In the wake of calls for Russia to be ejected from the International Council of Museums (ICOM) for violating the organization’s code of ethics, ICOM Russia’s president, Vasilij Pankratov, has slammed the move as “political libel.”
ICOM is a non-governmental organization that sets industry standards for participating museums.
In an open letter published on May 5 in French newspaper Le Monde, a group of art experts accused Russia of “systematically erasing Ukraine’s centuries-old cultural identity” since the start of its invasion in 2022.” The signatories – including art historian Konstantin Akinsha, Francesca Thyssen Bornemisza, the founder of Museums for Ukraine, and Vitalit Tytych, head of legal affairs at ICOM Ukraine – said they intended to take ICOM to court in France, where the NGO is headquartered, if it failed to oust Russia.
“Because ICOM is an NGO subject to French legislation,” Christian Castagna, co-author of the open letter and advocacy manager for non-profit For Ukraine, Their Freedom, and Ours! told ARTnews, “if it does not follow what is written in its statutes, its members can demand that ICOM’s executive board respects its statutes and dismisses Russia for violating its code of ethics.”
ICOM Russia did not respond to a request for comment from ARTnews, but on May 16, Pankratov spoke to Russian Telegram channel “ku-ku,” which posts art world news. He described the open letter as “the latest fit of rage demonstrated by organizations and individuals affiliated with Ukraine,” and said it “has nothing to do with culture.”
“All of the points [listed in the letter] are not new, I have already commented on them in detail during the first attack,” Pankratov said. “The claims are unfounded, especially the ethical ones. It is impossible to judge the correct application of [ICOM’s code of ethics] without taking into account the peculiarities of [Russian] law. In Russia, many rules relating to museum activity are determined by the state, not museum workers. Our museum workers work within the framework of the constitution, and they do not violate the law and local ethical criteria.”
The “first attack” Pankratov referenced refers to a letter ICOM’s president, Emma Nardi, sent to ICOM Russia last September, asking for a formal consultation to discuss “worrying developments” in Ukraine related the organization’s code of ethics. At the time, Pankarov denied that any actions had been committed by “individual or collective members that violated the code of ethics.”
The open letter in Le Monde also accused Russia of “taking [Ukrainian] cultural property after the annexation of Crimea in 2014, the absorption of Ukrainian museum collections [by Russian museums] since the invasion in 2022, and the destruction of Ukrainian cultural sites, documented by UNESCO.”
Pankratov also denied that Ukrainian art has been appropriated by Russian museums, calling the claim “far-fetched.” “There is no uncle from the Kremlin Museum forcing Russian museums [in occupied regions] to do this,” he said. “Last time, ICOM’s leadership was not convinced by our arguments, but said they did not intend to evict Russia. We are now waiting to see ICOM’s reaction.”
ICOM earlier told ARTnews that it needed more time before it responded to the letter in Le Monde, and has since refused to answer questions about Pankratov’s recent comments.
In August 2022, at the ICOM general assembly in Prague, its executive board condemned Russia’s “deliberate destruction of Ukrainian heritage” and said it would revise its code of ethics so it could “address conflicts” more effectively.
However, when ARTnews asked recently if any revisions have since been made, an ICOM spokesperson did reply, saying that members had recently shared “valuable feedback” on a second draft of a revised code of ethics during “the fourth and final consultation phase of the revision process.”
