Konstantin Melnikok. Residência do Arquiteto. Moscou. 1927


Dear chairs, colleagues and friends, 

Please spread the information and address the following letter to His Excellency President of Russia Vladimir Putin.
Keep me posted if you have any news.

Many thanks for the attention. You understand the importance of the letter and its urgency.

All the best, 
Maristella Casciato
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THE TEXT OF THE OPEN LETTER TO HIS EXCELENCY PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA VLADIMIR PUTIN

Mister President,
 
We consider it our duty to draw your attention to the untenable situation that is developing around the remarkable Melnikov House in Moscow. The international cultural community is filled with misgivings about the future of this architectural masterpiece.
 
The Melnikov House, built in 1929, by the great Russian architect Konstantin Melnikov (1890-1974) immediately became a global icon of Twentieth Century Architecture. The Melnikov House is one of the most important tourist sights of Moscow and one of the most important buildings in Russia. It is the cultural property of the whole of mankind. The Melnikov House was included and published in the 2006 World Monuments Fund Watch List of the world's most important threatened landmark buildings, the fate of which demands the participation of all international society. In this list there are only six buildings of the 20th century, from which two are in Russia.

The only guardian of the Melnikov House for the last 32 years was the son and heir of the great architect, the artist Viktor Melnikov. It is well known that Viktor Melnikov saw his life as a mission and that he preserved the house practically untouched. He did not sell a single of his father's works despite their great value and his own modest material situation.

During his heroic life, Viktor Melnikov did all in his strength to protect the cultural legacy of his father from many encroachments. During his life, the Melnikov House functioned as an informal museum visited by a huge number of people from all over the world including many leading figures in the arts. Viktor Melnikov died on 5th February of this year at the age of 92, leaving behind a legally irreproachable will to the Russian State. He left the house and everything in it to become a State Museum. He personally promulgated this document at a press conference in March 2005 attended by the world press.

From publications in the world press it has become known to us that on the day of Viktor Melnikov's death an attempted seizure of the house was made. At the present time, influential Russian persons with seats in the Federal organs and famous for their success in the business of 'unfriendly expropriations' of properties in Moscow are attempting to pervert the course of justice and posthumously deprive Viktor Melnikov of his property.

Mr President! We hope that your personal active participation in the future destiny of this invaluable masterpiece will allow the execution of Victor Melnikov's will and the creation of a museum of world value in full conformity with expectations of the international community.


Yours sincerely,


The text of the OPEN LETTER should be signed and published ASAP
by anybody important enough in any important and clever fast moving newspaper

Museum directors, well-known architects or other famous people of culture are the best people to sign 
PLUS ANY MEMBERS OF NATIONAL PARLIAMENTS OR EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 
PLUS THE YOUNG ARCHITECTS AND INTELLECTUALS


all the copies of the signed letter should be URGENTLY directed to following destinations:

1) by fax (for speed) supported later by normal post to the respective Russian Embassies with the kind request to be forwarded to His Excellency President Vladimir Putin
2) to the important newspapers to be published ASAP in a genre of an OPEN LETTER
3) mailed through Internet as widely as possible through any available mailing lists with a request to further it in all possible directions, to find new signatures and to find a way to publish the resulting signed documents
4)to the one common center collecting the full list of signatures

that could be for the beginning the address [log in to unmask]

Se não deseja mais receber nossos e-mails envie um reply para [log in to unmask] com a menção "retirar" 

01. Pitanga do Amparo. arquiteto e editor. São Paulo. Brasil
02. Andiara Zuccherelli. marketing por atitude. Curitiba. Brasil
03. Rosa Camargo Artigas. historiadora, professora. São Paulo- Brasil
04. Anderson Freitas. arquiteto . São Paulo. Brasil
05. Clarissa Schneider, editora da Casa Vogue Brasil
06. Roberto Righi. arquiteto e professor. São Paulo. Brasil
07. Abílio Guerra. editor Vitruvius. São Paulo. Brasil
08. Haifa Y. Sabbag - jornalista, São Paulo, Brasil 
09. Guilherme Mendes da Rocha. arquiteto. São Paulo. Brasil
10. Evany de Souza, arquiteta, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
11. Ivan Feijó. Cineasta e Diretor Teatral. São Paulo. Brasil.
12. Pôla Pazzanese, arquiteto, sp, sp, brasil 
13. Newton Massafumi Yamato, arquiteto.São Paulo/SP,Brasil.
14. Tânia Regina Parma, arquiteta.SãoPaulo/SP,Brasil.
15. Ronaldo Takeshi Suzuki, arquiteto e professor universitário, São Paulo, SP. Brasil 
16. Aline Nassaralla Regino, arquiteta, mestranda. São Paulo, SP. Brasil.
17. Ana Cláudia Ventura, arquiteta e massoterapeuta, são paulo, sp. brasil
18. Luiz Fisberg, Arquiteto, São Paulo, Brasil
19. Zan Quaresma, arquiteto, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
20. Renato de Andrade Maia Neto, arquiteto e professor  universitário, São Paulo, SP. Brasil
21. Marisa Namurud, arquiteta. SP- SP- Brasil 
22. Altino Carvalho , arquiteto - São Paulo -Brasil 
23. Jun Nakabayashi, sociólogo, São Paulo, Brasil
24. Julio Camargo Artigas, arquiteto, professor, São Paulo Brasil
25. Miguel Sampaio de Souza e Silva, arquiteto e artista plástico, Marília, São Paulo, Brasil
26. Affonso Risi, arquiteto e professor universitário, São Paulo SP, Brasil 
27. Jézio Hernani Bomfim Gutierre, editor e professor universitário, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
28. Rafic Jorge Farah, arquiteto e designer. São Paulo. Brasil
29. Ana Aly, artista plástica, São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
30. Omar F. Aly, cineasta (film director), São Paulo, SP, Brasil.
31. Natalia Naoumova, arquiteta, Pelotas, RS, Brasil
32. Percival Brosig , arquiteto, Sao Paulo SP
33. Marcelo R. Machado, diretor de cinema e televisão, SP, SP, Brasil 
34. Carlos Ebert,  cineasta, São Paulo, SP, Brasil
35. Paula De Paoli, arquiteta, designer e professora universitária, São Paulo SP.Brasil
36. Aline Najar,arquiteta,SP- Brasil
37. Anne Marie Sumner, arquiteta, São Paulo, Brasil
38.Claudia S. Rodrigues de Carvalho, arquiteta, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
39.Maria Beatriz Afflalo Brandão [Bitiz afflalo] designer, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil
40.