A Moscow court Wednesday gave the government one month to prove that it owns Russian landmark, the Kremlin, since descendants of the country’s first ruling dynasty are claiming ownership of it.
Valery Kubarev claims to be the “Grand Prince of All Russia” and a descendant of the Rurik family, which first ruled Kievan Rus in the Middle Ages and then Moscow up until 1598 before the Romanovs came into power in 1613. Kubarev claims the Kremlin was built during his family’s rule.
His lawsuit filing comes at a time when the government is returning dozens of landmarks to the Russian Orthodox Church. The lawsuit also brings up the question of who really owns the 28 hectare area of palaces, cathedrals and government buildings surrounded by a high red brick wall.
A lawyer for Rosimushchestvo (the Federal Agency for State Property Management) says that while the Kremlin is owned by the state, no one has ever officially claimed or registered it as their property.
“The court noted that there is no document that proves that the Kremlin is somebody’s property. All we have is a presidential decree that says that the Kremlin is his residence,” Kubarev said. “Well, I could write my own decree, too.”
According to the Rossiiskaya Gazeta newspaper, the Russian government is pointing out that the U.N. recognizes the Kremlin as a World Heritage Site and the property of the state.
But Kubarev doesn’t seem to care.
“I want the address registered in my passport to say, ‘Kremlin, Moscow,’” Kubarev said. “The Ruriks have always helped spur spiritual and cultural development in Russia, so the dynasty needs to be registered in the heart of this country.”
Besides the Kremlin, Kubarev is also claiming other property in Russia, including the medieval citadel of the northwestern Russian city of Pskov.
Even more bizarre is his reaction to the smirks and laughter in Russia. On his website for the Princes’ Foundation, Kubarev warns: “Let us add that the Rurik family is descended from ancient gods whom one would do well not to disturb, otherwise the consequences for the jokesters will be dire.”
The Moscow court will hear the case on October 18th.
Sources: AOL, Moscow Times
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I thought the Ruriks died out ages ago.
And this guy sounds like a freak. If anything Maria Vladimirovna should be suing for the Alexander Palace of the Catherine Palace.
Well… you cannot say they don’t have grandiose ideas!!!
Grand Prince of All Russia Valeriy Viktorovich Kubarev Grand Kubensky Rurikovich, Great Seneschal the Severing August House Rurikovich and the President of Fund of Princes investigated the DNA for an accessory to dynasty Monomakh-Rurikovich.
Results of testing DNA from 04.09.2010 have confirmed full conformity of genes of Grand Prince Valeriy Kubarev to Sort Monomakh of Sacred Russia. Analysis of DNA has shown that Valeriy Viktorovich Kubarev is the purest in the genetic plan the descendant of Princes of Sacred Russ as values of basic his markers DNA have not undergone to mutations what meet at his brothers and sisters, cousins and cosines of Sort Monomakh of Sacred Russia.
Details, please link:
http://www.fundprinces.ru/ru/content/83.htm
http://www.kubarev.ru/ru/content/283.htm
Kubarev is a widely recognized kook and attention seeker. His claim to royal heritage is by way of undocumented agnatic descent from Vladimir II Monomakh, Grand Prince of Kiev. His ancestry is unproven by verifiable genealogical sources. Moreover, there are a few thousand living descendants of the same Vladimir II, and most of these are more established or more senior descendants of the bloodline than Kubarev (as they descend from more recent rulers who were sons, grandsons, and so on, of Vladimir II). What’s more, the idea he posits, that he is the rightful heir to the Rurikovichi (or Rurkid) dynasty is based on that his (approx.) 100 U.S. dollar DNA test shows that he has had less change to his DNA (AS WE UNDERSTAND IT AT THIS POINT IN TIME) over the past 900 years than five or six families who have had DNA testing of the very many established princely families (all of which can still claim descent from Vladimir II, too). It makes no sense at all for this site or any other to affirm Kubarev’s ridiculous claim to royalty when, all over the world, there are many people descended from rulers of 900 years ago who hold no title and are not accorded any either — especially when Kubarev cannot even fully document his descent.