>The last I had read in the press stated that the original agreement >between Russian government and the Foundation called for a 50/50 split of >profits. Speculations were that the Russian share has been upped to 65%. It looks like the Russians have learned what we here in the States have become pretty good at. Cashing in on our history. Sadly, though, they went about it in a rather underhanded way, misusing their diplomatic immunity, and jeopardiuzing the collection in the process. Russia has ignored so much of her pre-revolutionary past that Russians were not aware that there's a marketing quality to history. I call it "heritage capitalism." Don't knock it. It keeps our museums open. Cheers, HBC ***************************************** Henry B. Crawford Curator of History [log in to unmask] Museum of Texas Tech University 806/742-2442 Box 43191 FAX 742-1136 Lubbock, TX 79409-3191 WEBSITE: http://www.ttu.edu/~museum ********* Life is a trip. Enjoy the ride! *********