Appeal of the Public Committee in defense of the Ryazan Kremlin

On December 18, the Public Committee in Defense of the Ryazan Kremlin Museum-Reserve issued an appeal to the residents of Ryazan in connection with the situation around the museum. We publish the text of the appeal in full.

Appeal of the Public Committee in defense of the Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve: Ryazan Kremlin; to all residents of Ryazan

*Today it depends only on you and me whether or not there will be a museum in the Kremlin

There were and are no legal grounds for the destruction of the museum in the Kremlin

Let us defend the principle of separation of church and state written in the Constitution of the Russian Federation

We will not allow the destruction of a particularly valuable object of cultural heritage of the peoples of the Russian Federation

We will not allow federal and local officials to waste budget funds on the destruction of culture

We will defend the interests of the residents of Ryazan from the privatizers of the national property - the "Ryazan Kremlin"

The reason for our statement was the following events, presented in chronological order.*

December 9, 2007 In the Nativity of Christ Cathedral in the Ryazan Kremlin, Archbishop Pavel announced that the directors of the Ryazan Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve L.D. Maksimova will soon be removed from her post and congratulated his flock on this.

On December 10, L.D. herself learned about her dismissal. Maksimova*.

* Reference: Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation L.D. Maksimova worked at the museum for 44 years, headed it for 23 years, and in 2003 she was awarded the Church Order of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Princess Olga, III degree, for her assistance in turning the Nativity Cathedral into the cathedral of the Ryazan diocese. In July 2007, she signed documents on the transfer from the operational management of the museum-reserve to the use of the Ryazan diocese of several churches and the cathedral bell tower.

On December 11, the head of the Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography M.E. Shvydkoy said at a press conference in ITAR-TASS with the participation of Metropolitan Kliment of Kaluga and Borovsk that he fired the director of RIAMZ for his reluctance to “seek a compromise” with the Russian Orthodox Church. Reports from the RIA Novosti agency and on websites close to the Russian Orthodox Church additionally disseminated untrue information that in the summer of 2007 the museum began building an “entertainment center” on the territory of the Kremlin.

* Reference: in fact, in the official document on the dismissal of L.D. Maksimova, signed by M.E. Shvydkim contains references to paragraph 2 of Art. 278 of the Labor Code of the Russian Federation on early termination of a contract. According to Art. 279 L.D. Maximova was compensated for three months’ salary, which is an acknowledgment that the Federal Agency has no official claims against her. All words by M.E. Shvydkoy about the lack of compromise between the director of the museum and the Russian Orthodox Church confirm that the dismissal was carried out on illegal grounds and constitutes incompetent interference by an official in the activities of a civil servant - L.D. Maksimova - who stood in defense of the current legislation on culture.

On December 12, an extended meeting of the scientific council of the museum-reserve was held, with the participation of the cultural and museum community, teachers of Ryazan universities and members of the public committee. The Scientific Council of the Ryazan Museum-Reserve expressed L.D. Maximova is deeply grateful for her unique contribution to Ryazan culture and museum affairs and fully supported the civic and professional position of L.D. Maksimova for all her actions in the conflict between Archbishop Paul and the Ryazan Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve. Candidate L.D. Maximova was nominated for the title of “honorary citizen of Ryazan”. To the management of the Federal Agency "Roskultura" and personally to Mr. M.E. The Academic Council expressed no confidence in Shvydky. The Academic Council approached the Department of Culture and Mass Communications of the Ryazan Region with a proposal to hold a meeting of the broad cultural and museum community of the Ryazan Region on the fate of the Ryazan Kremlin.

On December 13, an extraordinary meeting of the Ryazan City Council took place. The issue “On the transfer of buildings into federal ownership” was considered. Archbishop Pavel of Ryazan and Kasimov, who was present at the meeting, addressed the city council, calling on the deputies to transfer into federal ownership the buildings occupied by the city administration, since the fulfillment of this condition is one of the necessary links in the planned operation to evict the museum from the Kremlin. All deputies (with one abstention) voted unanimously and earned the dubious praise of Archbishop Paul that there are no such deputies anywhere else in Russia. According to the official message on the City Council website, the issue had to be resolved anew and urgently because, we quote: “the previous decision of deputies on this issue provided for the transfer of federal areas to municipal ownership on exchange terms.” The new decision turned out to be made in violation of the regulations of the City Council, because it should have contained an economic justification. It is unlikely that anyone can reasonably justify to the residents of Ryazan the unheard-of generosity shown by deputies at the expense of municipal property, which is the basis of the city budget. Thus, once started, a chain of unlawful and illegal decisions seizes more and more authorities, worsens the economic and spiritual state of the region.

On December 18, the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation planned to hold a meeting with the agenda: “On the transfer of the ensemble of the Ryazan Kremlin to the Ryazan diocese.” Museum employees were not invited to it, and they were forced to independently seek the presence of representatives of the workforce and the Academic Council of the museum at this meeting. At the last minute the meeting was canceled for unknown reasons.

So, we are facing the danger of the Ryazan Kremlin being captured, which is why a change in the director of the museum was necessary. All authorities, called upon to defend state interests and uphold the laws, condone Archbishop Paul in his illegal claims. Meanwhile, there are NO grounds for transferring a particularly valuable object of cultural heritage of the peoples of the Russian Federation to a religious organization. The legislation of the Russian Federation expressly prohibits this. The architectural ensemble of the Kremlin is an integral part of the museum-reserve, and not just a container for museum exhibitions and storage facilities. In 1995, by Decree of the President of the Russian Federation, the Ryazan Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve and the land on which it is located were included in the State Code of Particularly Valuable Objects of the Cultural Heritage of the Peoples of the Russian Federation. This status means that RIAMZ is classified in the highest category of protection and accounting, which involves ensuring the safety and integrity of the property assigned to it, museum collections and funds.

**Especially valuable objects of cultural heritage of the Russian Federation are not subject to alienation from state property

Museum collections are an integral part of the museum fund of the Russian Federation. The division of collections is prohibited by the Russian Federation Law "On Museum Funds"

The Ryazan Kremlin is a cultural heritage of all residents of Russia, regardless of their nationality. And attitudes towards religion.**
December 18, 2007

On January 11, a public meeting of Ryazan was held, the participants of which (more than 180 people) came to the conclusion that “there are no legal grounds for transferring a particularly valuable object of cultural heritage of the peoples of Russia to a religious organization.”

The appeal adopted at the meeting contains calls for political parties to “support the Ryazan intelligentsia in the fight for the preservation of RIAMZ” and for V. Putin to “take personal control of the situation around RIAMZ and fulfill their role as a guarantor of the constitutional rights of citizens and cultural institutions.”

Sources

• DOCUMENT: Appeal of the Public Committee in defense of the Historical and Architectural Museum-Reserve: Ryazan Kremlin; to all residents of Ryazan // Portal-Credo.ru. 2007. December 19.
• The public of Ryazan is for the museum in the Kremlin // RIAMZ website. 2008. January 15.
• DOCUMENT: “There are no legal grounds for transferring a particularly valuable object of cultural heritage of the peoples of Russia to a religious organization.” Decision of the Ryazan public meeting of January 11, 2008 // Portal-Credo.ru. 2008. January 18.