“Cultural uprising”: cultural figures demand that the Cabinet of Ministers dismiss the head of the Ministry of Culture

A coalition of cultural figures has published an open letter to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal demanding the dismissal of Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications Mykola Tochytskyi. One of the reasons for this appeal is the dismissal of Maksym Ostapenko from the post of Director General of the National Reserve “Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra”. This was reported by Ukrayinska Pravda.

According to media reports, the appeal was signed by 27 activists, including Olga Sahaidak, head of the Coalition of Cultural Figures, Olga Gonchar, director of the Memorial Museum of Totalitarian Regimes “Territory of Terror”, NGO “New Museum”, Mariana Tomin, former director of the Department of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry of Culture and Arts of Ukraine, and others.

In particular, the letter draws attention to the inaction of the Minister of Culture in the field of cultural heritage and the appointment of incompetent people in the field of culture, unjustified dismissals, inefficient budget planning and use of donor assistance, non-transparent communication about the activities of the ICSC, etc.

All of this «leads to a loss of trust and respect for the public administration body in the field of culture in society and possible losses of human resources, cultural heritage sites and the state museum fund. The dismissal of the Director General of the Kyiv Cave Monastery National Reserve clearly demonstrates the violations committed by the Minister and his subordinates,» — the letter says.

The letter also emphasizes that Maksym Ostapenko’s powers did not include the responsibility to evict UOC monks from the territory of the Kyiv Cave Monastery, as this issue should have been handled by the State Service for Ethnic Policy and Freedom of Conscience.

«Instead, the duties of the director of the Kyiv Cave Monastery National Reserve are to preserve and protect the cultural heritage and develop the museum. In this way, the Minister publicly encourages his subordinate to violate the law and act beyond the scope of his official duties,» — the activists write.

Earlier, we reported that the former director general of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve, Maksym Ostapenko, announced his intention to appeal his dismissal in court. In his opinion, the decision of the Ministry of Culture is illegal and violates the norms of the legal system.