Russian collector offers to buy controversial statues removed in US protests

Andrei Filatov, a Russian billionaire and founder of the Art Russe Foundation, has offered to purchase statues of Theodore Roosevelt and Alexander Baranov that have been targeted for removal amid global Black Lives Matter protests. The statue of Roosevelt, located outside the American Museum of Natural History in New York, is slated for removal. The Baranov statue in Sitka, Alaska, has been petitioned for removal by Native American communities who view him as a colonizer. Filatov's foundation hopes to relocate both statues to St. Petersburg, Russia, arguing that both men left a positive mark on Russian history. Roosevelt mediated the Treaty of Portsmouth between Russia and China, earning the Nobel Peace Prize in 1906. Baranov was a merchant who governed Russian America. The foundation is in contact with authorities in New York and Sitka, and the monetary value is subject to negotiation. The proposal follows Banksy's earlier suggestion to recontextualize toppled monuments by adding statues of protesters.