H is complaints to the authorities stonewalled, Boris Sheynes, In 2004 filed a petition with the European Court of Human Rights. The gist of his application to that august body was the continued effects of the 1985 exile and robbery, including the unauthorized 1996 exhibition in Moscow and the lies and distortions circulated by the State and its henchmen about the circumstances of his departure.  Also of consequence to the Strasbourg action was the absence of any meaningful avenues for relief to persons in the petitioner’s situation in a totalitarian state like the Russian Federation, as evidenced by the non-responsiveness of the law enforcement and quasi-judicial organs, combined with the petitioner’s discovery, through a U.K.-based lawyer, of the document fraud in connection with the “gift.”  The Artist claimed urgency of his case and separately petitioned for expedited review based on humanitarian considerations - his rapidly worsening health (which warranted several surgeries), mounting living and medical expenses, and his need to make testamentary disposition regarding his art – as well as the need to safeguard the art heritage of Russia as reflected in his work. This case deserved a priority review also because it affected the destinies of those people who had spared no time, effort, or resources to help him evolve into a nationally and internationally recognized visual artist. 

However, the Strasbourg Court ignored Mr. Sheynes’ petition and buried it in its files.  Indeed, the Court is not only the laughing-stock of the Russian regime, but is also an active player in the political game of “give and take.” The Court will soften its stance on Russia’s human rights violations and downplay the significance of meritorious complaints against that country’s regime whenever it is needed by the movers and shakers of European politics who wish to do business with Putin & Co.  Russia’s oil and gas riches, and its alliance with America and Europe against fundamentalist Islam, take precedence, in the European politicos’ calculus, over the downtrodden humanistic values of the Western culture, even when the regime’s takeover of the oil industry causes ruin to international investors, and human rights activists and journalists are either persecuted or murdered. The Strasbourg Court is a “black hole” from where a civilized individual cannot expect a meaningful response.