Kaunas’ UNESCO application stalls due to Russia’s chairmanship

Ogres

The decision on whether Kaunas modernist architecture inclusion in UNESCO’s World Heritage list UNESCO’s World Heritage list, which was expected this summer, has not been made and it is not clear when it will be, due to Russia’s chairmanship of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, informs Lithuanian National Broadcaster LRT.
Kaunas has presented its application to UNESCO in a 400-page document in which it describes its heritage from the 1920s and 1930s as « architecture of optimism», but it is unclear if city’s interwar districts will be listed as world heritage any time soon.
The decision had to be made in Kazan this summer at a session of the World Heritage Committee, led by Russia, but it did not happen. And it is not clear whether it will happen. There are various discussions on how the format should develop further, said Lithuanian Culture Minister Simonas Kairys.
After Russia invaded Ukraine, Lithuania urged the head of the organisation to stop Moscow’s participation in UNESCO committees and programmes.
No agreement has been reached on the place and time of the session either. European countries are proposing an extraordinary session, but 14 of the 21 member states have to agree on the meeting. The session would also likely include a motion to suspend Russian chairmanship.
At the last meeting, the Russian ambassador  stated that any intention to change the chairmanship would be seen as an attack on the Russian Federation and on him.
Renata Vaičekonytė-Kepežinskienė of the Lithuanian National Commission for UNESCO admits that the whole process is politically very tense.
At the same time Lithuania’s ambassador to UNESCO Jolanta Balčiūnienė says the committee includes four European countries, but Lithuania is not among them. It is difficult to persuade members from outside Europe and North America to hold a special session.
Informally, Lithuania considers withdrawing the application for Kaunas Modernism if Russia is not removed from the committee. Culture Minister Kairys says Lithuania would boycott the session if it is chaired by Russia.
Ukraine even calls for the Russian Federation to be stripped of its status as a UNESCO member state, saying it destroyed more than 250 cultural monuments during the war.