The State Council Commission on Culture and Traditional Spiritual and Moral Values held an expanded meeting on the sidelines of the St Petersburg International United Cultures Forum. It was another stage in the preparation for the State Council meeting scheduled for December and devoted to the preservation of Russia’s historical and cultural heritage in all its diversity, including tangible and spiritual values, as well as historical and documentary heritage.
The commission meeting was chaired by its chairman, Governor of Sevastopol Mikhail Razvozhaev. The event was attended by Presidential Aide and Secretary of the State Council Alexei Dyumin (via videoconference), Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova, Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova, members of the Federation Council, the State Duma, the Presidential Executive Office and the regions, as well as representatives of the restoration industry, archives and libraries, as well as other culture institutions.
The agenda of the meeting included issues related to the development of the restoration industry and archival affairs.
Alexei Dyumin said in his opening remarks that the key topics for the upcoming State Council meeting would be historical memory and traditional spiritual and moral values. The Presidential Aide emphasised that these issues, along with others, had been considered at a meeting of the Security Council on current issues held in August under the chairmanship of the head of state. By protecting its heritage, the state strengthens its national security and sovereignty, and is becoming stronger and more resilient against any challenge, Alexei Dyumin stated.
The Secretary of the State Council also pointed out the need to strengthen the human resources in the restoration industry and archival affairs, as these specialists are tasked with ensuring the continuity of historical memory. They systematise and preserve evidence from different eras. Alexei Dyumin expressed appreciation to representatives of these important professions for their daily painstaking work for the benefit of the country.
Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova emphasised that the development of the country as a social state is only possible if investments are made in human capital and if the Russian national civic identity is preserved and enhanced on the basis of traditional Russian spiritual and moral values.
According to Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova, extensive work is being carried out in the country on the restoration, renovation and conservation of historical and cultural monuments with the support from the Culture Ministry. This involves the joint efforts of thousands of true professionals: architects, archaeologists and restorers. Currently, Russia has over 163,000 cultural heritage sites, the Minister noted.
Chairman of the commission Mikhail Razvozhaev pointed out the significance of intergenerational continuity for the preservation of cultural heritage. “You can restore a building to perfection, digitise thousands of documents, preserve the technology of folk crafts, and yet lose the most important thing if the next generation stops seeing all this as part of their history. Only a human being can keep the meaning alive. We must answer a simple question: what cultural memory will the next generation receive, and will they see that memory as their own? The answer to this question largely determines whether our heritage will truly live on,” Mikhail Razvozhaev said.