In 2006 Museum Director Lyudmila Shaposhnikova received the Order of Friendship from then President Vladimir Putin for the museum's preservation of cultural heritage. In 2007 she was awarded a national prize for the renovation of the estate.
"The Federal Property Management Agency has given absolutely no explanations for the eviction," said Stesenko. But the museum's location in the center of one of the world's most expensive cities leaves museum officials with no doubt that the site's real estate is exactly what is in demand.
An open letter to President Medvedev and Prime Minister Putin signed by prominent figures in cultural and civic institutions from all over Russia was published June 5 in Novaya Gazeta. The letter asks the two leaders "to stop the attempt on unlawful eviction."
