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Israel Begins Return of Russian Property
The Israeli Embassy in Moscow has stated that the return of former Russian property to the Russian Federation will begin in the near future. The so-called Sergievsky House in downtown Jerusalem will be handed over to the Russian ecclesiastical mission when conditions are agreed on. Israeli is asking in return that a new court be built, and Russia has already found an investor in the persons of Chukotka Governor Roman Abramovich and businessman Arkady Gaidamak. According to Israeli media, after the two-story building is given back to Russia, the Society for the Protection of Nature and the Agriculture Ministry's ecology department will remain in it. Those reports did not specify the lengthy of time those agencies would remain.
A plot of land was purchased in Jerusalem on the decision of Tsar Alexander II in 1860. The Cathedral of the Trinity was built on the land in 1872, along with two homes for pilgrims and the headquarters of the ecclesiastical mission. In 1886, Sergievsky House was built to accommodate high-placed pilgrims. In 1948, the land became property of Israel, but the government acknowledged the right of the Russian Orthodox Church to the use of most of the building. Only Sergievsky House was effected. In 1964, Soviet authorities sold more church property for a shipment of oranges worth $4.5-5 million. In 1967, when diplomatic ties were broken, Israel declared itself the renter of the cathedral and mission building. Negotiations on the return of the property began in 1996. In 2005, when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Israel, he was able to convince Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon to return Sergievsky House. That agreement was confirmed by new prime Minister Ehud Olmert in 2006.
The fate building of the ecclesiastic mission, now housing the magistrate's court, remains unclear. The Israeli government decided to relocate the court in May of this year, in return for the construction of a new 11-story court building by Russia for $95 million. Head of the Audit Chamber Sergey Stepashin told a Russian-speaking audience in Israel last month that the new court would be financed by donations, mentioning Abramovich and Gaidamak and adding that he asked one of them to donate money, and Putin asked the other. The Israeli government has refused to accept money from the individuals though, saying that the negotiations were held on a state level.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Dec. 21, 2007
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