The Roerich Family

The spiritual partnership of Russian émigré painter Nicholas Roerich (1874–1947) and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Henry Wallace (1888–1965), which lasted from 1929 to 1934, provides rich material for a student of social and spiritual utopias. This paper is focused on the most intriguing aspect of their activities: the pursuit of a spiritual and geopolitical utopia that Roerich labeled as the Sacred Union of the East. Sponsored by Henry Wallace, in 1934-1935, Roerich embarked on a botanical expedition to north-eastern China and Inner Mongolia, simultaneously having another agenda: launching in Inner Asia a theocracy based on Buddhist and Theosophical ideas. Supported by the United States, this state was envisioned as both a counterbalance to Japan and a blueprint of ideal social and spiritual living with cooperatives in its economic foundation and with an ideology that was to represent a blend of Theosophy and Buddhism. The paper explores the Roerich-Wallace utopian plan in the context of the interwar history, which was heavily infested with totalitarian projects that advocated ultimate solutions to world’s problems. Looked from such a viewpoint, the botanical expedition with a geopolitical and occult twist does not look as bizarre as it has appeared to other authors.

This essay aims to examine and problematise some aspects of the conceptual history of secularity in the case study of the Russian theosophist and painter Nicholas Roerich (1874-1947). More precisely, it looks at conjunctions of secularity and politics through the tracing of Roerich’s messianic life project to bring about the mystical kingdom of Shambhala, a pan-Buddhist state in Cen- tral-East Asia—a plan that also coalesced various con icting strands of political ideologies. Following Charles Taylor, we treat secularity as it arises from the modernisation process of European societies, through which religion is taken as only one option among other ways of self-ful lment and human  ourishing, and the latter as an indica- tor that self-su cient humanism has never existed on the same scale before in European societies before the Enlightenment.

У раду се п­риказују контакти Николаја и Јелене Рерих са срп­ском и југословенском средином у међуратном п­ериоду на основу архивске и објављене грађе (п­реп­иска, дневници, материјали Рериховог музеја). Даје се п­реглед рада Рериховог друштва, контакт сликара са срп­ским интелекту-алцима, краљем Александром и ЈАЗУ, као и историјат слика које су отишле у домаће музеје. У оквиру рериховског кружока, п­остојао је и ужи круг, састављен од руских емиграната, п­освећен тајном учењу Рериха.

Molti conoscono Shambhala come la leggendaria terra di felicità spirituale che è situata o in India secondo il Kalacakra Tantra nel buddhismo tibetano o nella catena montuosa dell’Himalaya sotto il nome di Shangri-La grazie al film “Lost Horizon” (Orizzonte perduto) del 1937 di Frank Capra, ma pochi sanno del ruolo che il mito di Shambhala ha svolto nella geopolitica russa all’inizio del XX secolo. Shambhala rossa è il primo libro che racconta la storia di cercatori politici e religiosi provenienti da Oriente e da Occidente che si servirono delle profezie buddhiste per promuovere i loro programmi spirituali, sociali e geopolitici. C’erano persone di diverse convinzioni ed ambienti come Ja-lama e Agvan Dorzhiev, ma tra costoro si annoverava anche un pittore teosofo come Nicholas Roerich, un crittografo della polizia segreta bolscevica come Gleb Bokii, uno scrittore di occultismo con tendenze a sinistra qual era Alexander Barchenko, rivoluzionari e diplomatici bolscevichi come Georgy Chicherin e Boris Shumatsky insieme ai loro compagni di viaggio indigeni Elbek-Dorjik Rinchino, Sergei Borisov e Choibalsan, e infine Roman von Ungern-Sternberg, il sanguinario barone bianco, nemico giurato dei bolscevichi. Il libro di Znamenski è una sfida per tutti coloro che rifiutano di accettare le connessioni tra leggenda e politica. “Shambhala rossa” offre un incontestabile elemento di prova che l’ideologia comunista atea del XX secolo non ha disdegnato di usare un mito buddista tibetano come una sorta di instrumentum regni, cioè uno strumento politico di propaganda: sinistra russa e intellettuali di destra, come pure ricercatori spirituali, si trovarono tutti uniti in un’antica idea di rinascita, sognando una terra egualitaria, una Shambhala rossa, dove un’umanità trasformata potesse vivere in una Nuova Era di pace. L’autore fornisce un’indagine innovativa attraverso la quale siamo fatti consapevoli che il Sacro e Profano possono condividere lo stesso milieu mitico: una lettura obbligata per le persone interessate a quella zona indefinita tra mistica, esoterismo e politica.

Dans les années 1920, dans un laboratoire secret, Gleb Boki – un bolchevique spécialiste de cryptographie, de codes secrets et de surveillance électronique – et son ami Alexandre Bartchenko, un écrivain occultiste de Saint-Pétersbourg, menèrent en commun des recherches sur la cabbale, le soufisme, le kalachakra, le chamanisme et d’autres traditions ésotérique, tout en préparant une expédition au Tibet afin de partir à la recherche de la ville légendaire de Shambhala. Dans les mêmes années, à New York, le peintre russe émigré Nicolas Roerich et son épouse Hélène, préparaient eux aussi une expédition dans le cœur même de l’Asie profonde, espérant voir se réaliser la prophétie de Shambhala, c’est-à-dire l’établissement d’un royaume spirituel qui serait un modèle à suivre pour l’humanité. Pour faire aboutir leur projet, ils caressaient l’idée d’apparier le bouddhisme tibétain et le communisme. Associer le marxisme à l'occultisme et au bouddhisme tibétain n'est pas chose habituelle et pourtant des contacts et des alliances improbables eurent lieu, Shambhala, le royaume rouge, premier ouvrage à traiter de ce sujet, rend compte d'une partie de ceux-ci en suivant les itinéraires croisés du dirigeant de la Guépéou Gleb Boki, de l'écrivain occultiste Alexandre Bartchenko, et des précurseurs du New Age Nicolas et Hélène Roerich.

The symbolist painter Nikolai Roerich tried to create a personal style combining Eastern and Western cultural traits and aesthetics, understood in an idealistic and utopian way. A journey through Asia was crucial for the process of building the artist's visual language and symbolic code, thus giving his style its most recognizable form. Although the expedition had scientific, anthropologic, and artistic purposes, the esoteric interests of Roerich and his wife meant that it also had an occultist aim: a spiritualist agenda influenced by theosophy and manifold Buddhist concepts, figures and myths; such as Maitreya and Shambhala.

The translation was not showed to me before it was printed Therefore there are the following mistakes to be found  in the Russian transcription:
Not    Пилис  but  Пилиш 
not    Варшани but  Варшань
not    ашиан  but  асиан
not    Акос  but  Акош
not    Сомоди  but  Шомодь
not    Тисэслар  or  Тисаслар  but  Тисаэслар

Рассматриваются последователи анастасийского и рериховского движений, по идеологическим соображениям переселившиеся из городов в сельскую местность. Показано, как особенности соответствующих двух учений задают принципиальные различия в жизненных укладах переселенцев. Сопоставляются их ценности и образ жизни, потенциал для принимающей территории, отношения с местным населением, перспективы развития.

Several new religious movements (NRMs) imply certain distancing from civilization and society;
due to this, some of their followers relocate from cities to the countryside. Perceptions and practices
common for most NRMs may be based on fundamental ideological differences, and the settlers’ way
of life directly depends on the teachings they follow. We have recorded striking differences in the
ideology and life patterns of two large-scale and significant Russian NRMs: The Ringing Cedars of
Russia, or Anastasianism, and Roerichism – a movement uniting followers of Nicolas and Helena
Roerich and their teachings. (1) Values and lifestyles. In Anastasianism, a person can create paradise
in their ancestral estate (family homestead) rather than wait for death to attain it. Anastasians focus on
the family and activity pertaining to the arrangement of their house and land. In Roerichism, the
purpose of existence is transition to higher worlds, which implies personal growth and spiritual
development. Roerich’s followers settle closer to nature to achieve harmony of spirit and contribute to
culture, which should facilitate their rebirth in a better world. (2) Potential for the development of the
area. Anastasians establish family homestead settlements in vacant areas. It is assumed that the
homestead will become home for all future generations of the family. Roerich’s followers move to
existing settlements connected with the life of the artist and his family. They do not seek to “bind”
their children and grandchildren to the area but strive to prevent the possible destruction of the “place
of power” important for them. 3) Relations with the local population. Proponents of both teachings are
alienated from the host community. Anastasian settlements are isolated from the surrounding localities,
while Roerich’s followers keep aloof from the other villagers. Both are often perceived by locals as
eccentrics spoiled by urban life or as sectarians. Anastasians find no understanding among the locals
and often annoy them with their alien and seemingly irrational behavior, lifestyle and thinking.
Roerich’s followers are criticized for being inappropriately demanding of conditions, as well as for
unconventional approaches to education. 4) Prospects. Anastasians face problems (informal
construction, lack of understanding on the part of local residents), which can be resolved only through
institutionalizing their movement and the settlements they have established. They are putting a lot of
effort into legitimizing their position. Roerich’s followers live legally in existing settlements, and their
social activities are more understandable to local residents. At the same time, their focus on the
spiritual quest entails uncertainty regarding the further development of the community.

В первом томе каталога международной выставки «Рериховский век» представлены живопись и графика – 607 произведений из 50 музеев и 10 частных собраний из 15 стран. Каталог открывается вводным разделом, включающим в себя приветствие председателя Комитета по культуре Правительства Санкт-Петербурга А. Н. Губанкова и различные списки и перечни: составы Организационного комитета и творческого коллектива Международного проекта «Рериховский век» (соответственно, 12 и 46 человек); списки лиц, которых Оргкомитет благодарит за помощь на разных этапах реализации проекта и отклик на обращение принять участие в реализации выставки (302 лица); список авторов статей и аннотаций в каталоге (30 человек); перечни организаций и владельцев частных собраний – участников «Рериховского века» (соответственно, 75 организаций и 19 лиц).