Russian Church Seeks Return of Cathedral

THE ART NEWSPAPER
By Sophia Kishkovsky

Perm’s art, religious and secular, could be rehoused

RUSSIA - Perm’s art, religious and secular, could be rehoused The Russian Orthodox Church is attempting to reclaim the Holy Transfiguration Cathedral of Perm, which has housed the Perm State Art Gallery since the Soviet era, a move that has led to protests within Russia and abroad. Called “the Hermitage of the Urals”, the Perm art museum’s collection contains antiquities and folk art, paintings from the 19th century to the Russian avant-garde as well as rare, wooden sculptures of Christ that are indigenous to the Perm region. The stand-off between the church and one of the leading museums in the Urals is the latest in a series of disputes in Russia that have been simmering for years. A law passed by the Russian parliament in 2010 laid out a framework for the return to the church of religious property seized during the communist era.[link]