Origins of The Roerich Pact
An idea about the protection of cultural monuments was formulated for the first time by N.K. Roerich in 1899. During his excavations at Saint-Petersburg province, Roerich began to point to necessity of protection of cultural monuments, which reproduce a world-view of ancient people for us.
In 1903, N.Roerich together with his wife Helena Ivanovna Roerich toured through forty ancient Russian cities, including Yaroslavl, Kostroma, Kazan, Nizhny Novgorod, Vladimir, Suzdal, Yuriev-Polsky, Smolensk, Vilna, Izborsk, Pskov. In 1904, proceeding the expedition, N.K.Roerich has visited Uglich, Kalyazin, Kashin, Tver. During this travel N.Roerich created a large series of architectural studies, created near 90 paintings of the visited sites. Later many Russian churches were destroyed and these paintings remain the only documenting images.
Summarizing this travel, the painter admired the beauty of the ancient monuments. Roerich, expressing his feelings for the state of their protection, wrote in his article “Along the old times” (1903): “Last summer I had an occasion to see many our true antique and little love to it”.
In 1904, Roerich gave a report to the Emperor’s Russian Archeologist Society about the sad state of historical monuments and the necessity to take prompt actions to protect them.
During the Russian-Japan war (1904–1905), Roerich expressed an idea about the necessity of a special treaty for the protection of institutions and cultural monuments. In the course of several years after his travel in 1903-1904, Roerich repeatedly pointed out the state of antique monuments. He wrote several articles dedicated to the poor state of the churches. In the article “Silent Pogroms” (1911) Roerich wrote about the unskillful restoration of St. John the Forerunner Church at Yaroslavl: “Who would defense a beautiful antique from mad pogroms? It is grievously when the antique dies. But it is more terrible when the antique remains disfigured, false, imitation…”.
In 1914, Roerich appealed to the high command of Russian army, as well as the governments of the USA and France with an idea of conclusion of international agreement aimed on the protection of cultural values during armed conflicts. He created a poster “Enemy of Mankind” denouncing the barbaric destruction of cultural monuments, and picture “Glow” expressing a protest against World War I.
In 1915, Roerich wrote a report for Russian Emperor Nicholas I and Great Prince Nicholas Nikolayevich containing an appeal to make real state measures for national protection of cultural values.
In 1929, Roerich, in cooperation with G.G. Shklyaver, a doctor of international law and political sciences of Paris University prepared a project of the Pact for protection of cultural values. Simultaneously Roerich proposed a distinctive sign to identify the objects that are in need of protection – the Banner of Peace. It represents a white cloth with a red circle and three red circles inscribed in it.
- - Regular Committee of the Roerich Pact and Banner of Peace was found in New York
- - Roerich was nominated for the Nobel Prize.
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