Mintimer Shaimiev met with the delegates of the II International Congress of Restorers

Yesterday,  in Kazan Kremlin, Tatarstan State Councillor, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Fund "Vozrozhdenie (Revival)" Mintimer Shaimiev met with the delegates of the II International Congress of Restorers, which opened yesterday in Kazan.

Before the meeting, Deputy Chairman of the RT State Council,  Executive director of the Republican Fund "Vozrozhdenie (Revival)" Tatiana Larionova  presented the guests a cultural-historical project "Cultural heritage:  Ancient town  of Bolgar and the island of Sviyazhsk," told about the objects that have been recovered and restored with the assistance of " Revival ".

At the beginning of the meeting Mintimer Shaimiev thanked  present  experts, scientists, representatives of UNESCO and the advisory bodies of UNESCO for their understanding, which has been found from the first days of work to promote Tatarstan sites to the List of World Heritage. "Of course, we are working on, looking for contacts in need of knowledge. And we are grateful to the experts of ICOMOS, ICCROM for the support,  for the knowledge that they share with us, this knowledge was a revelation. If we do something wrong, you tell us, we are able to hear, and to move on in a civilized way. What is now being done in Tatarstan - it is an important signal to the entire Russian society. The most interesting thing today, every village, every town is looking for its history, its roots. That is what a movement has gone "- he said.

Mintimer Shaimiev briefed the guests about the work of the republic to preserve historical heritage and activities of the Fund "Vozroshdenie".

Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Grigory Pirumov informed the participants about the directions  of   the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation   activities  with international organizations, about the history of the idea of ​​the International Congress of the restorers. The first congress was held in 2012, in Moscow. "Kazan was chosen as the venue for the II Congress, it   is no accident, Tatarstan - one of the leaders among the subjects of the Russian Federation in relation to the preservation of cultural heritage, investments made to the restoration of monuments," - he stressed.

President of ICOMOS (ICOMOS - the International Council on Monuments and Sites), Gustavo Araoz told about the methods and principles work  of the ICOMOS experts. In conclusion, he stressed that ICOMOS is ready to provide expert support to the Ministry of Culture, Department of ICOMOS in Russia and all the republics.

Head of IKKROM(ICCROM - International Centre for the Study, Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property) Joseph King drew the attention of the meeting that the recent victims of various military conflicts are priceless monuments of human history. "Now is the time to step up against the forces of barbarism, to raise the voice of culture, the voice of education, UNESCO's voice and force to silence  terror and vandalism. We must collectively prove that the friendship between civilizations  is possible. It is important to convey this  understanding to the level of primary education ", - he said.

Joseph King thanked Mintimer Shaimiev on behalf of the Director-General of ICCROM Stefano Di Caro for personal assistance in  resumption of Russia's membership in ICCROM, the decision about which  the Russian government adopted in March 2015.

The meeting was also attended by  RT  Minister of Culture Airat Sibagatullin, head of the culture and development of languages ​​of the peoples of the RT Cabinet Office RT Gulshat Nigmatullina, Vice-Rector of KSU, Head of the Department of the Volga branch of UNESCO RT Rafael Valeev.

Press Service

President of the Republic of Tatarstan