Society and culture: Results of the Year of Culture in Russia-2014 in Moscow

Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko on February 9, 2015 met with members of the Organizing Committee for the Year of Culture in Russia and the members of the Council on the state cultural policy of the Chairman of the Federation Council.

Valentina Matvienko noted that during the Year of Culture was done a serious work to strengthen the common cultural space of the country to lay a solid legal and institutional foundation for the successful development of the national culture in the long term.

The key document in this regard, she called Fundamentals of state cultural policy, which were approved by the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation in December last year, and also drew attention to the enactment of philanthropic activities and the new edition of the Federal Law "On the Objects of Cultural Heritage of the Russian Federation". She also recalled that from 1 January 2015, all children and adolescents under 18 years of age, regardless of nationality, were entitled to free access to the Russian museums.

The head of the upper chamber said that the Federation Council supported the initiative of the Ministry of Culture of Russia on the review and adoption of the draft law on culture in a package with other bills relating to film, museums, libraries. In the current agenda there is the preparation of the Strategy and the development of culture in the Russian Federation until 2025. 

The aim of the Year of Culture was to reach every settlement, every little village library, reminded the speaker. "In general, it happened. The year 2014 can safely be called the Year of Russian culture in all the republics, territories and areas without exception".

Chairman of the Federation Council considers it significant that the Republic of Crimea and the federal city of Sevastopol became active participants in the Year of Culture and organically integrated into the cultural space of Russia. "This year, at the legislative level is taken to promptly activate cultural sites of the Crimea and Sevastopol in federal and regional registries". 

Events of the Year of Culture demonstrated a tremendous creativity of multinational Russian people, said Valentina Matvienko.

The Minister of Culture Vladimir Medinsky, summing up the year, noted that all planned international events on the Russian side in the Year of Culture have been fully implemented, and work on the construction of new cultural facilities will be continued.