Kizhi did not receive the ex-governor

A scandal has broken out at the Kizhi Museum-Reserve: the staff does not want to accept a new director and has written open letters to the President and the Minister of Culture.

The story of the Kizhi Museum-Reserve hit the media last week: on January 24, Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky appointed former Governor of Karelia Andrei Nelidov to the post of director of the museum. The former director, Elvi Averyanova, was removed from her post, and, according to the museum’s press secretary, she was offered to remain at Kizhi in “some” position. Averyanova refused. Outraged employees of the museum-reserve wrote an open letter to President Putin, in which they stated that Nelidov “discredited himself as a manager, a leader and a decent person,” and demanded that he be removed from his post even before joining. The authors of the letter believe that with the arrival of Nelidov, “not only the destruction of the protected zones of monuments, but also the federal museum will begin,” because he “showed extreme incompetence in matters of conservation and protection of the World Heritage Site” when he was governor. In the letter, Medinsky also received a dose of criticism. “As the minister’s work experience has shown, he does not need experienced managers and museum professionals, but is interested in managers who are only designed to earn money by any means,” says the letter, which was signed by 145 museum employees.

Nelidov's first working day at the new place was scheduled for today. According to the Izvestia newspaper, the new director was not even allowed into the workplace. Nelidov himself, at a meeting with museum employees, promised to quit in six months if he failed to establish a common language with the staff.

The head of the press service of the Kizhi Museum-Reserve, Elena Dobrynina, told PublicPost how they welcomed the new management and what they plan to do next.

— Today the media reported that museum employees did not allow Nelidov to work. This is true?

They write lies! We met Nelidov in the museum foyer, because the museum does not have a hall that can accommodate the entire team. Therefore, the press and our entire team gathered in the foyer. Nelidov wanted to talk, and we suggested we talk right here, because there was simply nowhere to sit. Nelidov came along with Governor Khudilainen. So the governor was not indignant, but Nelidov did not like it. But in the end we talked. Nelidov came to work and is already holding his second meeting.

— What is the situation in your team in connection with the arrival of a new director?

We are working. Everyone complies with the labor code. There was a meeting with the governor with the museum’s initiative group and Nelidov.

— What was decided at the meeting?

Governor Khudilainen is traveling to Moscow for a meeting with President Putin. He will prepare a message, he took all our appeals, an open letter to Putin, we wrote to the Chairman of the Culture Committee in the Duma Stanislav Govorukhin, we wrote to the Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky. All letters are originals with signatures. The governor promised that he would meet with the Minister of Culture and the President on January 31.

— What do the museum staff think about this?

We decided that the situation is frozen for now. We voiced our letter of no confidence in Nelidov and are waiting. We, the museum employees, were asked not to organize rallies.

— Did you plan to organize a rally?

The museum is not holding a rally, it is the public gathering. They apply for rallies, collect signatures on the streets and on the Internet.

- What do you think will come of this?

A meeting of the Culture Committee was held in the Legislative Assembly. They decided to hold an extraordinary meeting on February 4-5. But there is little hope.

- Why?

Because the majority there are from United Russia. But we are not giving up, the museum is working.