Helena Ivanovna Roerich (; (Шапошникова); – 5 October 1955) was a Russian theosophist,Roerich (born Shaposhnikova) / Helena Ivanovna / New philosophical encyclopedia. — Moscow, «Misl» Publishing, 2000. — V. 1–4. Roerich Helena Ivanovna / «Big encyclopaedia» Roerichs family: Nicholas Konstantonovich (1874—1947), Helena Ivanovna (1879—1955) / «Modern philosophical dictionary» / Compiler Gritsanov A.A. — Scientific edition. — Minsk, «V.M.Skakun» publishing, 1999. — 896 P. Roerich Helena Ivanovna / «Big biographic encyclopedia» Roerich Helena Ivanovna / Russian philosophy: Dictionary / Edited by M. Maslin. — Moscow, «TERRA—Knizhnii klub, Respublika» publishing, 1999. — 656 P. writer, philosopher, and public figure. She and her husband Nicholas Roerich were the principal articulators of the Agni Yoga neo-theosophical teachings, which they claimed had been transmitted to them from the spiritual adept known as Morya.<ref name="s2"><ya-tr-span data-index="224-0" data-value="Roerich (born Shaposhnikova) / Helena Ivanovna / New philosophical encyclopedia. " data-translation="Ro Рерих (род. Шапошникова) / Елена Ивановна / Новая философская энциклопедия. " data-type="trSpan">Ro Рерих (род. Шапошникова) / Елена Ивановна / Новая философская энциклопедия. </ya-tr-span><ya-tr-span data-index="224-1" data-value="— Moscow, «Misl» publishing, 2000. " data-translation="- М.: Издательство "Misl", 2000. " data-type="trSpan">- М.: Издательство "Misl", 2000. </ya-tr-span><ya-tr-span data-index="224-2" data-value="— V. 1–4." data-translation="- V. 1-4." data-type="trSpan">- V. 1-4.</ya-tr-span> Living Ethics / Russian philosophy: Dictionary / Edited by M. Maslin. — Moscow, «TERRA—Knizhnii klub, Respublika» publishing, 1999. — 656 P. Living Ethics / «Russian philosophy. Short encyclopaedia» — Moscow, «Nauka» publishing, 1995. — 624 P. Roerich Helena Ivanovna / Short philosophical dictionary / Edited by A.P. Alexeev. — Second edition, revised and supplemented. — Moscow, TK Velby, Prospekt publishing. — 2004. Roerich Helena Ivanovna / Big biographic encyclopedia. From Resolution of International public and scientific conference «Cosmic ideology is a new thinking of the 21st century»</ref> Along with her husband, she took part in expeditions of hard-to-reach and little-investigated regions of Central Asia, and lobbied for ratification of the Roerich Pact, an early international treaty regarding the protection of the cultural heritage. She was an Honorary President-Founder of the Urusvati Himalayan Research Institute in India. She translated two volumes of the Secret Doctrine of H. P. Blavatsky, and selected Mahatma's Letters (Cup of the East), from English to Russian.
Early life Roerich was the daughter of Ivan Ivanovich Shaposhnikov, a well-known Saint-Petersburg architect. She had two siblings, Anna and Hilarion.
Her mother Ekaterina Vassilievna Shaposhnikova belonged to an ancient Golenischev-Kutuzov family, which originated from Novgorod at the end of the 13th century. Significant members of this family included field marshal Mikhail Illarionovich Golenischev-Kutuzov, a well-known poet of the end of 19th century; Arsenii Arkadievich Golenischev-Kutuzov, composer; and Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky.S. Kluchnikov. Proclaimer of the fire epoch. Story and study about Helena Ivanovna Roerich. Novosibirsk, Siberia department of «Detskaya literature» publishing, 1991. — P.10.
Roerich grew up and was educated in the rich cultural traditions of her family. From childhood she was inquisitive, and independent. She showed talents in a number of areas, playing piano, and by the age of seven reading and writing in three languages./ From a very young age, she started reading artistic, historical, spiritual and philosophic books.
In 1895, Roerich graduated from Mariinsky Gymnasium in Saint Petersburg with a "gold medal", a special award for excellence in study. Though the education she received there was of a great quality, Roerich often studied additionally on her own. She learned painting, knew Russian and European literature well, studied the history of religion and philosophy, and took great interest in the works of the Indian philosophers Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, and Rabindranath Tagore, whose great-niece, Devika Rani Choudhuri, would later marry her son, Svetoslav.
After finishing her education at gymnasium, she entered the Saint Petersburg private school of music, headed by the pianist I.A. Borovka. He was a noted figure in Petersburg's musical culture of the time, and personally mentored Roerich.
After graduating, which was aimed mainly towards revealing the most gifted candidates who should receive higher music education, Roerich intended to continue her education in the Saint Petersburg conservatoire, but her relatives banned this, worried that she would be interested by the revolutionary ideas found in the student environment. Thus, Roerich continued her education at home, where she perfected her grasp of foreign languages, and read many things.
Marriage and family
Roerich and her mother often spent the summer at Bologoye in the Novgorod region, with her aunt E.V. Putyatina, at the estate of her husband, Prince P.A. Putyatin. In 1899, at Bologoye, she met the painter and archeologist Nicholas Konstantinovich Roerich. They fell in love, and in spite of her relatives' opposition, in 1901, she and Nicholas were married in Saint Petersburg.
In 2001, at the place in Bologoye where they first met, a memorial named "Monument of love" was established. It contains a quotation from N. Roerich's essay "The University": "I met Lada, my partner in life and inspirer, at Bologoye, at Prince P.A. Putyatin's estate. Joy!".Ivanov M.A. Roerichs and Tver region. Tver: GERS publishing. — 2007. P.33. This was a strong alliance of two loving people united by deep mutual feelings and common views.<ref name="s6"><ya-tr-span data-index="225-0" data-value="H.I. Roerich's biography at the website of Charitable Foundation named after H.I. Roerich." data-translation="биография Н.И. Рериха на сайте благотворительного фонда им. Н. И. Рериха." data-type="trSpan">биография Н.И. Рериха на сайте благотворительного фонда им. Н. И. Рериха.</ya-tr-span></ref> N. Roerich wrote about their marriage in his declining years: "We passed amicably any obstacles. And the obstacles turned into possibilities. I devoted my books: 'To Helena, my wife, friend, partner and inspirer'".N. K. Roerich. Diary leaves. Volume 2. — Moscow, ICR, 2000. — p.448. Many of Roerich's paintings were a result of their common creativity. He called her "She who leads"L. V. Shaposhnikova. Wisdom of ages («Mudrost vekov», in Russian). Moscow, International Centre of the Roerichs, 2000. — P.448. in his books, and asserted that on many his canvases, two signatures should be written: his own, and hers. "We created together, and not without reason it was said that the works must have two names, women's and men's.
The couple had two children. In August 1902, their eldest son George was born. Later, he became a world-renowned scientist and orientalist. Their younger son, Svetoslav, was born in October 1904. He became a painter.
Roerich supported all of her husband's initiatives, and went deeply into all his fields of study. In 1903 and 1904, they traveled together through forty old Russian cities to find sources of national history and culture. During these travels, Roerich took expert photographs of churches, architecture monuments, paintings, and ornaments. She also mastered the art of restoration and, together with Nicholas Konstantinovich, recovered some the masterpieces of great artists such as Rubens, Breughel, Van Dijck, and Belgian artist Bernard van Orley, that had been hidden by later paint layers. She also displayed her artistic intuition by collecting works of art and antiquities. Roerich built a beautiful family collection, composed of more than 300 works, which they later had transferred to the Hermitage Museum. Roerich also knew archeology. Together with her husband, she often left for excavations in the regions of Novgorod and Tver, taking part in the work.S. Kluchnikov. Proclaimer of the fire epoch. Story and study about Helena Ivanovna Roerich. Novosibirsk, Siberia department of «Detskaya literature» publishing, 1991. — P.25.
Her husband and sons thought highly of her, revering her as the spiritual leader and keeper of the family's foundations.H.I. Roerich's biography at the website of the International Centre-Museum named after N.K. Roerich. In 1916, because of a serious lung disease, following the doctor's insistence, she and the Roerich family moved to Finland (Serdobol), to the seashore of Lake Ladoga. In 1918, Finland declared its independence and closed the Russian border. In 1919, the family moved to England where they made their home in London.
Here, in 1920, Roerich, in collaboration with a group of anonymous Eastern thinkers and philosophers, which in accordance with Indian's spiritual tradition were named "The Great Teachers" (Mahatmas), began to work for the Living Ethics group, teaching Agni Yoga.
Travels In 1920, N. Roerich was invite to tour the United States with an exhibition of his paintings. Thus, the family moved to New York City. Here, the cultural activity was organized under N. Roerich's leadership in partnership with his wife. The culmination of this was the foundation in America of the Nicholas Roerich Museum, the Master Institute of United Arts, the International Painters Association "Cor Ardens" (Flaming Hearts), and the International Art Centre "Corona Mundi" ("Crown of the World").
In December 1923, the family moved to India. This country had always been of great interest to the Roerichs. Adoration of India and its spiritual culture was not unusual among some Russian intellectuals of the time, feeling that their moral searches coincided with Indian spiritual tradition.14 L.V. Shaposhnikova. Wisdom of Ages («Mudrost vekov», in Russian). Moscow, International Centre of the Roerichs, 2000. — P.139.
From 1924 to 1928, H. Roerich took part in a Central Asian expedition organized by N. K. Roerich, that traveled through hard-to-reach and little-investigated regions of India, China, Russia-Altai, Mongolia and Tibet. During the expedition, they researched topics such as history, archeology, ethnography, history of philosophy, arts and religions, and geography. Previously unknown mountain peaks and passes were mapped, rare manuscripts were found, and rich linguistic materials were collected. Special attention was paid to revealing the historical unity of cultures of various peoples.Museum named after N.K. Roerich. Museum guide. Moscow, International Centre of the Roerichs, Master Bank, 2006. — P.262. The expedition was carried out in very difficult conditions. Roerich shared all hardships of the travel with the others: hard passages, robber attacks, and obstacles created by English officials that nearly resulted in death of the expedition.L.V. Shaposhnikova. Wisdom of ages («Mudrost vekov», in Russian). — Moscow, International Centre of the Roerichs, 2000. — P.139. In April 1925. when N. Roerich's expedition stayed in Gulmarg, Helena Roerich began to translate an extensive selection from Blavatsky's Mahatma's Letters from English to Russian, which she published in London in 1923. She also wrote a book named Chalice of the East, which was published that year under the pen name "Iskander Khanum".18 Chalice of the East. Mahatmas Letters. Third edition. Riga-Moscow-Minsk, «Ligatma-Moga-N» publishing, 1995.
Roerich's manuscript "Foundations of Buddhism" was published in 1926, at Urga (now Ulan-Bator), where her expedition was staying at the time. In this book, the fundamental philosophical notions of Buddha's teaching were interpreted. The book also spoke about the moral basis of this teaching and helped spark interest in Buddhism in the West.