2. Current cultural affairs
Russia
Last update: February, 2013
In the 1990s, cultural policies were much less influential in the field than the general budget policy or the economic situation overall. On the eve of the new century, cultural policies became more articulated and developed between the opposite poles of preserving traditional state patronage over the network of state budgeted cultural institutions and transition to the diversified model of financing, supporting and promoting culture. Yet the cultural sector, overall, was regarded as the least "politically" important. That is why the crucial issue for developing the cultural sector remains its explicit and persuasive representation as the strategic resource for general social, economic and technological progress.
Cultural policy practical priorities are linked to general development trends and include:
- technological and e-advance within the cultural sector;
- reformation of the publicly funded network of cultural institutions and reduction of their numbers; and
- decrease of the state culture budget and development of a variety of partnerships.
At the end of 2007, a critical view of cultural policies was presented in the Report Culture and the Future of Russia: New Insights, submitted by the Public Chamber Commission on Culture Development. The authors criticised the actual "state ideology" of supporting culture as a burdensome duty of the "maecenat state" and stressed a need for more adequate understanding of it as a strategic development resource. In 2008, after parliamentary and presidential elections, the government promised to almost double the public cultural budget in three years. The state cultural expenditure for 2008–2010 was adjusted upwards; however, in 2009 the first budget cuts were made because of the global economic crisis.
In summer 2009, the anti-crisis governmental Programme was adopted which put stress on institutional reforms targeted at development of human and cultural capitals. The Programme did not presuppose additional funding but guaranteed existing allowances for those visiting cultural institutions, preservation of the volume of support to creative unions and to its retired members in particular. The Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation also submitted a list of possible measures to support the cultural sector in crisis, which included tax exemptions for budget-funded cultural institutions, additional subsidies for regional cultural budgets to invest in restoration and repair works and to boost cultural workers' salaries by 30%. However, these proposals were turned down by the government.
In 2010–2012, the general situation was re-established but the budget of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation was reduced. At the beginning of 2012, culture was among the debates before the presidential elections, and a special emphasis was put on the need to adjust salaries for culture professionals and other low paid workers of budget funded institutions.
The Presidential Decree on the Measures for Implementation of the State Social Policies issued after the inauguration (7 May 2012), in order to preserve and develop Russian culture has prioritised the following cultural issues:
- growth of salaries in the sector;
- establishment of multi-functional cultural centres in small towns;
- development of the e- and Internet resources of cultural institutions including virtual museums;
- provision of free Internet access to national films and theatre performances of renowned directors;
- enlargement of state budget allocation for bursaries and grants in culture and the arts;
- establishment of the "travelling collections" in the greatest national museums for their exhibiting in small and medium-sized towns and general development of exhibition projects; and
- wider involvement of gifted children in artistic competitions and events.
The new Russian government criticised the running of the culture sector, which was estimated as a sector that needs "optimisation" and better management. The draft State Programme of the Russian Federation on Development of Culture and Tourism for the period of 2013-2020, which is under discussion, presupposes a gradual increase in funding for cultural events and activities and development of state-private partnerships.
This information will be published as soon as possible.
This information will be published as soon as possible.
Last update: February, 2013
Computerisation, digitalisation, development of new media, growth of the Russian Internet section (RuNet) and streaming revolutionise the culture and media sectors. They are intended to change the cultural landscape and practices, to improve delivery of cultural goods and services and to even cultural access around the country. The IT technologies are to add on cultural infrastructure and are believed to be crucial for "normal" cultural development in small towns and villages of such a big country as Russia.
The goals of "building an information society" in Russia are commonly proclaimed among those responsible for general information policies, though the existing infrastructure is not sufficient and relatively expensive for users. However, in 2012, VCIOM estimated the Internet penetration at 55% of the population, which means that 45% never use it. During the year 2011-2012, the share of low-income Internet users grew 9%, of retired people – 16%, of low-educated users – 7%. To overcome language barriers, registration in the Cyrillic domain .РФ started in November 2009 but was not in fact popular.
The E-Russia Federal Target Programme (2002-2010) aimed at telecommunications development of state governance and provision of access to public information systems, including connecting cultural institutions to the web. Among the cultural institutions, research units and museums are most involved in digitalisation; the latter are engaged in developing national networks and electronic projects (http://www.museum.ru). The major libraries and archives produce online catalogues supported by the E-Russia programme. 1 billion RUB in the 2011 culture budget is intended for establishment of national e-libraries including digitalisation of contemporary literary and scientific publications.
The media have already put value on the Internet and younger audiences and are gradually migrating to the WWW. The state funded "Orpheus" radio station, which broadcasts classical music started streaming in 2007 to increase audiences and especially to address the younger generation (http://www.muzcentrum.ru/orfeus/live/). On the contrary, the TV Rain Chanel, which was launched in the Internet, joined the cable and satellite broadcasting. Streaming services are replacing loading while the market for licensed music and film remains lifeless. Books are among the goods leading the daily visits of related sites and in number of orders made. In 2008, the market of on-line games grew 80%; its turnover was estimated at USD 300 million in 2009.
Last update: February, 2013
Cross-border cultural projects were initiated by the "richer" regions in the early 1990s, when "desetatisation" of international co-operation expanded and trans-frontier events flourished. For Russian regions, they were of particular value because of a critical financial deficit in the cultural sector, thus providing them with the resources for e.g. emergency heritage preservation. The Nordic countries, in particular, placed an emphasis on developing special relations with neighbouring territories, e.g. helping to restore wooden architectural monuments in the Archangel Region.
Almost all the border regions have concluded bilateral agreements with neighbouring foreign territories, and organise tourist activities and cultural exchanges. In 2001, the national Concept of Cross-border Co-operation was adopted, which inter alia presupposes:
- preservation of architectural and cultural heritage while implementing investment projects;
- direct partnerships of educational institutions in the study of languages and cultures of neighbouring peoples; and
- promotion of tourism, joint use of culture and arts heritage, and publishing of tourist guides.
In 2002, 2008, and 2012 Russia ratified the European Framework Convention on Cross-Border Cooperation among territorial communities or authorities and its Protocols; cross-border cultural dialogue has become a national priority and falls within the competence of the Ministry for Regional Development. During the Russia – EU summit of 2009, five agreements on cross-border co-operation were signed including the European Neighbourhood and Partnership Instrument "Kolarctic Programme" (see http://www.kolarcticenpi.info/en), which has direct collaboration of people in culture and arts as one of its priorities.
In July 2007, the Ministry for Culture and Mass Communications held a particular meeting concerned with the issues of cross-border dialogue and needs to develop feasible cultural infrastructure in the border regions of Russia. Urgent actions to improve funding for cultural institutions and heritage objects were proposed, together with the statutory introduction of a cultural dimension in the Federal Target Programmes of economic and social development in border territories.
Cross-border folk festivals within particular language or culture areas is an accepted form of regional cooperation, e.g. the Altargana festival showcasing the Buryat culture, arts, literature, film, and sports and supported by the Ministry for Regional Development. The festival was first organised in 2002 and takes place on a biannual basis with the support of the federal administration and the government, the parliament and the Ministry of Culture and Mass Communications of the Buryat Republic. It aims at intensifying cross-border cooperation and attracting Russian and foreign tourists; it was held in Mongolia in 2010 and in 2012 in Russia again.
Intercultural dialogue: actors, strategies, programmes
Providing for intercultural dialogue is an implicit and traditional part of cultural and social policy in Russia as a culturally diverse country, while Soviet concepts of "interethnic relations" or "peoples' friendships" are common substitutes for "dialogue". Most widespread forms are conferences, festivals, exhibitions, inter-regional exchanges, etc. Relatively new inter-religious dialogue has emerged and involving all the confessions became a very sensitive issue.
The Ministry for Regional Development is responsible for regulating both inter-ethnic (inter-cultural) dialogue and co-operation between the state administration and National Cultural Autonomies or religious communities. Practical work is organised at the regional level where special programmes are implemented. Routine cultural interaction of public organisations with strong ethnic, religious or parochial roots are mainly organised by the regional and local authorities. The "Friendship Houses" serve as focal points for actors and activities, many of which belong to the "folk" cultural movement. In large cities, teaching tolerance also became an instrument of promoting dialogue.
Last update: February, 2013
The National Education Doctrine of the Russian Federation (2000) lists the following tasks:
- harmonisation of inter-ethnic relations;
- preservation and support of ethnic and national identity of Russia's peoples;
- preservation of languages and cultures of all the nationalities;
- development of education and cultures of the indigenous peoples of the North, Siberia, and the Far East; and
- preservation and development of the Russian language role in uniting the multicultural state.
Recent developments in education were influenced by increased migration and by a growing ethnic self-awareness. On the one hand, according to the Law on National Cultural Autonomies, many schools based on ethnic principles were established, which actually lead to isolation of children and lower training standards. On the other hand, in Moscow, an integrative approach was piloted: a dedicated curriculum for migrants' children has been introduced, by which, for one year, they study the Russian language and receive basic cultural knowledge on how to socialise in new milieus; following this training, they are admitted to mainstream schools. Similar programmes were developed in other regions.
Some initiatives of cultural workers were also realised, e.g. the project of museum teachers on cultural diversity of the world's peoples for primary schools, which was an extension of an international project. However, these initiatives, though numerous enough, are mainly based on the personal input of cultural workers and lack a systematic approach. More often, the emphasis in arts / cultural education for children is put on the study of their own traditional and folklore culture as it is believed important for building up personal value systems and identity, for social and cultural rehabilitation, participation and activities.
In 2009, discussions on introducing a course on religious culture in the general education system resulted in a Presidential commission to pilot six pertinent courses (on the basics of Orthodox, Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Judaist and world religious cultures and secular ethics) in schools of 19 regions.
Last update: February, 2013
According to data published by the Federal Agency for Print and Mass Communications, on 1 January 2006, there were 66 931 registered media companies, of which 14 290 specialised in e-media and 1 816 acted in the "RuNet" (Russian language section of the Internet), the latter becoming the main information source for the younger generation. At the beginning of 2010, there were 20 free-to-air TV channels including the specialised "Kultura" channel and 230 other channels, of which 50 (including music and ethnic ones) were free of charge. State broadcasting remains the backbone of the e-media system.
The State Russian Television and Radio Broadcasting Company (VGTRK), which has more than 90 regional branches and covers almost all of Russia, belongs to the state; the share of the state agencies in the "First Channel" public company equals 51%. There are broadcasting companies belonging to regional authorities, which were recently proposed for desetatisation by the Russian President. Music radio stations make up the bulk of commercial radio, while information stations often belong to the huge broadcasting companies.
Provisions for media pluralism are among the direction of state cultural policy. Notwithstanding the general decrease of direct media funding, the federal budget provides for:
- production of cultural programmes that e.g. foster cultural diversity and tolerance, represent ethnic cultures, etc.;
- publishing of cultural, educational, scientific, reference and fictional works via grants; supporting book culture and reading;
- particular broadcasting channels with cultural content (e.g. TV and radio channels "Kultura" or "Orpheus" classical music radio station) or targeted audiences (e.g. the "Bibigon" TV channel for children); and
- digitalisation and preservation of national audiovisual archives as a part of cultural heritage.
One of the main priorities outlined in the Broadcasting Development Concept in Russia for 2006-2015 is to increase the number of national programmes reaching the mass population. It also emphasises:
- the need for additional resources to translate programmes targeted for ethnic, religious, and language minorities; and
- the importance of establishing national public television and non-governmental channels for particular socio-cultural groups (e.g. for children).
Broadcasting uses mainly the Russian language, and experts point to the decrease of local content in regional broadcasting programmes, which are being replaced by national productions. This trend is also supported by the economic situation, which is particularly difficult for smaller or medium players. Altogether, domestic contents make up about 80% of the programmes translated and 74% of broadcasting volume.
Current policy issues such as freedom of speech and censorship, anti-trust measures, the high fees for delivering periodicals by post and VAT rates, language and content diversity of the regional press are discussed within the Commission for Communications, Information Policies, and Freedom of Speech in Mass Media of the Public Chamber. Although there are broad discussions on the need for introducing censorship of violence and malice, which became common on TV, a VCIOM sociological survey of 2008 revealed 58 % of those who support this type of control and whose number is decreasing (relatively 76% in 2004). The Public Chamber also proposed to develop a state grant system and professional competitions for media productions with ethnic cultural content and in the languages of the peoples of Russia.
Last update: February, 2013
Russia's population speaks languages that represent several language families. Russian is the official language all over the Russian Federation; Republics within the RF (Karelia excluded) enjoy their right to establish their own state languages (so-called "title" languages, e.g. Ingush in the Ingush Republic; see chapter 4.1.8).
Russian remains the basic means of communication and underpins the common cultural space throughout the country: according to the Census of 2010, 99.4% of the population use Russian. In many regions, Russian language courses are provided for gastarbeitern arriving from the former Soviet Republics. In 2009, the national Cyrillic domain zone .РФ was established, which experts believe could replace the .RU zone within Russia in 5 years.
The Russian Language Federal Target Programme (2011-2015) was designed to support, preserve and disseminate Russian language usage, including among compatriots living abroad. Its tasks are as follows:
- to provide for the use of Russian as the state language of the Russian Federation;
- to support Russian as the language of inter-ethnic communication;
- to develop Russian as the means of economic, humane, and juridical integration within the CIS; and
- to meet language and cultural needs of compatriots living abroad.
2007 was declared the Year of the Russian Language, when different agencies - namely the culture, education, and foreign Ministries - collaborated in organising related events in Russia and abroad. Many events were held to stimulate involvement in language learning and use as a means of intercultural communication. The "Russky Mir" Foundation was established the same year to promote the Russian language as a national treasure and a part of Russian and world culture, to support programmes of studying Russian both at home and abroad.
There are more than 150 living and legitimate languages and dialects, ethnic and local ones that in most cases are very different from Russian, but which use the Cyrillic alphabet. Mostly at the regional level, languages of indigenous peoples and ethnic minorities receive state financial support as the languages of education, publishing and media. However, actual support is not enough to create a viable industry. The lack of pedagogical personnel with good minority language training skills, together with the e.g. preserved nomadic way of life of the Nordic indigenous peoples, produce general difficulties in teaching mother tongues, which is leading to their decline.
In 2001, Russia signed the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, implementation of which was placed within the responsibility of the Ministry for Regional Development. The possibilities of the Charter's ratification are to be assessed within the joint Programme of the Council of Europe, European Commission and the Ministry on "Ethnic Minorities in Russia – development of languages, cultures, mass media, and civil society" (2009–2010).
Last update: February, 2013
Gender equality is not identified as a policy issue at the governmental level. However, the cultural sector is mainly feminised as is the case with other low-income sectors (teaching, medicine, social work).
Table 2: The share of working women by sector, in %, 1980-2007
| 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | 2002 | 2004 | 2006 | 2007 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 51 | 51 | 48 | 49 | 49 | 49 | 49.6- |
| Culture and arts | 70 | 71 | 69 | 73 | 69* | 74** | 74** |
| Education | 78 | 79 | 80 | 79 | 81 | 81 | 80.4 |
Source:
Gosudarstvenny komitet RF po statistike: Trud i zanyatost' v Rossii, 2007. Ofits. izd. (State Committee of the RF for Statistics: Labour and Employment in Russia, 2007. Moscow, 2007). Moskva, 2007, p. 73; Gosudarstvenny komitet RF po statistike: Rossijsky statistichesky yezhegodnik, 2007. Ofits. izd. (State Committee of the RF for Statistics: Russian Statistical Yearbook, 2007, Official editions. Moscow, 2007). Moskva, 2007.
Notes:
* Within the Ministry of Culture organisations this indicator equalled 73%.
** Within the Ministry of Culture organisations.
In the public sector, for many years, salaries and remuneration in culture and the arts have been the lowest. In 1999, there were 554 000 and in 2007, 603 553 women employed within the system of the culture Ministry. In 2004, the average "female" salary in the sector (3 791 RUB) was lower than the corresponding "male" salary (5 505 RUB) (see Table 1), and this trend correlates to the common employment situation. Overall, the state apparatus is also feminised. Although, in 2007 women made up 70.8% of civil servants at the federal and 72.1% at the regional level, decision-makers were principally male (about 80% of the "higher" and "chief" administrative staff at the federal level).
At the same time, higher professional education in culture and the arts is still very popular among women: in 1998/1999 over 53% of the total student body and 66% of the student body in arts and film was female. In 2005/2006, related figures rose slightly to 57% and 74% respectively. In 2007/2008, women made up 71% of students at secondary specialised schools and 74% of the student body in the arts and film higher schools, while they made up relatively 50 and 57% of the total student body.
This information will be published as soon as possible.
Last update: February, 2013
Cultural diversity is an historic element of Russia, where one can find all world religions and almost every type of religious belief, several different language families and very different natural surroundings. In the 1990s, Russia survived a so-called ethnic and religious revival that re-established values and beliefs neglected or even restrained in the USSR and re-enforced ethnicity as a basis for cultural identity. Labour immigration began in the 1990s, which makes the cultural landscape even more diverse and produces new influential Diasporas, e.g. the Chinese in the Far East of Russia.
According to the Census of 2010, 80.9% of the population has stated that they are ethnic Russians; however, it also indicates that about 26 million belong to 180 other ethnic groups. As the result, diversity is understood first and foremost as ethnicity, that is why cultural matters are often placed in an "ethnographic" sense and linked to regional specifics. The main political document in the field is the Concept of the State National (read ethnic) Policy (1996) which is currently being revised. According to the proposals of the Public Chamber (2007), this concept should be based on the contemporary notion of cultural diversity and human rights, thus modernising foundations of identity. The same year, the Ministry for Regional Development submitted a draft Concept stating the preservation and development of ethnic cultural diversity as a political goal.
The forms of state support to ethnic cultural groups are varied, e.g. there is a Council on Kazak Affairs under the Russian President and in 2009, a permanent commission on the organisation of state support for development of Kazak culture, for their artistic groups and children's creativity (folk dance, singing, crafts, etc.) was established. The Federal Target Programmes (FTPs) serve as another instrument of support to ethnic cultural communities and presuppose funding of folk arts and crafts. In 2009, implementation of the FTP for Socioeconomic and Ethnic Cultural Development of Russia's Germans for 2008-2012 included supporting the study of the German language, organisation of exhibitions, festivals and Days of German Culture in the regions of Russia, financing the «Sibirische Zeitung plus» newspaper (Novosibirsk), etc. In 2009, the governmental Sustainable Development Concept for the Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia and the Far East of the Russian Federation was adopted to shape related strategies until 2025.
In 2007, there were about 2 300 organisations of an ethnic cultural character including 662 National Cultural Autonomies (NCA), in 2010 the number of the latter equalled 827. The NCAs and other types of ethnic cultural associations including the Roma Culture Centre of the North Caucasus or the all-Russia public movement named the Association of Ugro-Finns of Russia receive direct state support for ethnic cultural development. The most popular activities organised by NCAs are amateur performing arts, establishment of libraries and audio archives in mother tongues, and language courses. Conversely, there are no explicit cultural policies towards new minorities, e.g. towards legal or illegal labour migrants except minimal linguistic integration; the latter are not entitled to any social support or regulation.
Traditional folk cultures and creativity receive state support at all administrative levels and remain very popular among amateur artists in both urban and rural areas. At the federal level, major celebrations are held, including the 300th anniversary of Khakassia (2007) and the 450th anniversary of Udmurtia (2008) joining the Russian state, which are widely reported in the mass media and comprise important cultural modules.
Last update: February, 2013
Until recently, public opinion surveys or governmental programmes did not explicitly create a link between cultural policy and social cohesion, which remained an issue mainly of research. However, there are "hot spots" that could be influenced by targeted cultural policies, e.g. splashes in negative attitudes to ethnic migration from the former Soviet Republics, North Caucasus, etc. In 2009, the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation proposed to foster inter-ministerial activities to support social cohesion and to elaborate special cultural policy measures supporting tolerance, expanding inter-ethnic communication, and challenging xenophobia.
Surveys of a general nature have revealed a decrease in feelings of trust and a devaluation of co-operation, reciprocity principles and mutual respect in modern Russia. Comparative VCIOM (see chapter 9.1) research into interpersonal trust (2005) discovered that it is lower in Russia than in the EU (45% compared to 54% of those who always or often trust people, and 23% compared to 11% of those who almost never trust). The wider public does not place full reliance on rich people, especially if they are given strong positions in cultural matters. A sociological survey that followed the culture Minister's proposal to involve maecenats in museum management (2008) revealed that 42% of respondents are wary of the possibility of plundering public property (see http://old.wciom.ru/arkhiv/tematicheskii-arkhiv/item/single/10414.html).
Almost all current surveys demonstrate a belief in the direct correlation between high culture and social ethics and show aspirations to state support and promotion of cultural institutions and values as a means to strengthen moral values. These results can be understood as a symptom of the general social need for active support for moral values and practical cultural programmes facilitating social cohesion, particularly in view of strained inter-ethnic relations.
Establishing relations of tolerance became the objective of many regional programmes including the Tolerance Programme implemented in St. Petersburg. This programme aimed at harmonisation of inter-cultural, inter-ethnic, and inter-religious relations for the period of 2011-2015 was developed as a follow-up to the earlier "Tolerance" programme and targeted to build up and strengthen a tolerant environment in St. Petersburg based on the values of a multi-ethnic Russian society, all-Russian civil identity, and a St. Petersburg social and cultural self-identification (see: http://eng.spbtolerance.ru/). It also presupposes support for successful social integration and cultural-linguistic adaptation of migrants. Its goals are to be achieved by:
- building a culture of tolerance through the system of education;
- interreligious communication and assistance to intercultural communication;
- promotion of tolerance values in the media community of St. Petersburg; and
- establishing an "intolerant" attitude to xenophobic and racist ideas among the youth.
This information will be published as soon as possible.
Last update: February, 2013
In 2012, the tourist sector was placed within the responsibilities of the Russian culture Ministry (see chapter 1.2.2). The related Federal Target Programme on Development of Domestic and Foreign Tourism (2011-2018) aims at development of the internal tourist market and high quality services. There is also a subdivision on Tourism in the draft State Programme of the Russian Federation on Development of Culture and Tourism for the period of 2013-2020.
The involvement of the Russian Orthodox Church and other religious organisations in cultural matters is intensifying and their influence and participation in public debates on modern Russian culture is growing. On the one hand, some practical tensions emerge with regard to the questions of maintaining, preserving, safeguarding and using cultural monuments and artistic objects, which were recently given back to the religious communities. On the other, the Patriarch Council for Culture was established in 2010 to organise dialogue and interaction with the state cultural institutions, Artists' Unions, and public organisations of cultural workers.