Chechen Imam Shamil's Letters To Be Passed Over To State Museum Of History In Moscow

A ceremony of passing 19 letters of Chechnya's third imam Shamil /1797-1871/ over to the State Museum of History will take place in Moscow on Tuesday. The historical relics have been returned to Russia from the USA. The decision to return these relics to the homeland was made by the leader of the Russian Nobility Assembly of North America, Duke Alexei Shcherbatov, whose private archives contained Shamil's letters since the 1920s. The passing-over ceremony will be attended by Russian Culture Minister Mikhail Shvydkoi, Chairman of the Council of the Russian Peoples' Assembly Ramazan Abdulatipov and Director of the State Museum of History Alexander Shkurko. A small exclusive exhibition to be affiliated to the ceremony will display 13 letters written by Chechen imam Shamil from the collection of the Museum of History, a few portraits of the imam and his private seals and decorations.