The Associated Press
Tuesday, Oct. 30, 2001; 3:21 p.m. EST

BERLIN –– Russia will publish a list of all art works that ended up in its museums and archives as a result of World War II, Russia's culture minister said Tuesday, saying Moscow has "nothing to hide" about looted art.

Mikhail Shvydkoi told Deutsche Welle radio "about 287,000 art objects" remain in Russia as a result of the war.

Western experts previously estimated that about 1 million books, paintings, coins, church windows and other German cultural objects have gathered dust in Russia for decades.

Russia has said it long ago returned most of the seized art.

"We have nothing to hide," he said. "By the end of 2002, the complete list of all cultural assets that are in Russian museums and archives as a result of the war will be presented publicly."

Shvydkoi said the list will "expose the myth of something huge hidden in Russia," adding that the items include "much that is secondary and bulky, furniture for example."

Germany's demand for the return of art looted by the victorious Red Army has been an irritant in relations with Russia.

Moscow has balked at returning the booty, seen by many Russians as a rightful compensation for the huge human, economic and cultural losses the country suffered in the Nazi invasion.

Talks have made little progress, but Russian President Vladimir Putin promised this year that his government will "try to reach a solution."

In a small step toward returning looted art works, Russia is expected next year to return medieval windows from a church in Frankfurt an der Oder, on Germany's border with Poland.

Earlier this year, Shvydkoi said Germany should be grateful to Moscow for agreeing to its reunification in 1990 and should stop pushing for return of seized artworks.