"The Embassy of the Russian Federation strongly rejects aggressive attempts to take over the International Roerich Memorial Trust by Himachal Government and representatives of the district administration", the Embassy said in a statement. Considering the universal value of the Roerichs` legacy, the Embassy and the Russian Government requests the Government of India to work out an appropriate mechanism to take the IRMT under the central jurisdiction", the statement said.
"The local authorities behaved in a rude and uncivilised manner and harassed Dr Adamkova, a reputed scholar and IRMT Executive Director/Curator, completely ignoring her invaluable contribution to the development of the IRMT complex in Naggar during the last 10 years", the statement said. The statement rued that a massive campaign of slanders and provocations was unleashed to discredit Dr Adamkova culminating in absurd moves to evict her from the Trust.
Registering its protest against all such actions, the Embassy described the campaign as "objectionable and categorically unacceptable, undermining Russia`s civilisational values and aimed at provoking a scandal of bilateral and international dimensions". Dr Adamkova when contacted rubbished as "totally unfounded" all allegations of financial mismanagement levelled against her. IRMT, founded on July 6, 1992 has five Russians and 12 Indians to manage the affairs of the estate and preserve the legacy of the painter.