NC ICOMOS, RUSSIA

The National Committee of ICOMOS, Russia represents the International Council on Monuments and Sites, is a non-governmental organization associated with UNESCO. The mission of NC ICOMOS, Russia is to promote the conservation, protection and use of monuments and sites. Members of NC ICOMOS, Russia participate in the development of doctrine, the evolution and dissemination of ideas, and also carry out human rights activities.

ICOMOS is an advisory body to the World Heritage Committee for the implementation of the UNESCO World Heritage Convention. Thus, it considers nominations of cultural world heritage and ensures the conservation status of sites.

Its creation in 1965 is a logical outcome of the initial negotiations between architects, historians and international experts, which began in the early twentieth century and materialized with the adoption of the Venice Charter in 1964. In 1972, The UNESCO World Heritage Convention came into effect, obliging member countries to guarantee and ensure the conservation and development of cultural heritage sites of universal value. This mission requires daily monitoring of the site’s condition, saving it from the main threat today – aggressive commercial construction. At the sound of an alarm, national and international organizations, scientists, specialists and non-specialists, numerous activists and volunteers unite to protect the monument.

The National Committee is not only an accumulator of experience in conservation, restoration and reconstruction, but also a transmitter of advanced knowledge, methods and technologies through the activities of scientific committees covering the entire range of protection issues. Regional branches and scientific committees of the ICOMOS National Committee, Russia, through numerous studies, conferences, symposia and discussions, are gradually building a philosophical and doctrinal basis for heritage at the international level.