Poland insists on the return of the paintings from the Pushkin Museum of Fine

[Мимопроходил]

The Polish Ministry of Foreign Affairs is going to appeal to Russia's authorities to request the return of nine paintings, shortly after the end of World War II, Soviet forces removed from Gdansk and is now held in Moscow at Pushkin Museum of Fine. Kommersant reported that Warsaw had previously attempted to start negotiations on the status of these paintings, but the Foreign Ministry to address this issue will be held for the first time. According to the newspaper, is currently preparing a diplomatic note.
According to information cited by Kommersant, 17 boxes of pictures were taken from Gdansk in the Pushkin Museum on Sept. 24, 1945, and a further 80 boxes were sent to the Pushkin Museum March 23, 1946 th. The Polish side suggests that, at least 25 paintings are still in the collection of the Pushkin Museum. The publication lists such works as "Poultry-yard" by Daniel Schultz, "The frightened horse," Franz Pfyule, Vindenfeldsky diptych "unknown Dutch artist," The Flight into Egypt "Cornelis van Pulenburga," Judgment Anton Muller, "Forest Landscape" by Jan Brueghel Elder. In addition, in Warsaw would like to get back to the Madonna with Child by Lucas Cranach the Elder (of the church in Glogova) and "Landscape with cows, Adrian van de Velde (from the Museum of Lodz).

Observers of Russia, the newspaper says the status of the paintings will depend on the legal status of Gdansk at the time of export of the paintings. On the one hand, Gdansk, Poland was occupied by the Germans and then the export of cultural property from its territory is considered to be compensatory restitution, that is, Russia may consider these values of their property in accordance with international law. If the date of exportation of pictures - September 24, 1945 - will be established reliably, the Polish side will insist that the boxes went to Moscow from the reconstructed Potsdamer Conference and Soviet-Polish treaty state, ie, from the independent and anti-fascist Poland.

The situation around the upcoming restorative request not comment until either the Polish embassy in Moscow, nor the Pushkin Museum of Fine. The Ministry of Culture of Russia noted that the official claim of the Polish side has not yet been received and that, indeed, such a document should be submitted through diplomatic channels.

Position of the Pushkin Museum and its director, Irina Antonova will be dictated by the fact that all the paintings in the museum collection are the property of the state, and only the State may dispose of them. The last time GMII returned cultural property to a foreign state in 2008: they were stained glass windows St. Mary's Church in Frankfurt an der Oder (Marienkirche). To send a stained-glass windows need special law.