Monument to Nikolai and Elena Roerich
Nikolai Konstantinovich Roerich and his wife Elena Ivanovna Roerich were not only outstanding representatives of culture and science, but also a real creative couple whose lives and works were inextricably linked. Their union was based on deep spiritual kinship, common ideas and the desire to serve humanity through art, philosophy and the preservation of cultural heritage. Elena Roerich was not only the artist’s wife, but also his colleague, inspiration, and scientific and philosophical partner. She participated in all his endeavors, conducted extensive correspondence, wrote philosophical works, translated, documented, accompanied him on expeditions and actively participated in public activities. At the beginning of the 20th century, the couple made an amazing journey through ancient Russian cities, including Vladimir, Suzdal, Yuriev-Polsky and Bogolyubovo. Their goal was to study architectural and cultural monuments. At this time, Nikolai painted sketches of temples and monasteries, including «Dmitrievsky Cathedral», «Church of the Intercession» and many others. Nikolai Roerich painted paintings such as «Church of the Intercession on the Nerl», «Suzdal. Alexander Nevsky Monastery» and «St. George’s Cathedral in Yuriev-Polsky», while Elena was photographing ancient buildings, capturing details that could have been lost. Her photographs were published in architectural publications and helped to preserve examples of Russian stone architecture. The couple not only recorded culture, but also created a new cultural code based on respect for heritage and the idea of the unity of the world through culture. This idea was embodied in the Roerich Pact, an international treaty on the protection of cultural property, which was signed in Washington in 1935 on the initiative of Nikolai Roerich with the active participation of Elena. This pact was the first international agreement in history to prioritize cultural protection over military interests. On September 3, 1948, the Pact was approved by the Government of the Republic of India. The couple’s joint work covered art, philosophy, archaeology, Oriental studies, and social activities. In memory of this inseparable spiritual and cultural connection in 1999, in Moscow, on the territory of the Lopukhins’ former estate in Maly Znamensky Lane, a bronze sculpture dedicated to Nikolai and Elena Roerich, outstanding philosophers, cultural figures and spouses, was installed. The authors of the monument are V.Y. Kuznetsov and S.V. Mantserev. The sculpture depicts a couple in long, simple clothes, whose hands rest on a thick book, a symbol of their common spiritual and intellectual work. In the niche of the granite pedestal there are sealed capsules with the ashes of the Roerichs. This monument became not only a symbol of the memory of the Roerichs, but also the embodiment of their idea of cultural unity, which they passed on to subsequent generations.
Address: Moscow, Maly Znamensky lane, 3/5, building 4
