Russian President Says Disputed Jewish Papers Should Remain in Russia

THE ART NEWSPAPER
By Sophia Kishkovsky

RUSSIA---While visiting Moscow’s Jewish Museum Tuesday, 19 January, the Russian president Vladimir Putin suggested that the disputed Schneerson collection of books and manuscripts be transferred to the centre, instead of turning it over to the Brooklyn-based Jewish group Chabad, as ordered by a US court. "The Schneerson library doesn't belong to any specific Jewish community. It belongs to the Russian state," Putin said, according the Russian press. Sending the collection to the Brooklyn group would open a “Pandora’s box” of restitution claims, Putin added. “Right now, in my view, we are absolutely not ready for this. It is impossible,” Putin said. [link]