The Schneerson collection claim was filed against the library as well as against the USA

Moscow, July 2 – RAPSI. The Ministry of Culture of Russia and the Russian State Library filed with the Court of Arbitration of the city of Moscow a claim against the American Library of the Congress and to the country – the USA, Yury Pilipenko, Managing Partner of the Law Firm "YUST", who represents the interests of the Ministry of Culture in the court, told RAPSI Tuesday.

The Ministry informs that the claimants request that the Library of the USA Congress be obliged to return the seven books from the collection of rare Judaist books (the Schneerson library) from the collection of the Center of Eastern Literature of the RSL received in 1994 for temporary use under the system of the International library subscription.

The information says: “The Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, acting as the owner on the State’s behalf towards said books, which have the all-national significance, was forced to resort to courts in connection with the failure to return them by the Library of the USA Congress”. The Ministry pointed out that “no reaction by the Library of the USA Congress to the demand by the RSL to return the books followed”.

According to Y.Pilipenko, “the State – the USA – was declared as a co-respondent to the claim, which has the respective legal grounds”. In particular, this is due to the fact that the books were delivered to a public institution and not a private company. The Advocate is convinced: “It is difficult to talk about the fate of the claims in the subjunctive mood, but we currently see no significant problems in executing the court judgment, if it is positive”.

Schneerson, a Lubavichi rabbi, was deported from the Soviet Union in 1927. He took his collection of books and documents to Poland and left it there after the Nazi Germany invasion. The collection was taken by the Soviet Army in 1945. Scheerson died in 1950 without giving any orders concerning the collection. The Court of District of Columbia (USA) on January 16 obliged the Government of the Russian Federation to pay the American Hasidim 50 thousand dollars each day until the date, on which the Schneerson library is returned to them. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia said that the judgment was absolutely illegal.

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