PARIS, August 15 (RIA Novosti) – Reconstruction of two monasteries and a church on the territory of the Kremlin would eclipse all previous projects approved by the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Russia’s Permanent Representative to the organization Eleonora Mitrofanova said Friday.
Russian President Vladimir Putin brought a proposal forward late in July to rebuild the Chudov (Miracle) and Voznesensky (Ascension) monasteries and a church founded in the Moscow Kremlin in XIV century and torn down by the Soviet authorities in 1929-1930 during the USSR anti-religious campaign. According to the Russian leader, this project may be implemented only after securing support of the Russian public and UNESCO.
“The planned project, which, according to Russian President Vladimir Putin is still only “a suggestion, an idea,” is large-scale and is considerably superior to the projects previously approved by UNESCO. And the organization’s conditions are extremely rigid,” Mitrofanova stressed.
At the same time, the official insists that it is essential to take into account “the symbolic meaning of the given project for our country, which is on the threshold of a new stage of its historical development.”
Earlier in the day, Mitrofanova said that Russia must prepare a report detailing the impact of the possible project on the Kremlin’s universal value, which is the main criterion for inclusion on the UNESCO World Heritage List.
