Ivan the Terrible descendants launch court case to get Kremlin back
The Russian state has been given a month by a court to prove it owns the Kremlin after descendants of Ivan the Terrible filed a lawsuit to stake their claim to the Moscow landmark.
The Princes Foundation, an organisation representing the descendants of Rurik, a ninth century prince whose eponymous dynasty ruled until 1598, has argued that its ancestors built and lived in the 69-acre Kremlin complex and that it should now be returned to their ownership.
The prince said he wanted “indefinite and 24-hour use” of at least one of the Kremlin’s four palaces or of several of its 19 towers for the Princes Foundation, which he heads. The fortress has changed hands often in Russia’s tumultuous history and past owners include two royal dynasties – one of which was the Ruriks – the Bolsheviks and the modern Russian state.
The problem for the state is that no official ownership of the Kremlin has ever been registered. The prince wants his foundation to be awarded management rights over the sprawling complex, for the head of the Russian Orthodox Church to be housed there, and for his foundation to be allowed to hold cultural, political and religious events inside its famous walls....
Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)
The Princes Foundation, an organisation representing the descendants of Rurik, a ninth century prince whose eponymous dynasty ruled until 1598, has argued that its ancestors built and lived in the 69-acre Kremlin complex and that it should now be returned to their ownership.
The prince said he wanted “indefinite and 24-hour use” of at least one of the Kremlin’s four palaces or of several of its 19 towers for the Princes Foundation, which he heads. The fortress has changed hands often in Russia’s tumultuous history and past owners include two royal dynasties – one of which was the Ruriks – the Bolsheviks and the modern Russian state.
The problem for the state is that no official ownership of the Kremlin has ever been registered. The prince wants his foundation to be awarded management rights over the sprawling complex, for the head of the Russian Orthodox Church to be housed there, and for his foundation to be allowed to hold cultural, political and religious events inside its famous walls....