Article 1. Legislation of the Russian Federation on Cultural Valuables Displaced to the USSR as a Result of the Second World War and Located on the Territory of the Russian Federation

Legislation of the Russian Federation on cultural valuables displaced to the USSR as a result of the Second World War and located on the territory of the Russian Federation shall consist of the present Federal Law and other legislative instruments promulgated in accordance with the Constitution of the Russian Federation and the present Federal Law.

Article 2. International Legal and Other Instruments on Which the Present Federal Law Is Based

The present Federal Law is based on international legal and other instruments adopted during and following the Second World War, which remain in force with regard to the rules governing property under these instruments: the Peace Treaties of 1947, instruments adopted on the basis of the rights and supremacy of the occupation authorities in Germany in 1945–1949, the State Treaty on the Restoration of Independent and Democratic Austria of 15 May 1955, the Treaty of Final Settlement with Germany of 12 September 1990, and also provisions of Article 107 of the United Nations Charter and the United Nations Declaration of 5 January 1943.Footnote *

Article 3. Applicability of the Present Federal Law regarding the Actual Possession of Cultural Valuables Displaced to the USSR as a Result of the Second World War and Located on the Territory of the Russian Federation

The present Federal Law shall be applicable to the displaced cultural valuables defined in Article 4 of the present Federal Law, irrespective of in whose possession they are actually held. (*as revised 25.05.2000 No 70-FZ)

Article 4. Basic Concepts Used in the Present Federal Law

For the purpose of the present Federal Law, the following basic concepts are used:

Restitution—

A form of international legal material responsibility of a State that has committed an act of aggression or other international unlawful action, consisting in the responsibility of said State to eliminate or reduce the material damage inflicted on another State through the restoration of the status quo ante, inter alia, through the return of property plundered and illegally removed by the first State from the territory of the other State occupied by its troops;

Compensatory restitution—

A form of international legal material responsibility of an aggressor State, applied in cases when implementation of the responsibility of said State in the form of regular restitution is impossible, consisting of the responsibility to compensate for the material damage inflicted on another State by handing over to the victim State objects of the same kind (or by their removal by the affected State for its own benefit) as those that were plundered and illegally removed by the aggressor State from the territory of the affected State;

Cultural valuables—

Property of a religious or secular nature that is of historical, artistic, scientific, or any other cultural importance: works of art, books, manuscripts, incunabula, archival materials, components and fragments of architectural, historical, and artistic monuments, as well as those of monumental art and other categories of objects specified in Article 7 of the Law of the Russian Federation “On the Export and Import of Cultural Valuables”;

Displaced cultural valuables—

Any cultural valuables removed in implementation of compensatory restitution from the territories of Germany and its former military allies—Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Romania, and Finland—to the territory of the USSR, pursuant to orders of the Soviet Army military command, the Soviet Military Administration in Germany, or instructions of other competent agencies of the USSR and that are located at the present time on the territory of the Russian Federation;

Former enemy States—

Germany and the States allied with it during the Second World War—Bulgaria, Hungary, Italy, Romania, and Finland;

Property of former enemy States—

Any property that is State-owned, private, municipal, or owned by societal or other organizations and associations in former enemy States;

Interested States—

Any States (with the exception of the Russian Federation and the States specified in Article 7 of the present Federal Law) whose territory was occupied in full or in part by the troops of former enemy States;

Property of interested States—

any State-owned property, or property that is owned by private, municipal, societal, or other organizations and associations in the interested States;

Cultural institutions—

Russian State-owned (including State agencies) and municipal museums, archives, libraries, and other scientific, educational, entertainment, and instructional institutions and organizations operating in the fields of education, science, and culture.

Article 5. Composition of Displaced Cultural Valuables

Displaced cultural valuables, from the standpoint of their former State of ownership, shall include those cultural valuables that were the property of the former enemy States, in the meaning indicated in Article 4 of the present Federal Law. (*as revised 25.05.2000 No 70-FZ)

Article 6. On the Right of Ownership by the Russian Federation of Displaced Cultural Valuables

1. 1. All displaced cultural valuables transferred to the USSR in realization of its right to compensatory restitution and located on the territory of the Russian Federation, with the exception of those specified in Articles 7 and 8 of the present Federal Law, belong to the Russian Federation and constitute specific federal property. (*as revised 25.05.2000 No 70-FZ)

2. 2. The right of federal ownership shall not apply to such specific displaced cultural valuables—as have legally passed into the ownership of individual Russian physical and juridical persons, Subjects of the Russian Federation, municipalities, or societal and other organizations and associations. (*as revised 25.05.2000 No 70-FZ)

Article 7. On Guarantees of the Rights of Ownership of the Republic of Belarus, the Latvian Republic, the Lithuanian Republic, the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, and the Estonian Republic to Displaced Cultural Valuables

1. 1. The provisions of Article 6 of the present Federal Law do not affect the right of ownership of the Republic of Belarus, the Latvian Republic, the Lithuanian Republic, the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, and the Estonian Republic to cultural objects that may be among the displaced cultural valuables, but that were plundered and removed during the Second World War by Germany and/or its military allies not from the territory of the Russian Soviet Federal Socialist Republic but from the territories of the Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, the Latvian Soviet Socialist Republic, the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic, the Moldovan Soviet Socialist Republic, the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, or the Estonian Soviet Socialist Republic, and which constituted the national heritage of said union republics and not of the other union republics that comprised the USSR within its borders as of 1 February 1950.

2. 2. Cultural objects specified in Section 1 of this Article may be handed over to the rightful ownership of the Republic of Belarus, the Latvian Republic, the Lithuanian Republic, the Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, and the Estonian Republic, subject to their compliance with the conditions of Article 18, Section 4, of the present Federal Law and subject also to their agreement to ensure the same approach, based on the principle of reciprocity, to cultural valuables of the Russian Federation that were displaced to the USSR from former enemy States and are located on their territories.

Article 8. Displaced Cultural Valuables Not Covered by Articles 6 and 7 of the Present Federal Law

Articles 6 and 7 of the present Federal Law shall not be applicable to the following displaced cultural valuables:

1. 1. Cultural valuables of interested States forcibly confiscated and illegally removed from their territory by former enemy States; (*as revised 25.05.2000 No 70-FZ)

2. 2. Cultural valuables that were the property of religious organizations or private charitable institutions and that were used exclusively for religious or charitable purposes and did not serve the interests of militarism and/or Nazism (or Fascism);

3. 3. Cultural valuables that belonged to individuals who were deprived of these valuables because of their active struggle against Nazism (or Fascism), including their participation in national resistance against the occupation regimes of former enemy States and collaborationist regimes, and/or because of their race, religion, or national affiliation.

Article 9. Conditions of Transfer of Cultural Valuables Covered by Article 8 of the Present Federal Law to Interested States

1. 1. Cultural valuables for which the interested State files a claim for their return, and also presents evidence that these valuables are covered by the corresponding Section (Sections) of Article 8 of the present Federal Law, and officially confirms that it has not received any lump sum compensation for the loss of these valuables from Germany or any other former enemy State, are to be conveyed to the interested State in accordance with the terms and conditions specified in Article 18 of the present Federal Law. Such a claim for precisely defined cultural valuables (a precisely defined cultural valuable) may be submitted by the interested State any time after it becomes aware that those valuables (or this valuable) are (is) located on the territory of the Russian Federation, however no later than 18 months after the day of publication, by the federal executive agency authorized by the Government of the Russian Federation to execute State regulation in the field of protection of cultural valuables, of information about those valuables (or this valuable) in an information source designated by the Government of the Russian Federation. (*as revised 25.05.2000 No 70-FZ)

   Rights provided for in Paragraph 1 of Section 1 of this Article may be exercised by any interested State that offers to the Russian Federation, on the basis of the principle of reciprocity, no less favorable legal conditions for the return of that portion of the cultural valuables of the Russian Federation plundered by former enemy States that is currently located, or may appear in the future, on the territory of the aforementioned interested State. (*as revised 25.05.2000 No 70-FZ)

2. 2. Claims specified in Section 1 of this Article not made before the deadline specified in this Section will not be considered, which does not deprive individual physical and juridical persons of the interested State of the right to seek redress of their claims in legal proceedings within the period stipulated by laws of the Russian Federation. (*as revised 25.05.2000 No 70-FZ)

3. 3. Displaced cultural valuables covered by Article 8 of this Federal Law, not claimed by an interested State in accordance with the procedure and conditions stipulated by this Federal Law, or by individual physical or juridical persons of the aforementioned State on the basis of a legal decision having entered into force, will be entered in a Special Collection (register) of cultural valuables designated for exchange for cultural valuables of the Russian Federation looted by former enemy States during the Second World War and located on the territory of the States that have not claimed their cultural valuables. Provisions about the Special Collection (registry) of cultural valuables specified in this Section shall be approved by the Government of the Russian Federation. (*as revised 25.05.2000 No 70-FZ)

Article 10. Conditions of Transfer of Cultural Valuables Specified in Sections 2 and 3 of Article 8 of the Present Federal Law to Former Enemy States

1. 1. Cultural valuables specified in Sections 2 and 3 of Article 8 of the present Federal Law for which a former enemy State files a claim for return and presents evidence that those valuables are covered by Section 2 and/or Section 3 of Article 8 of the present Federal Law may be conveyed to the claimant State, as rightful owner, in accordance with the terms and conditions specified in Article 18 of the present Federal Law. Such a claim regarding precisely defined cultural valuables (or a valuable) may be made by the former enemy State any time after it becomes aware that those valuables (or that valuable) are (is) on the territory of the Russian Federation, however not later than 18 months after the day of publication, by the federal executive agency that is authorized by the Government of the Russian Federation to execute State regulation in the field of protection of cultural valuables, of information about those valuables (or that valuable) in an information source designated by the Government of the Russian Federation. (*as revised 25.05.2000 No 70-FZ)

   The rights provided by the first paragraph of Section 1 of this Article may be exercised by any of the former enemy States that takes special legislative measures to ensure implementation of its obligation to return, free of charge, to the Russian Federation its cultural valuables that were plundered and illegally removed by former enemy States and that currently are, or may be in the future, located on the territory of that former enemy State.

2. 2. Claims specified in Section 1 of this Article not made before the deadline specified in this Section will not be considered, which is not to deprive physical and juridical persons of the former enemy State of the right to seek redress of their claims in legal proceedings within the period stipulated by laws of the Russian Federation. (*as revised 25.05.2000 No 70-FZ)

3. 3. Displaced cultural valuables covered by Sections 2 and 3 of Article 8 of this Federal Law, not claimed by the former enemy State according to procedures and conditions stipulated by this Federal Law, or by physical and juridical persons of the aforementioned State on the basis of a legal decision having entered into force, shall become federal property, which is not to deprive persons specified in Section 3 of Article 8 of this Federal Law of the right to demand compensation for damages inflicted on them in accordance with existing laws of the former enemy State that inflicted the damage. (*as revised 25.05. 2000 No 70-FZ)

Article 11. Displaced Cultural Valuables Not Subject to Transfer to Foreign States or International Organizations and (or) Export from the Russian Federation

Cultural valuables (archival and other materials, heirlooms, and other valuables) that by their content or nature may serve the purpose of resurrecting the spirit of militarism and/or Nazism (or Fascism) shall not be transferred to foreign States or international organizations and/or exported from the Russian Federation.

Article 12. Displaced Cultural Valuables that Represent Family Heirlooms

1. 1. Displaced cultural valuables that are family heirlooms (family archives, photographs, letters, decorations and awards, and portraits of family members or their ancestors) that have become federal property according to Article 6 of the present Federal Law, may for humanitarian reasons be handed over to authorized representatives of the families to which these valuables (heirlooms) formerly belonged, in accordance with the terms and conditions of Article 19 of the present Federal Law.

2. 2. Application of Section 1 of this Article shall not extend to the family heirlooms of persons active in militarist and/or Nazi (or Fascist) regimes.

Article 13. Rights of Cultural Institutions Regarding Displaced Cultural Valuables

1. 1. Cultural institutions that under the Civil Code of the Russian Federation are endowed with the right of operative management of displaced cultural valuables that under Article 6 of the present Federal Law are federal property, shall exercise the rights of ownership, use, and disposal of said cultural valuables consonant with the objective of their activities and the purpose of the valuables. However, alienation and/or transfer of these cultural valuables, except as provided by Section 2 of this Article, may be effected only on the basis of and in accordance with the terms and conditions provided in the present Federal Law. (*as revised 25.05.2000 No 70-FZ)

2. 2. Duplicates of displaced cultural valuables that are under the operative management of cultural institutions (books, lithographs, and other printed publications) may be the object of cultural exchange with foreign institutions and organizations in cases where these duplicates are of no interest to other cultural institutions of the Russian Federation.

Article 14. Cultural Valuables Illegally Removed from the Territory of the Russian Federation Occupied by German Troops and German Military Allies during the Second World War

The Russian Federation will cooperate with the States that jointly with the USSR exercised supreme authority in Germany during its occupation—the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America, and the French Republic—with the aim of identifying and returning to ownership of the Russian Federation cultural valuables that might have been displaced to these States from their respective occupation zones of Germany.

The Russian Federation will also cooperate to the same ends with other States in which its cultural valuables may be located, and that have signed or acceded to the United Nations Declaration of 5 January 1943, by concluding appropriate international treaties as provided in Article 22 of the present Federal Law.

Article 15. Conditions for Exchange of Displaced Cultural Valuables for Cultural Valuables of the Russian Federation Located beyond the Borders of the Russian Federation

The exchange of displaced cultural valuables for cultural valuables of the Russian Federation which are located beyond the borders of the Russian Federation, and for which the Russian Federation has not filed restitution claims, is permissible only in case of equivalent value of said valuables, as determined by a duly considered decision of an authorized federal executive agency in the sphere of culture, art, and cinematography. Such exchange shall be formalized through an international agreement with the Russian Federation taking into account the provisions of Chapter V of the present Federal Law. (*as revised 22.08.2004 No 122-FZ)

Article 16. Competent Federal Agency of Executive Power in the Sphere of Culture, Art, and Cinematography (*as revised 22.08.2004 No 122-FZ)

1. 1. Authority for the preservation of displaced cultural valuables and preparation of decisions on questions relating to the right of ownership of those valuables shall be entrusted to a competent federal agency of executive power in the sphere of culture, art, and cinematography (hereafter, Federal Agency). (*as revised 22.08.2004 No 122-FZ)

2. 2. The Federal Agency shall be assigned the following functions:

   • • to oversee registration, and compile an electronic database of all displaced cultural valuables; publish information thereupon; and compile a register of cultural valuables designated for exchange as specified in Section 3 of Article 9 of this Federal Law; (*as revised 22.08.2004 No 122-FZ)

   • • to consider claims of foreign countries and petitions of foreign citizens in accordance with Articles 18 and 19 of the present Federal Law and to prepare decisions on such claims, and make decisions on such petitions;

   • • to distribute displaced cultural valuables among cultural institutions with the practical aim of using these valuables as compensation for damage incurred by these cultural institutions as a result of plunder and destruction of their property by troops of former enemy States;

   • • to resolve disputed questions between cultural institutions concerning the distribution of displaced cultural valuables among them;

   • • to determine the categories and storage conditions for displaced cultural valuables not subject to transfer to foreign countries or international organizations and/or export from the Russian Federation;

   • • to issue permits to cultural institutions to exercise their right under Article 13 of the present Federal Law to use duplicates of displaced cultural valuables for cultural exchange with foreign institutions and organizations;

   • • to exercise compliance authority with regard to such foreign trade regulations as pertain to displaced cultural valuables;

   • • to present to the Government of the Russian Federation, jointly or in agreement with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, proposals for conducting negotiations concerning displaced cultural valuables;

   • • to monitor compliance with the present Federal Law.

3. 3. The decisions adopted by the Federal Agency in accordance with its functions and authority as stipulated in this Article are binding. Decisions of the Federal Agency may be appealed in accordance with the laws of the Russian Federation. A decision that has not been appealed within the time period stipulated by laws of the Russian Federation is considered to have entered into force and may be amended by another decision of the Federal Agency. The Government of the Russian Federation may revoke the decision of the Federal Agency or suspend its execution. (*as revised 25.05.2000 No 70-FZ)

4. 4. An Interagency Council on Questions of Cultural Valuables Displaced as a Result of the Second World War will be created as a collegial advisory body. The head of the Federal Agency will be chair of the Interagency Council on Questions of Cultural Valuables Displaced as a Result of the Second World War.

Article 17. Petitions and Claims of Cultural Institutions Concerning Displaced Cultural Valuables and Return of Their Property

A cultural institution may apply to the Federal Agency for the allocation to it of specific cultural valuables from among the displaced cultural valuables in compensation for the damage incurred by this institution as a result of the plunder and/or destruction of its property by the troops of former enemy States; it may also file claims disputing the allocation of such property. The procedure for consideration of these petitions and claims shall be determined by a regulation approved by the Government of the Russian Federation.

A cultural institution may also appeal to the Federal Agency for the return of cultural valuables formerly in its possession that, without justification, have been conveyed to another cultural institution.

Article 18. Claims of Foreign States for Displaced Cultural Valuables

1. 1. Claims regarding displaced cultural valuables covered in Sections 1, 2, and 3 of Article 8 of the present Federal Law can be made by the Government of the claimant State only to the Government of the Russian Federation; claims of physical and juridical persons, municipal agencies, and societal and other organizations and associations are not subject to consideration. A claim must be submitted to the Government of the Russian Federation by the Government of the claimant State in the state language of the Russian Federation. (*as revised 25.05.2000 No 70-FZ)

2. 2. The transfer to a claimant State of a displaced cultural valuable of unique character, having especially important historical, artistic, scientific, or other cultural significance, shall be carried out on the basis of a Federal Law. A draft of the Federal Law on transfer of displaced cultural valuables shall be submitted to the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation by the Government of the Russian Federation upon agreement with the agency of state power of the Subject of the Russian Federation on whose territory is located the regional cultural institution responsible for operative management of said cultural valuable. Criteria and procedures for designating displaced cultural valuables as cultural valuables of a unique character having especially important historical, artistic, scientific, or cultural value, or as cultural valuables having no such character and significance, shall be approved by the Government of the Russian Federation. The transfer to a claimant State of a displaced cultural valuable that has no unique character or especially important historical, artistic, scientific, or other cultural significance shall be carried out on the basis of a Decree issued by the Government of the Russian Federation upon agreement with the agency of state power of the Subject of the Russian Federation on whose territory is located the regional cultural institution responsible for operative management of said cultural valuable and also upon notification of the chambers of the Federal Assembly of the Russian Federation. The Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation shall take effect on the day of its official publication. (*as revised 25.05.2000 No 70-FZ)

3. 3. Without adoption of the appropriate Federal Law or Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation, no displaced cultural valuable shall be the subject of an act of transfer, donation, exchange, or any other form of alienation for the benefit of any State, organization, or individual person. (*as revised 25.05.2000 No 70-FZ)

4. 4. The transfer of a claimed displaced cultural valuable to the claimant State shall be subject to reimbursement by said State of the expenses for its identification, expert appraisal, storage, and restoration, as well as for its transfer (transportation costs, etc.).

5. 5. Based on a Federal Law or a Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation on transfer of the displaced cultural valuable, the Federal Agency shall instruct the cultural institution responsible for operative management of the displaced cultural valuable that is the subject of the claim to conclude an agreement with the organization (institution or individual) authorized by the government of the claimant State on the basis of which the reimbursement of the expenses provided for in Section 4 of this Article and the actual transfer of the valuable (heirloom) shall be carried out. (*as revised 25.05.2000 No 70-FZ)

   The original deed of transfer of displaced cultural valuables shall be registered and stored at the Federal Agency, and copies of the document shall be stored with the cultural institution and the interested parties.

Article 19. Claims for Family Heirlooms

1. 1. Petitions for displaced cultural valuables which are family heirlooms as defined in Article 12 of the present Federal Law may be filed with the Federal Agency by duly authorized representatives of families to whom the valuables (heirlooms) formerly belonged.

2. 2. If a petition is recognized, the Federal Agency will issue a decision to transfer the family heirloom that is the object of the claim to the family to whom it formerly belonged, subject to payment of its value as well as reimbursement of the costs of its identification, expert appraisal, storage, restoration, and transfer (transportation etc.).

3. 3. The cultural institution responsible for the operative management of the displaced cultural valuable being claimed shall conclude an agreement, on instruction of the Federal Agency, with the duly authorized representative of the family to whom the cultural valuable (heirloom) formerly belonged, in accordance with which the payment for its value and the reimbursement of the expenses covered in Section 2 of this Article as well as the actual transfer of the valuable (heirloom) shall be carried out.

   The original deed of transfer of the cultural valuable (heirloom) shall be registered and stored at the Federal Agency and copies shall be stored at the cultural institution and by the interested parties.

Article 20. Displaced Cultural Valuables Located in Cultural Institutions of Subjects of the Russian Federation or in Municipal Cultural Institutions

Prior to expiration of the period of acceptance for consideration of claims of foreign States for displaced cultural valuables, as stipulated in Articles 9 and 10 of the present Federal Law, those cultural valuables that are located in cultural institutions of Subjects of the Russian Federation or in municipal cultural institutions shall be considered as federal property in accordance with Article 6 of the present Federal Law. The redistribution of displaced cultural valuables among federal cultural institutions, cultural institutions of Subjects of the Russian Federation, or municipal cultural institutions is not permitted prior to expiration of the time period referred to above. (*as revised 25.05.2000 No 70-FZ)

Article 21. Liability for Violation of the Present Federal Law

Individuals guilty of violations of the present Federal Law shall bear administrative, civil, and criminal liability in accordance with the laws of the Russian Federation.

Article 22. International Treaties Concluded by the Russian Federation Pursuant to the Objectives of the Present Federal Law

The Russian Federation shall conclude treaties under international law that promote the achievement of the objectives of the present Federal Law, including international treaties:

• • on the settlement of questions concerning the reimbursement of expenses of the Russian Federation and its cultural institutions for the preservation and restoration of displaced cultural valuables that were conveyed to foreign States through extracontractual procedures or in accordance with international treaties that contain no provisions for such reimbursement and that were concluded by the Government of the USSR or the Government of the Russian Federation with governments of other States prior to the entry into force of the present Federal Law;

• • on the equivalent exchange of displaced cultural valuables for cultural valuables of the Russian Federation located beyond the borders of the Russian Federation;

• • on assistance to cultural institutions of the Russian Federation in carrying out cooperation with cultural institutions of other States to exchange displaced cultural valuables for cultural valuables that were lawfully removed from the territory of the Russian Federation at various times as well as to purchase such valuables;

• • on governmental guarantees by the receiving State to ensure the preservation and inviolability of displaced cultural valuables while on display in art galleries, international exhibitions, or other expositions;

• • on the return to the Russian Federation of its cultural valuables that were plundered and illegally removed from the territory of the USSR by occupation troops of former enemy States.

Article 23. Ratification of International Treaties of the Russian Federation Concerning Cultural Property of the Russian Federation

International treaties of the Russian Federation concerning displaced cultural valuables, like any other international treaty of the Russian Federation concerning its cultural property, are subject to ratification.

Article 24. The Entry into Force of the Present Federal Law

The present Federal Law shall enter into force on the day of its official publication.

Article 25. Harmonization of Normative Legal Instruments with the Present Federal Law

It shall be proposed to the President of the Russian Federation and entrused to the Government of the Russian Federation to harmonize their normative legal instruments in accordance with the present Federal Law.