State Policy of Foreign Countries in the Field of Preservation of Architectural Heritage

The article highlights the actual problem of improving state policy in the field of conservation of architectural heritage. The main content of this study is an analysis of the structure of state authorities and local self-government involved in the protection of architectural heritage. The authors turn to the positive experience of China, Japan and the USA including the best practices of the United States in the field of conservation of architectural heritage by local governments which are actively involving civil society in the work. Special emphasis is placed on the attitude of Chinese state authorities to antiquities as a source of wisdom and sanity, contributing to the “Great Revival of the Chinese Nation†. The authors considered the initiative of Japan to take under local authorities’ protection entire groups of architectural buildings of special historical value. As a result of the study, some principles of the state policy of China, Japan and the USA in the field of conservation of architectural heritage were substantiated. The principles would be appropriate and applicable in domestic practice, namely, the high degree of popularization and education of the population in matters of architectural heritage protection, the democratic nature of the management of architectural heritage objects, the creation by public authorities of favorable conditions for attracting non-governmental organizations, the possibility of organizing a system of “protected areas of a complex of historical buildings†, the autonomy of local self-government bodies, etc.