MOSCOW, January 25 - RAPSI. A commercial court adjourned until February 1 the hearing of the Arkhangelskoye Estate Museum's lawsuit to annul the auctioning of a land plot on its preservation area, the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.com) reports from the courtroom.

The court decided to postpone the hearing. It listened to the parties' positions during the January 25 hearing and announced a recess.

The museum sought to invalidate the August 22 land purchase-and-sale contract between the defendants - the Defense Ministry and Gradostroy.

On August 16, Gradostroy won the ministry's auction of 20.67 hectares near the museum for 754.493 million rubles ($24.57 million). Pursuant to the tender documents, the land plot had a number of encumbrances.

The plaintiff believes the ministry was not entitled to auction the land as most of it (12 hectares) falls within the museum's preservation zone, while a smaller area (0.78 hectares) is the estate's territory. Therefore, the State Property Management Committee - rather than the ministry - should have the right to dispose of the land, the plaintiff adds.

The Defense Ministry's lawyer in turn referred to an agreement concluded between the museum and the military sanatorium adjacent to the estate in 1996. The disputed land plot was not part of the areas of joint use under the agreement, the lawyer said.

The estate is a historical palace and park established in the late 18th century near Moscow. Renowned collector and art lover Prince Nikolay Yusupov bought Arkhangelskoye in 1810.