Rebuilding museum tourism in the Crimea
Symferopol — The Supreme Council of the Crimea has adopted an action plan for 2007-08 to commemorate the 650th anniversary of the Armenian monastery complex of Surb-Khach (Holy Cross) located near the large village of Staryi Krym. The central budget has allocated two million hryvnias for its reconstruction and renovation. Built in 1358, Surb-Khach Monastery is a medieval Armenian architectural site, one of the oldest on the peninsula.
During the Middle Ages the Feodosia region of the Crimea was mostly populated by Armenians. In the 14th-15th centuries the town of Solkhat (Staryi Krym) was home to four Armenian monasteries and nine churches. All of them operated schools and workshops, and many manuscripts were created there. Unique handwritten books originating from Solkhat are stored at the Matenadarani Institute of Ancient Manuscripts in Yerevan.
Surb-Khach, one of the four monasteries that existed on this territory is an architectural ensemble comprising structures that were built in different periods. For a number of centuries the monastery was a cultural center revered by the Armenian populace, and thus attracted many pilgrims. It had a particular significance for Armenian spiritual unity, because the Armenian colonies never had territorial borders, a centralized administration, or administrative ties with the mother country. All this was substituted by their church, which served to spiritually unite the Armenians, thanks to which they were able to preserve their mother tongue, traditions, literature, and faith.
A number of Armenian cultural figures lived and worked at Surb-Khach in different periods. Experts believe that this architectural complex has been spared most of the ravages of time. It has been sustained for many years by the local Armenian community, and excursions, research, and cultural projects are carried out there.
The complex is in dire need of restoration and renovations. These works are scheduled for the summer of 2007. In addition, the road leading to the monastery does not meet resort area standards. After carrying out a series of coordinated preparatory works, the Supreme Council of the Crimea plans to adopt a number of historic measures, including organizing major events, such as international conferences commemorating the 650th anniversary of Surb-Khach.
Developing museum tourism has a special meaning for the Crimea, with its outstanding historical and cultural heritage. Museums, preserves, monasteries, and palace/park complexes are a guarantee that the peninsula’s cultural wealth will be preserved for future generations. They add to the Crimea’s inimitable cultural landscape, help popularize it throughout the world, and develop tourism. “The effective implementation by museum workers of these research and educational tasks guarantees the preservation for our posterity of all the wealth of the national and world cultural heritage,” reads a resolution recently adopted by the Crimean Supreme Council on the practice of observing the requirements of the Law of Ukraine “On Museums and Museum Tourism” on the peninsula.
Renovations of the Maksymiliian Voloshyn Museum in Koktebel are practically completed. There are serious reasons for carrying out this particular project. This year the international community will mark the 130th anniversary of the poet’s birth, and Koktebel, the poet’s hometown, will be the center of festivities. Liudmyla Benzik, head of the Crimean parliament’s press service, told The Day late last week that the town held a meeting attended by Crimean Speaker Anatolii Hrytsenko, Deputy Prime Minister Tetiana Umrikhyna, and Minister of Culture and Art Oleksandr Yermachkov. The meeting adopted the calendar of festivities.
Hrytsenko announced that a number of cultural events are scheduled for May-September 2007 in Koktebel, Sudak, Staryi Krym, and Symferopol, and that parliament and the Ukrainian government will make every effort to finance them fully. In addition to the celebrations marking Voloshyn’s 130th anniversary, the festivities include the launch of the restored House Museum on June 12, 2007, and a number of scholarly and practical conferences, poetry festivals, and open-air exhibits. Throughout the year copies of Maksymyliian Voloshyn’s literary works and paintings will be published, along with publications dealing with regional history and art. Journalists will have an opportunity to take part in a competition for the best work on the topic “Maksymyliian Voloshyn and the Poet’s Home.”
“Implementing the Law of Ukraine ‘On Museums and Museum Tourism’ is a priority direction for the Ministry of Culture and Art,” Crimea’s Minister of Culture Oleksandr Yermachkov told The Day. “Culturally significant historical structures are part of the Museum Fund of Ukraine, and are protected and used in keeping with current legislation. There are many cultural riches. The museum fund, comprising 1,057,175 items, continues to expand. In the first half of 2006 the main collection was enriched by 1,850 items. Visits to Crimean museums and their revenues have been on a steady upward curve over the past several years, thanks to an increase in the number of tours available for vacationers and guests to the Crimea.”
The minister went on to say that the museum system in the Crimea faces a number of problems primarily linked to inadequate funding. His ministry is implementing measures to finally repair the facade of the Republican Regional History Museum, the main one on the peninsula. At least 300,000 hryvnias must be found for this work. Since the museum premises are occupied by a large number of organizations, many of which are independent museums, like the Illia Selvinsky House-Museum, as well as the Republican Committee for the Protection of the Crimean Cultural Heritage, State Valuables Transfer Service, and others, the republican museum still has not been able to organize its own permanent exhibits.
The museum thus appears to be made up of separate exhibits. The Crimean budget only provides for the salaries of museum staff, security guards, and utility bills. The Supreme Council resolution envisages changes to the procedures of funding cultural projects. This will make it possible to locate funding for the development of museums. In addition, the Crimean parliament has advised local self-government authorities to resolve the issue of allowing museums to own the land on which they are located.
The Crimea is proud of the fact that Symferopil is home to one of Ukraine’s most interesting museums, the Crimean Ethnographic Museum, the only one of its kind in southern Ukraine. The trouble is that it is still formally part of the Crimean Republican Regional History Museum, so the ministry is now seeking to register it officially as a separate legal entity. Also, the Crimean budget must part with 450,000 hryvnias to complete the preparations for the exhibition “The Golden Treasury” plus 240,000 hryvnias to complete the restoration work and install burglar alarm systems at the Illia Selvinsky Literary Museum, currently squeezed into two rooms at the Republican Regional History Museum.
The building of the Symferopil Art Museum, which is also an architectural monument of the 20th century, badly needs restoration and major repairs. The roof has to be replaced, because the structure’s current state is endangering the items on display. Fire safety measures at the museum are also inadequate.
Last year, the Ministry of Culture and the Standing Commission on Culture of the Supreme Council of the Crimea drafted measures to carry out repairs at the Anton Chekhov House-Museum. The electrical wiring, autonomous heating and hydraulic insulation systems had to be replaced. The local authorities were instructed to supervise the project in collaboration with the Association of Crimean Museums and Preserves, as well as other interested organizations.
The Crimean parliament believes that the current Laws of Ukraine “On the Protection of the Cultural Heritage” and “On the Protection of the Archaeological Legacy” run counter to the Ukrainian and Crimean constitutions. “They actually prevent the culture authorities of the Autonomous Republic of the Crimea from participating in resolving matters connected to the issuance of permits for archaeological prospecting and digging; they are also aimed at facilitating the monopolization of this right on the part of the central executive organs in the sphere of protecting the cultural heritage,” says Crimean MP Yurii Moharychov.
“This deprives the Crimea of its constitutional powers as set forth in Article 138 of the Constitution of Ukraine and Article 18 of the Constitution of the Crimea.” In view of this, the Crimean parliament has asked its members to introduce amendments in Ukraine’s parliament to these laws, which contain proposals to institute the right to issue permits to carry out work on historical and cultural monuments in protected areas.
