The Treaty on the Protection of Artistic and Scientific Institutions and Historic Monuments or Roerich Pact is an inter-American

treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between sovereign states and/or international organizations that is governed by international law. A treaty may also be known as an international agreement, protocol, covenant, convention ...

. The most important idea of the Roerich Pact is the

legal recognition Legal recognition of a status or fact in a jurisdiction is a formal acknowledgment of it as being true, valid, legal, or worthy of consideration, and may involve approval or the granting of rights. For example, a nation or territory may require ...

that the defense of cultural objects is more important than the use or destruction of that culture for military purposes, and the protection of culture always has precedence over any military necessity.

Nicholas Roerich

Russian painter and philosopher Nicholas Roerich (1874–1947) initiated the modern movement for the defense of cultural objects, for the idea of "Peace of Civilizations". Besides the recognition as one of the greatest Russian painters, Roerich's most notable achievement during his lifetime was the Roerich Pact signed on 15 April 1935 by the representatives of American states in the

Oval Office The Oval Office is the formal working space of the president of the United States. Part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, it is in the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, D.C. The oval room has three lar ...

of the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

(Washington, DC). It was the first international treaty signed in the Oval Office. Nicholas Roerich was born on 9 October 9, 1874, in St. Petersburg. His parents encouraged him to study law, but seeing their son's inclination for painting, they allowed him to study both, which he did with much success. In 1900, Roerich went to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

to take lessons from Fernand Cormon, the well known tutor of

Van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade, he created approximately 2,100 artwork ...

and Toulouse-Lautrec. Upon his return to St. Petersburg, he married Helena Shaposhnikova, who later developed the Agni Yoga philosophy. Soon Roerich became quite a successful painter. One of his paintings was purchased by Russian Tsar Nicolas II himself. Roerich also worked as stage and costume designer for several operas and ballets by

Maurice Maeterlinck Maurice Polydore Marie Bernard Maeterlinck (29 August 1862 – 6 May 1949), also known as Count/Comte Maeterlinck from 1932, was a Belgian playwright, poet, and essayist who was Flemish but wrote in French. He was awarded the 1911 Nobel Prize in ...

and

Igor Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential 20th-century c ...

, premiered in St. Petersburg. In 1917, Roerich went to live near a lake in

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

, to strengthen his health. After the border between Russia and Finland was closed in 1918 in the context of the

October Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...

and

Finnish Civil War The Finnish Civil War was a civil war in Finland in 1918 fought for the leadership and control of the country between Whites (Finland), White Finland and the Finnish Socialist Workers' Republic (Red Finland) during the country's transition fr ...

, the family travelled across several

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

n countries to

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

and eventually left for

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

in 1920. There, Roerich founded two cultural institutions: " Cor Ardens" (Flaming Heart, a fraternity of artists from several countries) and "The Master Institute of United Arts" (an organization for education, science, and philosophy). In 1923, the Roerich Museum was founded in New York. In 1929, it moved to a new building. Presently, the Roerich Museum is located in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

, at the corner of 107th Street and Riverside Drive. In 1929, Roerich's work towards the pact was recognised through a nomination for the

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

. After leaving America, the Roerichs settled at Naggar in the Kullu Valley from which their estate looked towards the

Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...

. Here they established the Urusvati Institute which remains in Naggar with an exhibition about the pact. Nicholas Roerich died on 13 December 1947.

Origins

An idea about the protection of cultural monuments was formulated for the first time by Nicholas Roerich in 1899. During his excavations at Saint-Petersburg province, Roerich began to point to the necessity of protection of cultural monuments, which reproduce a world-view of ancient people for us. In 1903, Roerich together with his wife Helena Ivanovna Roerich toured through forty ancient Russian cities, including

Yaroslavl Yaroslavl (; , ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl rivers. ...

Kostroma Kostroma (, ) is a historic city and the administrative center of Kostroma Oblast, Russia. A part of the Golden Ring of Russian cities, it is located at the confluence of the rivers Volga and Kostroma. In the 2021 census, the population is 267, ...

Kazan Kazan; , IPA: Help:IPA/Tatar, ɑzanis the largest city and capital city, capital of Tatarstan, Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka (river), Kazanka Rivers, covering an area of , with a population of over 1. ...

Nizhny Novgorod Nizhny Novgorod ( ; rus, links=no, Нижний Новгород, a=Ru-Nizhny Novgorod.ogg, p=ˈnʲiʐnʲɪj ˈnovɡərət, t=Lower Newtown; colloquially shortened to Nizhny) is a city and the administrative centre of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast an ...

, Vladimir,

Suzdal Suzdal (, ) is a Types of inhabited localities in Russia, town that serves as the administrative center of Suzdalsky District in Vladimir Oblast, Russia, which is located along the Kamenka tributary of the Nerl (Klyazma), Nerl River, north o ...

, Yuriev-Polsky,

Smolensk Smolensk is a city and the administrative center of Smolensk Oblast, Russia, located on the Dnieper River, west-southwest of Moscow. First mentioned in 863, it is one of the oldest cities in Russia. It has been a regional capital for most of ...

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

, Izborsk and

Pskov Pskov ( rus, Псков, a=Ru-Псков.oga, p=psˈkof; see also Names of Pskov in different languages, names in other languages) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city in northwestern Russia and the administrative center of Pskov O ...

. In 1904, proceeding the expedition, Nicholas Roerich has visited Uglich, Kalyazin, Kashin and

Tver Tver (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Tver Oblast, Russia. It is situated at the confluence of the Volga and Tvertsa rivers. Tver is located northwest of Moscow. Population: The city is ...

. During these travels 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 these trips, the painter admired the beauty of the ancient monuments. Roerich, expressing his feelings for the state of their protection, 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 Archeological Society about the sad state of historical monuments and the necessity to take prompt actions to protect them. During the

Russo-Japanese war The Russo-Japanese War (8 February 1904 – 5 September 1905) was fought between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. The major land battles of the war were fought on the ...

(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 the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...

, as well as the governments of the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

with an idea of conclusion of an 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 World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In 1915, Roerich wrote a report for Russian Emperor Nicholas II 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.k.a. Georges Chklaver), a doctor of

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

and political sciences at the

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

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 consists of a white cloth with a red circle and three red circles inscribed in it.

Draft and ratification

In 1929, Roerich, again in collaboration with Professor Shklyaver, prepared a draft of an international treaty dedicated to protection of cultural values. The scheme was to be a cultural analog to the

Red Cross The organized International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 16million volunteering, volunteers, members, and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ...

for medical neutrality. In 1930, text of draft agreement with accompanying Roerich's appeal to governments and peoples of all countries was published in press and distributed in government, scientific, artistic and educational institutions of the whole world. As a result, the committees supporting the Pact were established in many countries. The draft pact was approved by Committee for Museum affairs at

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

and also by the Committee of the Pan-American Union. Ultimately, the Pact was signed by 21 states in the Americas and was ratified by ten of them. In the

aftermath of World War II The aftermath of World War II saw the rise of two global superpowers, the United States (U.S.) and the Soviet Union (U.S.S.R.). The aftermath of World War II was also defined by the rising threat of nuclear warfare, the creation and implementati ...

, the Roerich Pact played an important role in forming of international law standards and public activity in the field of protection of cultural heritage. In 1949, at the fourth

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

General Conference, a decision was accepted to begin the work for international law regulation in the field of cultural heritage protection in case of armed conflict. Ideas of Roerich Pact still are not implemented in the

, especially its principle of the almost unlimited preference of the preservation of cultural values to the military necessity.

Chronology

''From the book "Banner of Peace" /Compilers O.N. Zvonareva, T.O. Knizhnik, N.G. Mikhailova. – Second edition, supplemented and revised. – Moscow, ICR, 2005. – (series "Large Roerich's library"). '' 1930 – A project together with N. Roerich's covering appeal to governments and peoples of all the countries was published and communicated to the governments, scientific, artistic and educational institutions of the world. :- Project of the Pact was represented to Committee on Museum affairs at League of Nations, and further it was referred to international committee for intellectual cooperation. :- Committees of the Roerich Pact and Banner of Peace were founded in Paris and

Bruges Bruges ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders, in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is in the northwest of the country, and is the sixth most populous city in the country. The area of the whole city amoun ...

(Belgium) 1931 – An International Union of the Roerich Pact was founded at Bruges under the guidance of a member of Belgium Committee for monument protection . :- 13–15 September – first international conference dedicated to the Roerich Pact has been organized at Bruges. Representatives from group of European countries took part in this conference. A plan of promotion of the Pact ideas at educational institutes was developed, and contacts of International Union of the Roerich Pact with an International Committee for art affairs and Organization Committee for arms reduction were established. 1932, 7–9 September - second international conference dedicated to the Roerich Pact had been organized at Bruges. Twenty two countries took part in its work. The Conference has resolved to found at Bruges a special institute for world assistance to implementation of the Roerich Pact ideas in public life. It also took a decision to appeal to all the countries to recognize the Pact as international treaty. 1933, 15 November – Organizing Committee of third international Conference dedicated to the Roerich Pact visited the USA President F. Roosevelt. :- 17–18 November – Third international conference dedicated to the Roerich Pact was carried out in Washington. Thirty five countries have supported this conference and recommended the governments of all the countries to sign the Pact. :- December – 7th Pan-American Conference in

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

(Uruguay) has passed a resolution which recommended to the governments of American countries to join with the Roerich Pact. 1934, 4 April – A report of special committee of Pan-American Union dedicated to Roerich Pact was approved. :- 11 August – USA President F Roosevelt has authorized a minister of agriculture Henry A. Wallace to sign the Roerich Pact from USA. :- 2 September – A Committee of the Pact and Banner of Peace was formed in

Harbin Harbin, ; zh, , s=哈尔滨, t=哈爾濱, p=Hā'ěrbīn; IPA: . is the capital of Heilongjiang, China. It is the largest city of Heilongjiang, as well as being the city with the second-largest urban area, urban population (after Shenyang, Lia ...

(

Manchuria Manchuria is a historical region in northeast Asia encompassing the entirety of present-day northeast China and parts of the modern-day Russian Far East south of the Uda (Khabarovsk Krai), Uda River and the Tukuringra-Dzhagdy Ranges. The exact ...

). :- A Committee for promotion of the Pact was formed at Bulgaria. 1935, 15 April – A Treaty named "international pact for protection of artistic and scientific institutions, historic monuments, missions and collections" (Roerich Pact) is concluded and signed by representatives of 21 American states at the White House, Washington. A distinctive sign for identification of the protected objects (Banner of Peace) proposed by Roerich was approved in the frameworks of the Pact. :- 2 July – the Pact was ratified by USA Senate. :- 10 July – the Pact was ratified by USA President. :- 26 August – the Pact enters into legal force after being ratified by its second state party, Cuba. :- 25 October – the Pact was promulgated by USA President. President F. Roosevelt talked in his radio speech: "Presenting this Pact for signing by all the countries, we strive for that its world acceptance becomes a vital principle for preserving of modern civilization. This agreement has more profound significance than the text of this document" 1937, October – First Congress of Baltic Roerich societies has resolved to create the committees of Roerich Pact in all Roerich societies of Baltic countries. :- First congress of international research (Paris) unanimously accepted a resolution about joining to the Roerich Pact. 1938, 17 November – the Banner of Peace was spread out in Karachi (India). 1942 – The American-Russian culture association (ARCA) was formed in New York.

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

, Rockwell Kent,

Norman Bel Geddes Norman Bel Geddes (born Norman Melancton Geddes; April 27, 1893 – May 8, 1958) was an American theatrical and industrial designer, described in 2012 by the New York Times as "a brilliant craftsman and draftsman, a master of style, the 20t ...

, Edmund Cooper, Serge Koussevitzky, Valeriy Ivanovich Tereshchenko were its active contributors. The association's activity was welcomed by world-known scientists

Robert Andrews Millikan Robert Andrews Millikan ( ; March 22, 1868 – December 19, 1953) was an American physicist who received the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1923 "for his work on the elementary charge of electricity and on the photoelectric effect". Millikan gradua ...

and

Arthur Compton Arthur Holly Compton (September 10, 1892 – March 15, 1962) was an American particle physicist who won the 1927 Nobel Prize in Physics for his discovery of the Compton effect, which demonstrated the particle nature of electromagnetic radiati ...

. 1946, 23 January – first meeting of resumed New York Committee of the Pact and Banner of Peace has been conducted. :- 18 April – 6th Pan-Indian conference for cultural unity has supported the Pact. Banner_of_Peace_India

1948, August – Indian government headed by

Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...

has decided to approve the Roerich Pact. 1948-1949 – Italian association of Roerich Pact at Bologna has organized the work to support the Pact on a broad footing. Committees of the Roerich Pact and Banner of Peace worked in Italy, Belgium, Switzerland, France, England, Portugal, Brazil, Columbia, Uruguay, Bolivia and Cuba. 1949 – 4th

general conference has taken a decision to begin a work for international-law regulation in the field of cultural values protection during the military actions. 1950 – A New York Committee of the Roerich Pact has transferred all the documentation about the Pact to UNESCO. 5th session of general UNESCO conference entrusted the general director with preparation and sending of a draft of convention. Special committee of UNESCO has prepared the draft of international convention in view of given documents. 1954, 14 May – U.N.O and UNESCO Conference in Hague has accepted the " Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict" and a protocol accompanying it. The Second protocol to the Hague convention was accepted in March 1999 due to initiative and close participation of UNESCO. A text of the Hague convention pointed directly on that the base for it acceptance is a principle of cultural values protection during the war established at the

Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 The Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907 are a series of international treaties and declarations negotiated at two international peace conferences at The Hague in the Netherlands. Along with the Geneva Conventions, the Hague Conventions were amon ...

and also in the Roerich Pact. This Hague convention was signed by representatives from 37 countries. 1970, 14 November – " UNESCO Convention on the Means of Prohibiting and Preventing the Illicit Import, Export and Transfer of Ownership of Cultural Property" was accepted at 16th session of general UNESCO conference in Paris. 1972, 23 November – " Convention concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage" was accepted at 17th session of general UNESCO conference in Paris. 1974 – Alpinists from Novosibirsk hoisted the Banner of Peace on the Roerich peak near Belukha Mountain (Altai). 1988, 6 May – Banner of Peace was hoisted at

North Pole The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is the point in the Northern Hemisphere where the Earth's rotation, Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface. It is called the True North Pole to distingu ...

. 1990, 11 February – Soviet cosmonauts Aleksandr Balandin and Anatoly Solovyev took the Banner of Peace on the board of orbital station "

Mir ''Mir'' (, ; ) was a space station operated in low Earth orbit from 1986 to 2001, first by the Soviet Union and later by the Russia, Russian Federation. ''Mir'' was the first modular space station and was assembled in orbit from 1986 to ...

". 1995, 26 June – Banner of Peace was presented to Gebhardt von Moltke, deputy of secretary for political questions at

NATO headquarters The NATO headquarters is the political and administrative center of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). After previous locations in London and Paris, it has been headquartered in Brussels since 1967, in a complex in Haren, part of ...

in Brussels. Museum by name of Nicholas Roerich in Moscow

1997 – Banner of Peace was given to the crew of Soviet orbital station " Soyuz-TM" in the frameworks of scientific-enlightener project "Banner of Peace". It was delivered to orbital station "Mir" and remains in cosmos during two years (August 5, 1997 – August 28, 1999), accompanying the work of international crews. 1998, 9 October – Banner of Peace was hoisted over the Centre-Museum named after N. Roerich in Moscow. 1999, 5 January – Banner of Peace was presented to President of Kazakhstan Republic

Nursultan Nazarbayev Nursultan Abishuly Nazarbayev (born 6 July 1940) is a Kazakhstani politician who served as the first president of Kazakhstan from 1991 to 2019. He also held the special title of Elbasy from 2010 to 2022 and chairman of the Security Council of ...

at President Palace (Almaty). Cosmonaut Alexei Leonov and Professor Sergey Kapitsa took part in the ceremony. - 26 March – Second protocol to "Convention for protection of cultural values in case of armed conflict" (Hague, 1954) was signed in Hague. The document was written by six languages: English, Arabic, Spanish, Chinese, Russian and French. 2000, 8 January – Banner of Peace was established at Southern Pole. :- 28 January – Banner of Peace from the Southern Pole was presented to U.N.O. General Secretary

Kofi Annan Kofi Atta Annan (8 April 193818 August 2018) was a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh secretary-general of the United Nations from 1997 to 2006. Annan and the UN were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize. He was the founder a ...

as a gift from expedition centre "Arctic", International Centre of the Roerichs and the project "Banner of Peace". 2003, 17 October – The Convention about protection of non-material cultural heritage was accepted by 32nd session of the General UNESCO conference. 2004, 25 October – Banner of Peace from the board of cosmic station "Mir" was presented to Speaker of Indian Parliament Sri Somnath Chatterjee on the occasion of 100th Sviatoslav Roerich's Anniversary.

Banner of Peace

"''Pax Cultura''" ("Cultural Peace" or "Peace through Culture") is the motto of the cultural artifact protection movement founded by Nicholas Roerich, and is symbolized by a maroon on white emblem consisting of three solid circles in a surrounding circle. On April 15, 1935, the Roerich Pact was signed by the

and

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

n nations, agreeing that "historic monuments, museums, scientific, artistic, educational and cultural institutions" should be protected both in times of peace and war, and identified by their flying a distinctive flag, the ''Banner of Peace'', bearing the Pax Cultura emblem. According to the Roerich Museum, "The Banner of Peace symbol has ancient origins. Perhaps its earliest known example appears on Stone Age amulets: three dots, without the enclosing circle. Roerich came across numerous later examples in various parts of the world, and knew that it represented a deep and sophisticated understanding of the triune nature of existence. But for the purposes of the Banner and the Pact, Roerich described the circle as representing the totality of culture, with the three dots being Art, Science, and Religion, three of the most embracing of human cultural activities. He also described the circle as representing the eternity of time, encompassing the past, present, and future. The sacred origins of the symbol, as an illustration of the trinities fundamental to all religions, remain central to the meaning of the Pact and the Banner today." The Roerich Pact sign was superseded by the distinctive marking of cultural property as defined by the Hague Convention of 1954. However, the emblem of the Roerich Pact is still a valid protective sign in the relations between the ten states which are bound by the Pact.

World League of Culture and World Day of Culture

In the broad sense the Roerich Pact is understood as not only a legal treaty but also as a whole complex of measures for the protection of cultural values suggested by N. Roerich. Consequently, the Roerich Pact has not only legal but also philosophic, enlightening, and evolutional significance since it reflects an idea of cultural protection in its many manifestations. Characterizing the Roerich Pact, cosmonaut Alexei Leonov wrote:

If we are raising a culture and spirituality then it will help us to strengthen an economics, to make the policy moral and to stop the military conflicts. This is a significance of the Roerich Pact today. The more time is passed the more actual for the world it becomes. ...

Developing the Pact ideas N. Roerich has stated the thoughts about a role of community. The laws for culture protection in itself will not work if the community will not display an activity and interest to this. Later this thought was supported by academician D. S. Likhachev. He said:

... I believe that the best and freely developing social forms of culture can unite creative constructive forces and improve a social life, thereby help the state to maintain high ideals of humanism and peacefulness in the people. ...

At the first international conference of Roerich Pact in Bruges (September, 1931), N. Roerich proposed to create a World League of Culture. One of main aims of the League must be to train care of the nature. In his article "Pain of the Planet" (1933) N. Roerich wrote: "The call about culture, call about the world, and call about creativity and beauty reaches the ear which is strengthen by true values only. Understanding of life as self-improving for the people's good arises where the respect of the nature is valid. Therefore, the League of Culture together with main enlightener activity must wholesale explain a wise regard for the nature as an origin of merry work, wise joy, continuous cognition and creativity". The cultural community highly appreciates N. Roerich's thought about the implementation of World Day of Culture. N. Roerich wrote: "... We shall hear about the world Day of Culture too when at all schools and enlightener societies simultaneously the day will dedicated to comprehension of the national and world cultural treasures ..."

References

External links

* ''L. Shaposhnikova.'
Roerich’s Pact Urgency in Today’s World
"Roerich's Pact Urgency in Today's World" Published in magazine "Cultura i Vremya" ("Culture and Time") No. 4, 2005.
International Centre of the Roerichs

International Roerich Memorial Trust

Nicholas Roerich Museum

Nicholas Roerich Museum.
Treaty on the Protection of Artistic and Scientific Institutions and Historic Monuments (Roerich Pact)
ratifications and signatures, icrc.org
Roerich Pact: video
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