A POSSIBLE BREAKTHROUGH ON SCHNEERSON COLLECTION

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MOSCOW 002738

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/RUS AND L; DEPT FOR SI

E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/04/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV SOCI SCUL KIRF KJUS RS
SUBJECT: A POSSIBLE BREAKTHROUGH ON SCHNEERSON COLLECTION

REF: A) MOSCOW 282 B) MOSCOW 1537

Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Susan Elliott for reasons 1
.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: Russian MFA Special Culture Representative
Mikhail Shvydkoy told us that the GOR might be willing to
consider a compromise solution to the bilateral impasse over
the Schneerson Collection. According to the compromise, the
Library of Congress would write a letter requesting
Schneerson books for an exhibit, which would lead to a
multi-staged agreement in which first 100, then (after their
return to Russia) additional hundreds of books cycle through
the U.S. exhibit. Shvydkoy also agreed to ask relevant
actors to take measures to strengthen the security of the
archival materials. End Summary.


2. (C) On November 3, Mikhail Shvydkoy, Special
Representative of President Medvedev for International
Cooperation in Culture, told Russia NSC Director Howard
Solomon that the GOR might be willing to consider a
compromise solution to the bilateral impasse over the
Schneerson Collection. The Schneerson Collection, which
consists of 12,000 books and 50,000 rare documents considered
to be sacred by the Chabad Lubavitch branch of Judaism, has
remained in GOR possession since 1945, giving rise to a
dispute with Chabad leaders in the U.S. who have called for
its return to New York (ref A). Embassy officials have
visited the Collection, housed in a small room in the Russian
State Military Archives, on a number of occasions. In July,
the Acting Director for the North America Department of the
MFA summoned PolOffs to receive a note announcing the GOR's
withdrawal from U.S. court proceedings regarding the
Schneerson Collection (ref B).


3. (C) The obstacles to this case, seemingly insurmountable
in July, now appear to be potentially eroding. Shvydkoy, who
during our November 3 meeting was flanked by three lawyers,
proposed a multi-staged agreement, starting with
approximately 100 books coming to the Library of Congress
(LOC) for 4-6 months to build confidence. (Note: As Shyvdkoy
noted, the need to build confidence exists because of a
previous incident wherein Shvydkoy allowed 5-8 books to
travel to the U.S. with the U.S. Vice President Gore, and the
books were never returned to Russia. End note.) This first
exhibit would then return to Russia, allowing a larger
exhibit of hundreds of additional books for a longer period,
and this cycle could continue for a period consecutive to the
end of the Obama Administration. To begin the process,
Shvydkoy proposed having Librarian of Congress James H.
Billington write a letter expressing the LOC's interest in
receiving the exhibit.


4. (C) Apologizing for what he called his "cynicism,"
Shvydkoy stressed the need for the books to enjoy immunity
from any third party in the U.S. seeking to use the U.S.
court system to gain possession of them. He noted that the
U.S. court case related to Schneerson has been going on for
six years, and that the court "might take any decision" to
keep the books in the U.S. He said that the GOR would need a
guarantee from Billington, and emphasized that it would be
very damaging to the Russian side to lose the collection,
saying, "We have our constituents, too."


5. (C) In the meantime, U.S. concerns remain about the safety
and preservation of the Schneerson Collection in Russia,
especially in light of the alleged theft and sale of some of
the documents (ref A). Shvydkoy said that security was more
of a concern in the 1990s, but that now security measures
were much stricter and more reliable. Nonetheless, he agreed
to ask relevant actors to take measures to strengthen the
security of the archival materials. Asked if the Collection
might be combined with the National Library to enhance its
safety, Shvydkoy deferred to one of the lawyers present, who
explained that for legal reasons such a move would be
impossible -- the archives could be subject to Holocaust-era
claims by Schneerson's heirs or by Poland.

Comment
--------------


6. (C) Shvydkoy's tone during the meeting was affable but
often strict. As is generally the case with GOR officials on
this subject, he criticized the ongoing U.S. court case
related to Schneerson, saying that it has "no legal basis."
He referred to the proposed compromise in non-ringing terms,
calling it "theoretically possible." Nonetheless, the mere
existence of this proposed compromise could represent a
significant breakthrough.

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