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| Federal Agency for Cultural Heritage (Rosokhrankultura) | |
|---|---|
| Name | Federal Agency for Cultural Heritage (Rosokhrankultura) |
| Native name | Федеральное агентство по охране культурного наследия |
| Formed | 2008 |
| Preceding1 | Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation |
| Jurisdiction | Russian Federation |
| Headquarters | Moscow |
| Chief1 name | (see Administrative structure and regional bodies) |
| Website | (official) |
Federal Agency for Cultural Heritage (Rosokhrankultura) is a Russian federal executive body responsible for protection, preservation, restoration, inventory and accounting of cultural heritage sites, movable antiquities, and museum collections across the Russian Federation. The agency interacts with institutions such as the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Hermitage Museum, the State Historical Museum, and international organizations including UNESCO and the International Council on Monuments and Sites. Rosokhrankultura's remit covers archaeological sites like Kremlin, Kizhi Pogost, and Siberian archaeological sites, as well as movable collections linked to figures such as Peter the Great, Catherine the Great, and Leo Tolstoy.
The agency was established amid administrative reforms under the Presidency of Dmitry Medvedev and reorganization of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation in 2008, following precedents set by Soviet-era bodies including the People's Commissariat for Education (RSFSR) and the State Committee for Cultural Heritage Protection. Its early mandates responded to international obligations arising from the UNESCO World Heritage Convention (1972), bilateral agreements with states such as France, Germany, and Italy, and post-Soviet legal transitions exemplified by laws like the Federal Law on Cultural Heritage (Objects of Cultural Heritage) of the Peoples of the Russian Federation (2002). Over time the agency has engaged with major restoration projects at sites associated with Ivan the Terrible, Peter the Great, Yaroslav the Wise, and Moscow Kremlin ensembles, and cooperated with institutions such as the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Tretyakov Gallery.
Rosokhrankultura functions as a federal executive agency under the oversight of the Government of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. Its legal framework is defined by the Constitution of the Russian Federation, federal statutes including the Federal Law on Cultural Heritage (2002), and presidential decrees from administrations of Vladimir Putin and Dmitry Medvedev. The agency registers objects of cultural heritage, maintains the federal register informed by practices used at the Hermitage Museum and the Russian State Library, and enforces protections analogous to measures in the European Convention on the Protection of the Archaeological Heritage. Rosokhrankultura coordinates with regional authorities such as administrations in Moscow Oblast, Saint Petersburg, Kazan, and Novosibirsk.
The agency's core functions include inventorying immovable monuments associated with figures like Alexander Pushkin and Mikhail Lomonosov, licensing archaeological excavations alongside academic bodies such as the Institute of Archaeology (RAS), overseeing restoration projects at sites like Peterhof Palace and Yaroslavl Historic Centre, and accrediting museums and restorers connected to the State Hermitage Museum and the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts. Rosokhrankultura administers export controls informed by lists similar to those used by the WCO and cooperates on restitution claims involving institutions like the Louvre and the British Museum, while liaising with courts such as the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation on enforcement. The agency also implements conservation programs for landscapes like Kizhi Pogost and archaeological complexes such as Kulikovo Field.
Rosokhrankultura's central office in Moscow houses departments for restoration, legal affairs, inventory, and international cooperation that work with regional branches in federal subjects including Republic of Tatarstan, Sverdlovsk Oblast, Krasnodar Krai, Primorsky Krai, and Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). It cooperates with municipal cultural institutions like the State Historical Museum, the Russian Museum, and regional museums in Vladimir Oblast, Yekaterinburg, and Irkutsk. Leadership appointments are made by the Government of the Russian Federation with ties to ministries and academies such as the Russian Academy of Arts; operational partnerships involve organizations like the Society for the Protection of Historical Monuments and university departments at Lomonosov Moscow State University and St. Petersburg State University.
Rosokhrankultura administers the federal register of objects of cultural heritage spanning prehistoric sites, medieval churches associated with Andrei Rublev, imperial palaces like Catherine Palace, industrial heritage sites such as those in Krasnoyarsk, and World Heritage properties including Kremlin and Red Square and Historic Centre of Saint Petersburg and Related Groups of Monuments. Programs address conservation of archives linked to Fyodor Dostoevsky, safeguarding of ecclesiastical art associated with Andrey Rublev, and preservation of folk heritage from regions like North Caucasus and Siberia. It implements grant schemes and pilot projects comparable to initiatives by the Council of Europe and partners with international bodies such as ICOMOS and UNIDROIT.
Funding derives from federal budget appropriations authorized by the State Duma and Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation, targeted allocations for restoration projects at sites like Kremlin, and revenue from services such as licensing and certification used by institutions including the Tretyakov Gallery and regional museums. Supplementary financing has come from partnership agreements with private foundations, philanthropic entities associated with families like Berezovsky-era donors, and international grants from organizations similar to UNESCO. Budgetary oversight involves audit mechanisms of the Accounts Chamber of the Russian Federation and parliamentary review by committees of the Federation Council and State Duma.
Rosokhrankultura has faced criticism and controversies over issues such as disputed restorations at heritage sites compared with scholarly standards promoted by the Russian Academy of Sciences and ICOMOS, contested de-listing or reclassification decisions impacting properties in Kaliningrad and Crimea, alleged deficiencies in provenance research akin to debates involving the Hermitage and Louvre, and transparency concerns raised by non-governmental organizations like Memorial and Greenpeace. High-profile disputes have involved restitution claims with institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art and debates about development pressures around complexes like Kremlin and Saint Isaac's Cathedral. International criticism has arisen in contexts linked to policy shifts after annexation events involving Crimea and interactions with cultural ministries of Ukraine and Poland.
Category:Government agencies of Russia Category:Cultural heritage of Russia