“War of the Paintings”, Finland blocks several Russian works at the border: that’s why

In Russia there is also a “war of cadres”. On 2 and 3 April, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported, “Finnish Customs seized three vehicles headed for Russia at the border, alleging a probable violation of European sanctions against Russia”. The means carried works of art from the most important museums in the country – the Hermitage of St. Petersburg (in the picture)the Tretyakov Gallery and the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow – and which had been exhibited in Italy (Milan and Udine) and in Japan

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“The situation”, declared the spokeswoman for Russian diplomacy Maria Zakharova, “can be defined as legal anarchy: we are talking about the seizure, in violation of international law, of works owned by Russia which were on temporary exhibition abroad, under official guarantees of the countries where exhibitions were organized in collaboration with our museums ”

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“We are awaiting a timely decision by the Finnish authorities to ensure that all of these works come returned to Russia“, added Zakharova. Finnish Customs confirmed the seizure, explaining that the vehicles with paintings and sculptures arrived in three loads different from Italy and Japan: le EU sanctions against Moscow, launched for the invasion of Ukraine, also include a ban on the transport of works of art and authorize their confiscation (in photo, Helsinkthe)

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“It is important that the application of punitive measures against Russia works effectively,” said Sami Rakshit, responsible for Finnish Customs, which, however, did not provide details on the works. According to Reuters, the precious cargo – currently held at the port of Helsinki – has an estimated value of 42 million of Euro. The block would concern over 200 works (pictured, Helsinki)

For Italyas reported by Repubblica, we are talking about 23 works from the exhibition of the Gallerie d’Italia (Milan) “Grand Tour. Dream of Italy from Venice to Pompeii” with Vase with lid by Luigi Valadier, the Self-portrait by Vigée Le Brun and Grand Duke Paul and his retinue in the Roman Forum of Abraham Louis Rodolphe Ducros and others (In the photo, generic image from the inauguration of the exhibition “Grand Tour. Dream of Italy from Venice to Pompeii” in Milan, November 2021)

The Helsinki Customs Service has opened an investigation preliminary and will continue to consult with its Foreign Ministry, which in turn will discuss the matter with the European Commission (in the photo, generic image from the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow)

Meanwhile, the “war of cadres” on the Russian agency Ria Novosti is described as “a robbery”. “It is clear that the abolition of Russian culture – with the cancellation of Russian shows and the ban on our artists – by those who oppose our country in the public space now provides for the confiscation of our national heritage”, reads a comment on the agency’s website