Administration of the Kyiv Cave Monastery Reserve accused of misusing 29.5 million hryvnias of budget funds

The Accounting Chamber of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine has published an audit report, according to which the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine did not fully ensure the procedure for the targeted use of budget funds for the organization of the work of the National Historical and Architectural Reserve “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra”. It is reported that out of the 556.4 million hryvnias allocated by the state, the reserve used 29.5 million “uneconomically and inefficiently” in 2020-2023. This is reported by the website of the Accounting Chamber.

It is reported that the auditors of the Accounting Chamber found the following misuse of budget funds:
— UAH 21.2 million was allocated to pay bonuses to staff, although such a need was not determined;
— UAH 500 thousand was paid to a senior researcher of the Reserve who was illegally dismissed in 2016 for forced absenteeism;
— UAH 7.8 million was allocated for allowances to employees who did not perform creative, museum or scientific functions.

In addition, as of the beginning of 2024, out of 140 monuments registered with the Conservation Area, 38 are in poor condition and 4 are in emergency condition, which creates risks of destruction. Due to underfunding of capital expenditures, in 2020-2021 and 2023, the Conservation Area carried out repair and restoration work at only seven sites, spending UAH 29.1 million. Further failure to provide the Conservation Area with capital expenditures in the amounts necessary to carry out repair and restoration work on the cultural heritage sites of the Conservation Area increases the risks of damage and destruction, which will lead to an increase in the amount of expenditures required for their preservation.

We shall remind you that earlier we reported that a monument to Hetman Ivan Mazepa will be erected on the territory of the Holy Assumption Kiev-Pechersk Lavra. The initiative was supported by the National Reserve “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra”, former politicians and public figures. The monument itself is not ready yet, and the initiators of its installation in the Lavra ask those willing to join financially to the realization of this plan.