Culture and authority: The concept of a new law on culture is discussed in the State Duma

Parliament hearings ‘On the project of a new basic federal law on culture’ took place on April 19 in the State Duma. 

According to experts the ‘Fundamentals of the Russian Federation legislation on culture’ which took force before the current Constitution do not conform with the reality any more.

‘The law “On culture” must become a foundation stone for the whole system of regulation of relationships in the culture area and serve as a guideline for the modernized state cultural policy, - outlines the State Duma Committee for Culture president Grigory Ivliyev. – We have to change the opinion that culture is the sector of economy which is always the last one in the line for budget or the area of services meant for entertainment. I can say without exaggeration that the cultural environment has the fundamental significance for the country’s modernization’.

The development of the project concept of the law ‘On culture’ had been contributed to by eminent culture workers, creative unions representatives, workers of regional and federal cultural institutions, the employees of the Russian Institute of culturology.

Among the issues which the new law is meant to cover is the development of artistic education, youth attraction to the cultural institutions, formation of a single cultural space of the country, preservation of traditional cultural values, development of cultural state policy.

The Parliament hearings are attended by the State Duma Chairperson Deputy Svetlana Zhurova, RF President’s Advisor Yuri Laptev, State Duma Committee for Culture president Grigory Ivliyev, Ministry of Culture deputy Yekaterina Chukovskaya, Mass Communications, Culture and Education Department Head under the RF government Denis Molchanov, Russian Institute of culturology Director Cyril Razlogov, the directors of cultural institutions, the major Mass Media agencies editors, cultural and art workers.