Fines to Save Cultural Heritage Sites in Russia [good idea if you can do it]

July 21, 2013

Last week, Russia Beyond the Headlines ran a report about the proposed new fine structure which would strive to curb unauthorized manipulation of cultural heritage objects and impose serious penalties “of up to 20 million rubles ($6.6 million) for the demolition of a cultural heritage site of federal significance and up to 60 million rubles ($20 million) for the destruction of any monument on the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites.”

According to the Department for Control, Supervision and Licensing in the Cultural Heritage Sphere under the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, in 2012, Russia lost 40 cultural heritage objects. Re-privatization of all worthy sites for preservation is not possible because there are too many cultural objects and not enough money to maintain all of them without private funds. Now, whether the new penalty system comes into effect or not is uncertain. It is unlikely to be popular with the private sector, which has a way of getting what it wants.

Source: Russian Beyond the Headlines.