MOSCOW, February 28 - RIA Novosti. A commercial court postponed on Tuesday until March 22 its hearing of the Arkhangelskoye Estate Museum's lawsuit against a land auction held by the Defense Ministry, the Russian Legal Information Agency (RAPSI/rapsinews.ru) reports from the courtroom.

The Moscow Regional Commercial Court suspended the case to allow parties time to submit additional documents.

The museum seeks to cancel the August 22 land purchase contract between the defendants - the Defense Ministry and Gradostroy.

On August 16, Gradostroy won the ministry's land sale auction, paying 754.493 million rubles ($24.57 million) for 20.67 hectares near the museum. 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 the territory (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 and not the ministry should have the right to dispose of the land, the plaintiff stated.

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 allocated for 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.