MOSCOW, September 7 - RAPSI. The Ministry of Culture and culture committee of the State Duma (Russia's lower house of parliament) are set to challenge the Defense Ministry's sale of land belonging to the 350-year-old Arkhangelskoye Estate museum, State Duma culture committee head Grigory Ivliyev said.

Defense Minister Anatoly Serdyukov ordered the sale at auction of a 20.67 hectare land plot adjoining the museum on June 21. According to a non-governmental organizations analysis of the land sale, a majority of the land belongs to the museums preserve, while a smaller part of the land belongs to the museum itself.

Grodostroy won the land auction on August 16. According certain media sources, the land was purchased for the Auchan group to build a Leroy Merlin construction supply superstore.

The Moscow Commercial Court confirmed on August 2 that the Defense Ministry was entitled to enter into an agreement with Grodostroy regardless of the museums appeals against the transaction.