Looted Art after World War II

The study is dedicated to the peculiarities of foundation the legal regime of displaced cultural values in the Russian Federation. This question is one of the most actual issues in the field of cultural policy and international relations because the debate in the media and scientific community worldwide is still discussed. The researcher reviews the historical and political background of the Russian law on cultural property displaced to the Soviet Union at the end of the Second World War. The researcher analyzes shorthand reports of meetings of the State Duma and the office documentation on adoption of federal law “On Displaced Cultural Valuables” that proclaimed the property right of the Russian Federation to these cultural values. The study presents the main stages adoption of the bill: the fierce debates at meetings of the State Duma, the president's refusal to ratify the document, Constitutional Court ruling and, finally, the adoption of the Act. The paper shows the wide-scale deputes' support of the law, with its concept of “compensatory restitution” that virtually nationalizes the spoils of war. This research describes the design and implementation of the conception of the justice held by the State Duma in the context of the historical memory the Great Patriotic War.