WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th October, 2020) The decision by the city of Sitka in Alaska to keep the statue of Alexander Baranov - the first governor of Russian America - in the public domain after initially deciding to relocate it is a very positive development, Art Russe Foundation Director Rena Lavery told Sputnik.
"We consider the very fact of the physical preservation of the monument and its placement in the public domain to be the most important outcome," Lavery said.
In July, Sitka's assembly adopted a resolution to relocate the Baranov statue to the city's History Museum after a group of local activists urged legislators to remove it because of allegations of mistreatment of indigenous people.
In 1799, Baranov founded Sitka - called Novo-Archangelsk at the time - as the capital of the Russian colonies in North America.
Lavrey said after the Sitka city assembly's adoption of the resolution, the Art Russe Foundation attempted to purchase the statue and transfer it to the Museum of the Arctic in St. Petersburg, Russia.
She noted the foundation decided to undertake such a step because Baranov undoubtedly belongs to a group of people who have greatly contributed to Russian history.
"Baranov is associated with Russia's new trade partnerships established in the 18th century as well as with a breakthrough in the development of North America: the discovery and description of new lands, the construction of new settlements and industrial enterprises, including copper smelters and coal mines," Lavrey said.
The Art Russe Foundation concurrently made an effort to purchase the monument for US President Theodore Roosevelt after the New York City authorities decided to dismantle it following a wave of protests against racism and police brutality against African-Americans in the United States. However, the Foundation's request to purchase the monument remained unanswered.
Art Russe Foundation founder and entrepreneur Andrey Filatov told Sputnik that Baranov and Roosevelt were statesmen who greatly influenced the history of Russia, including the development of its statehood and economy.
"Alexander Baranov was not merely a governor of Russian colonies in North America. An incredibly gifted and energetic entrepreneur, he was involved in establishing Russia's new trade partnerships with China and the United States," Filatov told Sputnik. "His role in Russia's trade and economic development was enormous."
Filatov also noted that Roosevelt played an important role in supporting Russia during a particularly difficult war with Japan.
"It was the United States, under the presidency of Roosevelt, that mediated the 1905 peace talks, and the Portsmouth Peace Treaty signed in the United States was concluded on conditions so favorable to Russia that, on his return to the country, then-Prime Minister of Russia Sergei Witte was hailed as the winner," Filatov said.
The Art Russe Foundations' collection includes works of Russian art from the late 19th century to the late 20th century. The Foundation has set as its goal to raise international awareness of Russian art.
