State Tretyakov Gallery XX century, © Yuriy Lapitskiy via wikipedia
After a man complained about some of the works on display, the Russian Ministry of Culture reportedly sent a letter to Moscow's Tretyakov Gallery demanding that it change its displays to be in line with "spiritual and moral values." The letter was sent to Zelfira Tregulova, who is the general director of the gallery. It was signed by Natalia Chechel, who is the deputy director of the Department of Museums and Foreign Relations. According to the Moscow Times, which first reported the news, the letter was prompted by a complaint to the Ministry of Culture that the gallery doesn't fit with the state policy "to preserve and strengthen traditional Russian spiritual and moral values." The complaint said that the museum had artworks that showed "signs of a destructive ideology."
Sergei Shadrin, who wrote the complaint, said that after seeing contemporary art at the gallery that showed funerals, "drunk alcoholism," and interpretations of cultural figures, he felt very sad, empty, and without hope. Shadrin was especially upset by Alexander Burganov's bronze Pieta statue from 1978, which didn't have a head. He called this "a devilish interpretation."
An employee of the gallery who asked to remain anonymous told the Moscow Times, "We are dealing with a typical Soviet way of dealing with objectionable art, which is supposedly by a letter from the people that is given official circulation." The letter from the Ministry of Culture tells Tregulova that she has until February 6 to answer Shadrin's complaint.
Jean Dubreil