Russia has accused the Himachal Pradesh government of ‘behaving in a rude and uncivilised manner’ over the working of the trust that manages late Russian painter Nicholas Roerich’s multi-crore-rupee estate in the picturesque Kullu Valley.
The Russian government last week asked the government of India to take over the International Roerich Memorial Trust (IRMT) and conduct the stocktaking of the museum’s artefacts and property.
‘The Embassy of the Russian Federation strongly rejects aggressive attempts to take over IRMT, undertaken by officials of the Himachal Pradesh government and representatives of the district administration. The second such attempt took place April 17, 2012,’ said an embassy statement.
It said the local authorities behaved in a rude and uncivilised manner and harassed Alena Adamkova, curator-cum-executive director of IRMT, completely ignoring her invaluable contribution to the development of the IRMT complex in Naggar, near here, in the past 10 years.
