A “story” of some historic cities

The article is devoted to the international and domestic experience in conservation of historic settlements. The article considers the most important documents aimed at solving the problems of study, conservation and rational use of historic cities and areas in the sphere of culture, science, education and tourism (Convention for the Protection of the Architectural Heritage of Europe, Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, International Charter on the Conservation and Restoration of Monuments and Sites (Venice Charter), International Charter for the Conservation of Historic Towns and Urban Areas (Washington Charter), the Federal Law “On the objects of cultural heritage (monuments of culture and history) of the peoples of the Russian Federation”, the Declaration of the Union of historic towns and regions of Russia (UHTR). The author considers unjustified and shameful the undertaken in 2010 by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Regional Development of the Russian Federation significant reduction of the list of historic settlements in Russia (from 478 to 41). The author believes that this decision will have a negative impact on maintaining the appearance of historic towns, financing of the sluggish process of restoration and conservation of cultural heritage as well as maintaining the old and creation of the new museums and open-air museums, the image of some Russian cities and entire regions, international reputation of the Russian Federation, prospects for the development of domestic and inbound tourism.