Authorities in the Republic of Karelia and in Arkhangelsk and Vologda Regions say they plan to open a Russian culture center to preserve the Russian cultural traditions. Representatives of the authorities made the announcement at a working conference in Pudozh, a town listed among 200 old towns of Russia.

Pudozh District on the south-eastern outskirts of Karelia is home to the Russian community in Karelia and for centuries has been the domain of Novgorod boyars along with the neighboring Vologda and Arkhangelsk Regions. Famous as a birthplace of numerous tales and legends Pudozh seems to be a perfect place to open a regional center for the preservation of Russian culture and traditions. Yelena Bogdanova is Deputy National Policy Minister:  

Western Museums are brimming with cultural heritage...from other countries. The Elgin Marbles are just one set of tens of thousands of artefacts looted from distant lands during colonial or imperialist times. However, the same desecration of cultural heritage continues. How many of the 13,000 artefacts stolen from Baghdad National Museum are today in the United States of America?

The list was drawn up and given to Vice-President Richard (Dick) Cheney before the first US or British soldier set foot in Iraq. It was a shopping list of archaeological treasures which the White House cronies wanted to see on their shelves in Rhode Island, in Maryland, in Virginia. UNESCO claims that when the Baghdad National Museum was looted in April 2003, 13,000 objects disappeared. How many of these are sitting in private homes in the USA?