SPbGASU hosts an exhibition "The Roerich Pact. Peace through Culture"
On 11 October, an exhibition of the international cultural project "The Roerich Pact. Peace through Culture" opened in the exhibition hall of the SPbGASU faculty of architecture. The guests of honor at the opening ceremony of the exhibition were Consul General of India in St Petersburg Kumar Gaurav and Chairman of the St Petersburg Branch of the International Center of the Roerichs Eduard Tomsha.
Interpreter Anastasia Navrotskaya, Consul General of India in St Petersburg Kumar Gaurav, Chairman of the St Petersburg branch of the International Center of the Roerichs Eduard Tomsha, Vice-Rector for Youth Policy of SPbGASU Irina Lugovskaia and Dean of the SPbGASU Faculty of Architecture Ekaterina Vozniak
Reproduction of the painting by S. N. Roerich "Portrait of Professor N. K. Roerich"
“Our university has scientific and educational contacts with India, and this exhibition provides an opportunity to give them a new development,” said Irina Lugovskaia, SPbGASU vice-rector for youth policy, who invited the Consul General to give a lecture to university students.
Kumar Gaurav spoke about the connection of Nicholas Roerich with India. “We consider him a real Indian. Both he and his family are very important for our country,” he stressed.
Oleg Romanov, member of the Presidium of the Union of Architects of Russia, President of the St Petersburg Union of Architects, sent a welcome letter to the organizers and participants of the exhibition. Ekaterina Vozniak, dean of the SPbGASU faculty of architecture, encouraged students to study the creative heritage of Nicholas Roerich. Associate professor at the department of history and theory of architecture Valery Mostovich shared his thoughts on the relationship of the famous thinker and artist with the university.
Nicholai Konstantinovich Roerich (1874–1947) was a world famous Russian artist, thinker, scientist, prominent international public figure. His paintings are exhibited in famous galleries around the world. He is the author of the idea and initiator of the Roerich Pact, the first ever international treaty on the protection of cultural heritage, which established the precedence of the protection of cultural property over any military necessity.
“Historical monuments, museums, scientific, artistic, educational and cultural institutions are considered neutral and as such enjoy the respect and patronage of the belligerents.
✔ Employees of the above institutions enjoy the same respect and patronage.
Exhibition guests
The same respect and patronage extends to historical monuments, museums, scientific, artistic, educational and cultural institutions both in time of war and in peacetime,” says Article I of the Roerich Pact.
The Treaty was signed in Washington by representatives of twenty-one countries of North and South Americas on 15 April, 1935. On its basis, in 1954, the International Conference of UNESCO adopted the Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. The Convention was an important step in the development of international law. It first introduced the term "cultural property" and brought together previously existing separate provisions for their protection in the event of an armed conflict.
The exhibition dedicated to the Roerich Pact was exhibited in Austria, at the Vienna branch of the UN (2019), and at the St Petersburg House of Architects (2020). The exhibition will run at SPbGASU until 11 November.
The exhibition is held at the address: St Petersburg, 2nd Krasnoarmeiskaya st., 4, exhibition hall of the SPbGASU faculty of architecture. Opening hours: 09:00–17:00. Non-working days: Saturday, Sunday.
On 18 and 25 October at 13:00 there will be organized tours of the exhibition. We invite teachers, staff, and students.
Text: Tatiana Petrova
Photo: Irina Bobkova
✔ Learn more about the university's faculty of architecture