalayan estate of the Roerichs and the traditions of Russian estate culture.”

Summary:
The topic of the seminar involves familiarization with the Roerichs' estate in the picturesque Kullu Valley in the Western Himalayas (India), where the whole family lived after the completion of their famous Central Asian expedition for almost 20 years (from 1928 to 1948).
Experts analyzed the main structural elements estate (the estate’s garden-park with its unique plantings, the “temple under open air", the cremation site of N.K. Roerich, the Urusvati Institute of Himalayan Studies and rare collections of its museum, outbuildings, the uniqueness of the natural environment of the estate, etc.).
The features of the Roerich estate are considered through the prism of “traditions of Russian estate culture.” Marked common features in the structure of an estate in India with similar estates in Russia, as well as specific features, characteristic only for the Himalayan house of the Roerich family.
The Roerich estate, willingly or unwillingly, bears, in addition to the imprint of the era, the stamp of character and personality of its inhabitants. It is no coincidence that estates are considered a kind of “portrait”, capturing the history of several generations of people whose fate was in one way or another connected with the land on which they lived.

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Scientific seminar of the OCC KM of the International Center of the Roerichs

Speaker: Ivan Mikhailovich Ugrin – candidate of political sciences, research fellow of the sector philosophical problems politics at the Institute of Philosophy of the Russian Academy of Sciences, associate professor at GAUGN (Moscow)

Seminar topic:
“Forms of interaction between the Cosmos and man: from lower to higher.”

Summary:
The report reveals the problem of the multiplicity of forms of interaction between man as a being, open to all levels and layers of world existence, and the Cosmos, considered in its energetic, material and informational aspects. The analysis is carried out on the basis of ideas presented in philosophical and literary heritage the Roerich family (including in the Teaching of Living Ethics, as well as in a number of articles and letters of N.K. and E.I. Roerichs). According to these ideas, a person has the potential to establish various forms of connection and integration with spheres of reality that surpass empirical reality or stand outside it, but at the same time directly influence it and largely determine the processes occurring on the physical plane.

This topic is considered from the point of view of the problem of human evolution and the prospects for its transformation. From this point of view, human evolution is his ascent from one level to another. However, this ascent should be understood not as a journey of a closed unit (personal monad) from world to world, but as an opening of consciousness, the discovery of all levels within oneself and growing into spaces containing each other (like a Russian nesting doll), as a subject getting rid of from past limiting identities as we move forward, until we move beyond subject-object thinking. In this sense, the evolution of man is the gathering of the Cosmos within himself or, in other words, the actualization of his cosmic nature as a multi-level integrity.

Address: Moscow, 10th Parkovaya, 18 (meeting on the 1st floor)

Directions: to the Pervomaiskaya metro station, exit from the first car from the center

Free admission

MOSCOW, December 19. /TASS/. The exhibition "Nicholas Roerich. Ascent", which will open on December 19 at the Roerich Museum (a branch of the State Museum of the East, located in the Lopukhin estate), will demonstrate for the first time everything creative stages artist's life. The director of the Museum of the East, Tigran Mkrtychev, told TASS about this.

“This will be the first exhibition at which the work of Nicholas Roerich will be demonstrated in stages, according to how the artist developed,” Mkrtychev said.

The exhibition will include about 190 works, which the museum has divided into several sections. "The pre-revolutionary stage of Nicholas Roerich's work is associated with life in the Russian Empire, when he was an academician and director of the Drawing School of the Imperial Society for the Encouragement of the Arts. The second stage falls on the 1917 - 1920s, when the Roerich family found themselves in Finnish emigration and Nicholas Konstantinovich was forced to look for new directions and vital supports for one’s creativity,” said the director of the Museum of the East.

He also explained that another exhibition hall is dedicated to the American period of the artist, when Roerich was invited to the USA to give lectures and hold exhibitions. “Here he returned to the status of a famous artist, public figure and teacher. Then Roerich went to India, and then on an expedition to Central Asia, after which the family settled in northern India in the town of Nagar in the Kullu Valley,” Mkrtychev said.

The works for the exhibition, which will last until January 17, 2018, were provided by the State Russian Museum, the State Tretyakov Gallery, State Oriental Museum and Nicholas Roerich Museum in New York. The exhibition program will include lectures dedicated to the life and work of Nicholas Roerich and members of his family.

On March 20, the Moscow Arbitration Court granted the claim of the Museum of Oriental Art to evict the International Center of the Roerichs (ICR) from two buildings in the center of the capital, which belonged to the Lopukhin family before the revolution. Later, on April 4, the Moscow City Court recognized as legal the decision of the Federal Property Management Agency to transfer State Museum arts of the peoples of the East of the former estate of the Lopukhins, adopted in 2015. On April 28, the eviction of the MCR took place. And in October 2017, the first exhibition of the Roerich Museum opened at the Lopukhins’ estate.

Nicholas Roerich (1874 - 1947) - Russian artist, traveler, writer, mystical philosopher, stage designer and public figure. Made expeditions to India, China, Mongolia and other countries of Central and East Asia. Author of the series of paintings “Himalayas”, “Shambhala”, “Tibet”, books “Heart of Asia”, “Gateway to the Future”, collection of poems “Flowers of Moria”. He is also the author of the idea and initiator of the adoption of an international agreement on the protection of cultural monuments (the so-called “Roerich Pact”, signed by a number of countries in the 1930s - 1940s). His works form the basis of the collection of the International Center of the Roerichs.

At numerous requests from connoisseurs of the works of Nicholas Roerich and Svyatoslav Roerich, a unique exhibition of paintings and graphics from the collections of the Museum named after N.K. Roerich. The presented paintings, many of which are being exhibited for the first time, allow us to fully reveal the creative ideas of outstanding artists.

Creation Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich(1874–1947) represents an exceptional phenomenon in the history of world culture. He was worldwide famous artist, scientist, philosopher, public figure, writer, poet and traveler. In addition to 7,000 paintings, he left us a rich literary and scientific heritage. In many countries the name N.K. Roerich is a symbol of culture and creation. He is the initiator of the first international document for the protection of cultural values ​​of humanity - the Roerich Pact. In 2015, the Roerich Pact turned 80 years old. Signing of the Pact Academician N.K. Roerich met on the route of the Manchurian expedition, since the end of which 80 years have passed.

The exhibition included paintings early period the artist’s works created in Finland (1916–1918), paintings from the American period (1920–1922), as well as works created along the route of the Central Asian expedition (1924–1928) and in the Himalayan Kullu Valley (1930–1947).

The Russian period includes the following pictures: architectural sketch “Tower of the Nizhny Novgorod Kremlin” (1903), design sketch for the ballet by I.F. Stravinsky “The Rite of Spring” “The Great Sacrifice” (1912), the majestic Finnish castle “Neishlot. Olafsborg" (1910s), poetic landscapes of the North, based on Scandinavian sagas.

Paintings 1920–1922 introduce you to the artist’s little-known work in Russia. In meetings Russian museums There are very few paintings from this period. Mostly they are kept by private collectors and are not available to the public. In the USA N.K. Roerich does not forget about his Motherland and his aspirations to the East, to India. This is evidenced by such paintings as “The Language of the Forest” (1922), “Dream of the East” (1920), “ Secret signs"(1921). The beauty of North American nature is reflected in the works: “Santa Fe. New Mexico" (1921) and "Monhegan. Maine" (1922). N.K. Roerich tried everywhere to highlight common cultural elements, something that can unite humanity even across the space of oceans and high mountain ranges.

Works from the period 1924-1947. clearly illustrate the routes of scientific expeditions - Central Asian and Manchurian (1934–1935), the beauty of the mountain ranges of the Western Himalayas - the valleys of Kullu, Spiti, Lahul and Ladakh. Among the expeditionary works are: famous works, like “Ladakh.” Leh. Royal Palace" (1925), "Source of the Indus" (1925), "Sasser Pass" (1925), "The Future" (1927) - a sketch for the painting "The Red Horseman" (1927).

Most of the works are Himalayan studies. The master himself called the paintings in this series “guiding temperas” and “a panorama of the Asian expanses.” For his 1,500 Himalayan sketches, Roerich began to be called the “Master of the Mountains” in India. As a result of the research work of the staff of the N.K. Roerich Museum, paintings from the “Himalayas” series will be presented with original titles, including “The Watchman” (1938), “Mountain of Spiritual Relaxation” (1931), “Flying Carpet” ( 1935–1936), “Alarm” (1939), “Leader” (1944), “Messenger from the Himalayas” (1940), “Sword of Geser Khan” (1943), “Ship of the Desert” (1935–1936), “Stone Woman” . Mongolia" (1935-1936), "Sissu" (1945), etc.

Of significant interest are several graphic works by the artist, reflecting the period of his work from his earliest student works to paintings of the 1930s. These are the sketches: “The Elders Converge” (1898), “The Blind” (1905), “The Master of the Feast” (1912), “Prayer” (1930), “The Virgin at the Stake” (1930), “St. Francis" (1931). These works are being exhibited for the first time.

Creation Svyatoslav Nikolaevich Roerich(1904–1993) is a high example of serving true Art and Beauty. His brushes include several thousand paintings. An outstanding portrait and landscape painter, he devoted his entire life to the problem of studying Beauty as the most important phenomenon in the process of human evolution. The exhibition presents landscape painting the artist, which reflects the bright palette of colors of Indian nature, sketches from the “My Neighbors” series, a sketch for the triptych “Crucified Humanity” (1930–1940s), a portrait of N.K. Roerich, numerous paintings of the sacred Himalayan peaks, as well as unique paintings from the “Subtle World” series (1980s).

The artist’s creative workshop is fully revealed thanks to the graphic works of S.N. presented for the first time. Roerich, which came from the collection of Indian admirers of the talent of S.N. Roerich.

Svyatoslav Nikolaevich was not only a master of painting, awarded the title of Honorary Member of the USSR Academy of Arts, but also a scientist-teacher, thinker, and major public figure. S.N. Roerich brought his father's ideas to life and initiated the creation of the International Center of the Roerichs. It was he who handed over in 1990. to Russia the unique artistic and scientific heritage of his family, which is carefully preserved in the Museum named after N.K. Roerich. “Let us strive for the Beautiful” - this motto was heard especially often from the lips of the artist. He, like all members of the Roerich family, invariably believed in the great future of his Motherland.

S.N. Roerich. Herald. Sketch. 1958		S.N. Roerich. The rhythm of invisible life. Sketch. 1980s

In the very center of the capital, in the Lopukhins’ estate, behind the cast-iron pattern of the ancient gates, the Roerich Museum is located. The entire architecture of the building, the alley leading to it, and other signs tell us that it is Russian noble estate. But the exhibition inside is not like other galleries and art museums. Despite the modest size of the building, it is impossible to thoroughly examine all the exhibits in one visit. You will need to come more than once. The history of the museum is as amazing as the fate of the man after whom it is named.

The idea of ​​creating the first in the world cultural institution new formation belongs to Svyatoslav Roerich himself, the son of an outstanding thinker and remarkable artist, versatile scientist and talented teacher, Nicholas Roerich. However, Svyatoslav himself was also an outstanding artist and a public figure. The museum was conceived as a cultural center, which should not be state-owned, but public organization. The thinker believed that greater independence, the use of new ideas, cultural initiative and cooperation with the world community, without bureaucratic barriers, would make it possible to create in Moscow Museum XXI century. The birth of such a center is predetermined by new times and the latest historical and cultural requirements - such was the vision of the philosopher. To make his dream come true, Svyatoslav met in Moscow with M. Gorbachev, who gave the go-ahead to open the museum center.

If we talk about the content of the museum exhibition, then its main part is precious cultural heritage of the Roerich family, which they transferred to the center. Here are paintings, books and scientific research that are based on the latest cosmic vision of the world, interest in which has not faded over the years. In total, the creator of the new philosophical ethics wrote more than 7 thousand paintings and three dozen books. But among the exhibits are presented not only his works and the personal library of Nikolai Konstantinovich, but also the works of many other talented members of his family. The last representative of the Roerich family bequeathed all these spiritual riches to the state back in 1990. Immediately after the will was signed, the works were sent from India to Moscow on a special flight.

The impressions from the exposure remain very strong, especially affecting emotions extraordinary painting, and especially the Himalayan studies. In addition to thematic exhibitions, the center hosts concerts, for which a very cozy hall has been prepared. It is impossible to convey all the impressions in an article; it is better to visit this wonderful museum yourself.

Lyubov Khomenok

The author of the insert was Tigran Mkrtychev, Deputy general director State Museum of Oriental Art (SOM). Obviously, the mouse-colored walls that replaced the once luxurious interiors of the public Museum named after N.K. Roerich became part of it. As a result, the halls lost their individuality, their unique architectural elements were drowned in greyness, and the entire space of the Museum turned into a series of faceless, nondescript rooms.

The ashen, lifeless grayness looked like a real insult to the memory of the great artist. But on the other hand, it was, perhaps, most consistent with the sad events that happened to the Lopukhins’ estate and the prisoner status that the Roerichs’ heritage once located here acquired. The paintings of Nikolai Konstantinovich, brought here from four different museums, looked the same as slaves.

It is worth saying that the exhibition in this branch of the State Museum of Art is only temporary (until January 17) and is not a museum exhibition. Therefore, the Museum promised by the raiders is not yet expected in the main building of the Lopukhins’ estate. According to Tigran Mkrtychev, his concept will only be discussed for a year, but what will happen in a year? In addition, the question arises, where is the main part of the Roerichs’ heritage located here before the capture?

I would especially like to dwell on former hall Central Asian expedition. In its center stood a gray plywood sarcophagus, under which the exhibition organizers hid a unique relief map of Roerich’s expedition route, made by artists and volunteers of the Public Museum. A collage of photographs related to the life of Nicholas Roerich was placed on it, but without captions, so much so that the visitor could not examine each of them separately, they all merged into one black and white patchwork quilt. Completed big picture a fragment of the original door portal of the 17th century, specially put on display in order to emphasize the antiquity of the building itself. True, only a sophisticated viewer could understand this, because without appropriate explanations, it might seem to ignorant people that the organizers simply did not have enough gray paint to cover the shabby walls. Generally speaking, cosmetic repairs in exhibition halls was done carelessly, the paint “drove” onto the baseboards, door frames, and even the decor of the 17th century. On the white ceramic linings of the stoves in some halls, dirty stains are visible, which for some reason were not washed by the organizers.

The opening of such a unique exhibition was as gray as the walls on which the master’s paintings hung. Several already familiar gray faces and several standard deceitful phrases. The only truth here was the sincere gratitude of the raiders to the Russian Ministry of Culture for the destruction of the public Museum named after N.K. Roerich. That's all, actually.

Only one T.K. Mkrtychev tried to seem cheerful, however, his joy strongly resembled servility. Of course, since the opening was attended by one of the main organizers of the entire campaign against International Center of the Roerichs(ICR), Deputy Minister of Culture of Russia V.V. Aristarkhov. True, by an unfortunate coincidence, the official was not met at the gate, and he had to run quite a bit past the ICR employees and volunteers on duty near the territory before he finally got to where he wanted to go. But everything worked out well, and now he stood in the former hall of S.N. Roerich, where the opening took place “for his own people,” and looked with interest at the new patrimony of the Ministry of Culture, which he had never been to before. Apparently, V.V. Aristarkhov was pleased and even delivered a pre-memorized speech with some enthusiasm. Then, with the air of the owner of the new property, he decided to condescend to Roerich and walk among his paintings, accompanied by Mr. “whatever you want.”

T.K. Mkrtychev obsequiously and fluently told the official about the master’s works, trying to make him at least catch something, but from the frozen smile of Medinsky’s deputy and empty, prickly eyes, it was clear that he values ​​Roerich exclusively in monetary terms, as well as real estate that was once sold in the Domodedovo area. In the hall where Roerich’s painting “The Pigeon Book” was exhibited, Mkrtychev finally decided to attract the attention of a high-ranking official, so he joked: “The Pigeon Book is not about pigeons...” Aristarkhov did not appreciate the joke and soon left, as if thinking that it was too large areas are occupied under Roerich and they should be used somehow more rationally.

But other guests, also invited as VIPs to the private opening of the exhibition, did not know about the thoughts of the high-ranking official. But they also had their own little celebration, because for as many years as they could, they brought the destruction of the public Museum closer - and now it happened. Therefore, whether you like it or not, praise the exhibition. So rave reviews poured in under the camera: “highly professional, deep, wonderful,” “wonderful exhibition,” “the beginning of a bright new life,” and the like.

But the trouble is, the enthusiastic followers of the state museum subsided, but real spectators came. Many of them had already been to the public Museum named after N.K. Roerich more than once and, having heard that an exhibition had opened at the Lopukhins’ estate, they decided that it was working again. Among them, on the mountain of the organizers, there were those who are truly interested in Roerich’s work, and the ICR staff, in the end, also decided to see what had happened to their Museum. And the “moment of truth” came: indignant entries appeared in the guest book. True, the organizers quickly found a way out of the situation, because they simply began tearing out unwanted pages. But you can remove the sheets, but not to the outrage of many visitors. Indeed, there was something to be indignant about. In addition to the gray paint, carelessly applied directly on top of the previous bright wallpaper, I was outraged by the exhibition itself and the text accompanying it - the explication. “People come to the Museum in the hope of getting truthful information about the artist,” the young visitor was indignant, “but here everything is a lie. And this is the level?! Is this professionalism?!”

Indeed, Mkrtychev’s attempts (for the first time!) to show the stages of the artist’s work failed shamefully, since the organizers of the exhibition were unable to reflect them either in the paintings or in the texts themselves. As a result, the latter contain gross errors, not only biographical, but also historical and philological. Thus, in the hall known in the past as the Kullu Hall, the organizers placed paintings from the period 1917–1920, and the very first sentence of the explication, under the strange and catchy title “Transfiguration,” literally says the following: “As a result of the armed coup in Petrograd in October In 1917, Roerich and his family found themselves in exile in Finland, which soon ceased to be part of Russia.” There are at least three factual errors here: firstly, in 1917 Finland was still part of Russian Empire, that is, the Roerichs who settled there, by definition, could not then be considered emigrants. Secondly, their move from St. Petersburg had nothing to do with the October Revolution of 1917, since it took place back in 1916 and was caused by the deterioration of Nikolai Konstantinovich’s health. And, finally, the proposal itself is constructed illiterately, since it is simply impossible to be an emigrant in a country that will only in the future secede from Russia - this is a purely philological mistake. Similar gems were found in other halls. Just look at the incorrect name of the Roerich Pact and the incorrect number of countries that signed it.

Purely factual errors are accompanied by gross semantic distortions and useless repetitions. Thus, the theme of the 1917 revolution and its influence on Nicholas Roerich’s spiritual quest is repeated many times, as if emphasizing that it was as a result of this that Nicholas Roerich lost his mental balance, which entailed a whole chain of famous events in his life. According to the author of the texts, if not for this coup, the artist, favored by the authorities and clothed with ranks, would have lived his whole life in contentment and prosperity. Further, in the same explication “Transfiguration” there are incorrect conclusions regarding the “evolution of the artist’s work - the contemplation of a calm, unhurried way of life in the Finnish provinces” that began from this period and the awakening of his interest in the East. It is enough to read the poems of N.K. Roerich “Flowers of Moria”, written just in that period, to understand that in the calmness and contemplation of the monumental northern nature lying on the surface, depicted on the master’s canvases, there is a tense expectation, a premonition of future grandiose achievements. But the author of the texts deliberately does not touch upon those true processes that took place in the artist’s inner spiritual world and are described in symbolic form in his poems. But in subsequent explications the emphasis is placed on his interest in theosophy, occultism, and mysticism. Yes and spiritual world Nicholas Roerich, and his cultural feat comes down to the philistine level of various, sometimes dubious hobbies.

“A passion for the East, acquaintance with spiritualism and everything that had at least a slight touch of mysticism appeared during Roerich’s life in Russia. However, he remained Orthodox, on which his understanding of the world around him was based,” the author writes in an explication entitled “Heavenly Light.” This strange conclusion suggests that he does not imagine the essence of Nicholas Roerich’s worldview, which famous philosophers call the cosmic worldview, expressed in the philosophy of the Roerichs - the Teaching of Living Ethics. Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, President of the Russian Philosophical Society V.S. Stepin writes: “The philosophical system of Living Ethics is one of the directions of Russian cosmism and, one might say, its result, the quintessence containing the methodological foundations of new cosmic thinking.” Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences, one of the founders of the Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences A.L. Yanshin believed: “N.K. Roerich should be counted among that galaxy of great scientists who, even before flying into Space, brought forward the time of studying the Universe, studying the Earth from Space. Next to the names of K.E. Tsiolkovsky, A.L. Chizhevsky, V.I. Vernadsky the surname of N.K. Roerich should be placed.”

Of course, in the cosmic worldview of Nicholas Roerich there is a place for living Orthodox tradition, the bearers of which were the greatest spiritual ascetics of Russia, such as Venerable Sergius Radonezhsky, Seraphim of Sarov, John of Kronstadt and others. It was this kind of Orthodoxy that was part of his worldview and inspired the artist to create images of Russian Saints.

But the cosmism of Nicholas Roerich is absent from the concept of the exhibition and is replaced by a touch of mysticism, which is mentioned in different contexts, but is repeatedly mentioned in the texts. It is well known that Nicholas Roerich himself was not a mystic and did not like the word. “Many times I had to say,” he wrote, “that I am generally afraid of this vague word - mysticism. It really reminds me of the English “mist” - that is, fog. Everything foggy and vague does not suit my nature. I want certainty and light.” Moreover, spiritualism caused a sharply negative attitude among Nikolai Konstantinovich and Elena Ivanovna Roerichs, so why is it mentioned in the said text? In general, by leaving out the main thing - the cosmic worldview of Nicholas Roerich, the author of the texts misleads visitors who have a very vague and far from the truth idea about the true origins artistic creativity masters

The very name of the explication “Heavenly Light” does not correspond to its content, since for some reason it only briefly repeats the life story of Nicholas Roerich from 1917 to his arrival in India, which the viewer has already read about in previous texts. The author of the text’s conclusion about how different things came together in Roerich’s life looks funny and absurd. cultural traditions. “Nicholas Roerich,” he writes, “died at his estate in Nagar in northern India in 1947. He was unctioned as Orthodox Christian and cremated according to local customs. This is how different cultural traditions came together in the life and work of Nicholas Roerich.” However, the previous texts say nothing about his scientific activity, the goals and objectives of the famous Central Asian expedition, its achievements and discoveries, the activities of the Urusvati Institute of Himalayan Research, etc. In other words, one gets the impression that, apart from these last rites, there was nothing else in the life of Nicholas Roerich that would indicate his search for the spiritual unity of different cultures.

There is also a lot of fiction in the text “On the Heights,” which is directly dedicated to the Himalayan series of Nicholas Roerich. Thus, the author claims that mountain landscapes the masters were the result of his imagination. “After all, he gradually moves away from it (realism - L.Kh.), more and more immersed in the role of the creator of his own landscape,” the text says. But, firstly, such statements require evidence, but it has not been provided, but there is evidence of the opposite. Thus, most of the paintings of the Himalayan series bear very real geographical names “Kanchenjunga”, “Siniolchu”, “Kabru”, “Pandim”, “Nanga Parbat”, “Chogori”, “Muztagh Tower”, “Marble” peak, “Kailas”, "Chomulhari", "Everest", "Gepang". Secondly, researchers have repeatedly drawn attention to the accuracy with which Nicholas Roerich reproduced mountain landscapes. In addition, there are testimonies of climbers who recognized in the master’s paintings the hard-to-reach high mountain areas they had traversed. Mkrtychev himself saw the ICR exhibition “Sacred Peaks”, where the photographs showed the same mountain landscapes as in the paintings of Nicholas Roerich hanging nearby. Yes, indeed the master’s Himalayan studies contain much more deep meaning than ordinary landscapes, but this does not mean that they were invented by him.

And, of course, Roerich’s palette does not undergo any changes towards softening and warmth, as the author writes. One can name hundreds of paintings by the master, where cold tones and the harsh monumentality of snowy peaks, immersed in the infinity of the sky, predominate. Moreover, after 1936, the gloom and anxiety of the Himalayan landscapes intensified, and only by 1945 triumphant joy began to sound in them again. L.V. Shaposhnikova, the largest researcher of the work of N.K. Roerich, connects this with his feeling of the approaching war, and later with the victory over fascism. But for the author of the texts, Lyudmila Vasilyevna is not an authority, however, like other researchers of Roerich’s work, such as P.F. Belikov, O.V. Lazarevich, A.P. Okladnikov, V.E. Larichev, V.P. Knyazeva . This amazing arrogance leads T.K. Mkrtychev, who wrote the explications, to various inventions. It is clearly visible from them that he has not really become familiar with the artist’s work and therefore draws too hasty, superficial conclusions.

From the last explanatory text we once again learn that N.K. Roerich last years spent in the Kullu Valley, but even here a “revelation” awaits us. It turns out: “It was partly a forced seclusion associated with the collapse of the main financial center, supporting Roerich..." Let's start with the fact that Nicholas Roerich chose the Kullu Valley not by chance and settled there back in 1929. The unique Institute of Himalayan Studies “Urusvati” also began its work there. In 1935, as a result of the betrayal of the financier L. Horsch, the first Nicholas Roerich Museum in New York was destroyed, which, of course, became a tangible blow for the Roerich family, but by no means the reason for their imaginary seclusion. There was no seclusion at all and there could not be. This, by the way, is confirmed by the further text of the explication, which states that Nicholas Roerich took an active part in the destinies of the world: he wrote paintings, articles, spoke on the radio, held exhibitions, etc. In addition, the Urusvati Institute continued its work until 1939, and Roerich maintained relations with outstanding people of its time. So, in 1942, Jawaharlal Nehru visited the Roerich estate with his daughter Indira Gandhi. In recent years, Nicholas Roerich was full of hope to return to his homeland, but in 1947 he passed away. The unfinished painting “Teacher’s Order” remained on the easel, which is also on display at the exhibition, but in a completely different room.

At the end of the text, the ignorant viewer will again be faced with a discovery: he suddenly learns that Nicholas Roerich is somehow connected with the Teaching of Living Ethics. Moreover, “living ethics” was written lowercase letters, as if by the way, apparently in the hope that she would not be noticed at all. This circumstance in the life of Nicholas Roerich appears as if from nowhere and for an attentive viewer can become a real mystery, especially considering that in the explication “Heavenly Light” he drew attention to such a term, no less strange for him, as Agni Yoga. But only that text says that it was created by E.I. Roerich, the artist’s wife. And although it is clear to an initiated viewer that Living Ethics and Agni Yoga are one Teaching, an ignorant visitor may get the feeling that the spouses affirmed two different philosophies.

All of the above errors and distortions did not arise by chance. The fact is that after the destruction of the public Museum named after N.K. Roerich, the raiders began to consistently eradicate Roerich’s philosophy. In general, what is presented to visitors is not the life of Nicholas Roerich, expressed in his works of art, but the interpretation of Mr. T.K. Mkrtychev is far from reality. This becomes noticeable in the attribution to Nicholas Roerich of motives that are not characteristic of him, but which are quite suitable for the author of the texts. T.K. Mkrtychev’s love for the well-fed is clearly visible, happy life, high ranks and the desire to get them and even a gravitation towards New York. Nicholas Roerich - a cosmist does not fit into his life framework, which is why an attempt was made to somehow “adapt” Nicholas Roerich, to subordinate his life only to external circumstances and hobbies, to make him a strange confused person with ethereal aspirations and unfulfilled dreams. Now it is difficult to say whether he did this intentionally or whether his ignorance and misunderstanding of the work of Nicholas Roerich, his narrow academic approach, devoid of creative thought, were to blame. But one thing is clear: he diligently avoids the topic of the artist’s worldview and therefore the entire concept of the exhibition falls into a series of vague conclusions.

The vague concept led to the fact that even the paintings of Nicholas Roerich could not reflect the declared stages of the artist’s work. In almost every room you can find images of saints and ascetics, scenes ancient legends and legends, episodes of Russian history, cultural monuments, etc. Therefore, in the texts themselves we have to constantly repeat that at this “stage of creativity” Roerich addressed the same topics. But why Nikolai Konstantinovich paid attention to them remains beyond the scope of explanation, and the paintings practically lose their internal connection with each other and with the very concept of the exhibition, and their meanings become obscured.

The exhibition itself also contains obvious violations of the author's intentions. So, for some reason the diptych of St. Francis and St. Sergius includes the painting Madonna Oriflamme, and the organizers insist that it is a triptych. They are not embarrassed that this interpretation contradicts the artist himself. Mr. Mkrtychev openly admitted this, saying that he has the right to his own interpretation. In his own interpretation, the famous triptych “Long Live the Master!” appeared before the audience. For some reason, the central part was separated from its right and left sides, although it is known for certain that they were always together. By and large, such a distortion of the location famous work Nicholas Konstantinovich is symbolic and embodies the desire of the raiders to separate the work of the Roerichs from the Great Teacher, who gave the Living Ethics, because it is his image that is captured in the central part of the triptych.

Serious, gross philosophical and creative miscalculations and distortions were accompanied by outright crime. The fact is that the exhibition featured paintings from the ICR collection. Suffice it to remember that S.N. Roerich, who transferred the heritage to the Soviet Roerich Foundation in 1990, after the transformation of the SFR into the ICR, repeatedly confirmed the rights of the ICR to the heritage transferred by him to the SFR. In addition, since the founding of the public Museum named after N.K. Roerich, these works of the master were exhibited there, they were seen by hundreds of thousands of people who visited the Museum for a quarter of a century, but in this exhibition it was indicated that they belonged to the State Museum of Oriental Art. No one bequeathed these paintings to this institution, gave them away, sold them, or transferred them for permanent use. As is known, Raider seizure someone else's property (on the night of April 28-29, 2017, the State Museum of Art, with the support of law enforcement agencies, seized the Roerichs' heritage and other property belonging to the ICR) in a decent society does not give any legal grounds for the raiders to consider it their property. But here, just a stone's throw from the Kremlin, this blatant violation of the law is brazenly and shamelessly put on public display, as if in mockery of the entire legal system of the state. When asked by ICR staff to T.K. Mkrtychev on what basis the State Museum of Art appropriated these paintings, he flatly refused to answer.

It is clear that visitors have accumulated many complaints against the exhibition organizers. Therefore, on the eve of the New Year, a group of ICR employees came on an excursion led by Tigran Mkrtychev. The excursion practically did not work out; the director of the State Museum of Art branch could neither answer questions, nor explain his position, nor talk directly about the paintings. But he easily agreed with most of the comments, promised to fix everything, admitted that he knew the work of Nicholas Roerich poorly, but would study it better, assured that he was just an administrator, unlike the professionals from the ICR, who have long been studying the Roerichs’ heritage (and this despite to the fact that only recently he called them amateurs). However, all this left the feeling of an empty game. It is clear that T.K. Mkrtychev is not going to change anything either in the explications or in his excursion, and he has no need to study the life and work of Nicholas Roerich. In this situation, the only pity is for visitors who did not hear his confessions, and many of them will never find out that instead of truthful information about Nicholas Roerich, they were given a naked fake.

This exhibition is a clear indicator not only of the attitude of cultural officials to the legacy of Nicholas Roerich, but also of their inability to create a museum space worthy of our great compatriots. It's clear why this happens. Destroyers by their nature are not capable of creation; their goal is to capture, disfigure and destroy Beauty. They are consistently moving towards its implementation, but they will not be able to destroy the public Museum named after N.K. Roerich as a space of Beauty; it still lives, breathes and creates in our hearts, our memory. And we will definitely restore it, exactly as S.N. Roerich and the permanent director L.V. Shaposhnikova intended it...