Bakhchisarai gambit: the post of first deputy prime minister of Crimea was exchanged for the post of director of the reserve
Bakhchisaray, April 08 (Navigator, Astra Language) - The Bakhchisaray historical and cultural reserve received from the hands of the Prime Minister of Crimea Sergei Aksenov a new general director - the former deputy head of the Bakhchisaray district state administration Elmira Ablyalimova. The regional Crimean Tatar Mejlis demanded the resignation of the former general director of the reserve, and, after he joined the new Crimean government, Valery Naumenko, under pressure, wrote a letter of resignation.
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The Bakhchisarai Mejlis expressed its dissatisfaction with Naumenko’s work in early February. Then, at a meeting led by the head of the unregistered ethnic authority Refat Chubarov and the people's deputy of Ukraine Mustafa Dzhemilev, the head of the regional branch of the Mejlis Akhtem Chiygoz reproached the director of the Bakhchisaray historical and cultural reserve for the unsatisfactory condition of 138 “unique monuments of history, culture, religion of the Crimean Tatar people.” Moreover, only 18 of them are really related to the history and culture of the Crimean Tatars. The rest are of value for the entire history of Crimea, starting from ancient times, when there was still no smell of the Golden Horde on the peninsula, and ending with the Crimean War, such as, for example, the Alma battlefield. But historical accuracy is not so important when it comes to the development of funds necessary for the reconstruction of the Bakhchisarai Palace, a monument that claims to be included in the UNESCO World Heritage List. It was his deplorable condition that Chiygoz blamed on the director of the reserve.
The Mejlis returned to the issue of Naumenko’s resignation two months later, after the Kurultai of the Crimean Tatars was held there, in Bakhchisarai, where the desire of the Crimean Tatar people for territorial autonomy was declared to the world community, and for internal use it was decided to delegate national representatives to the new power of Crimea. Moreover, the key position should have been the position of the first deputy prime minister of the government of the republic, and not just the deputy chairman of the Council of Ministers, offered to the Crimean Tatars under a quota. But this post has already been occupied by Rustam Tamirgaliev, and the government leadership could not afford to remove one of the most active advocates of Crimea’s entry into the Russian Federation for the sake of a misalliance with the Majlis. This is where the general director of the Bakhchisarai Nature Reserve, who had fallen out of favor, came in handy - he was easily exchanged for the position of “second” person in the Council of Ministers, after Aksenov.
Naumenko himself told Navigator what it looked like in practice.
“On the morning of April 3, the head of the Bakhichsaray administration, Ilmi Umerov, Zaur Smirnov (now the acting chairman of the Reskomnats in the Aksenov government - editor's note) arrived, led by Deputy Prime Minister Lenur Islyamov (at that time not yet confirmed in the position - approx. ed.) and the head of the local Majlis Akhtem Chiygoz. Islyamov said that he came on Aksenov’s personal instructions so that I would write a letter of resignation, since there is a political agreement between the government and the Majlis. I refused to write a statement, after which I had a telephone conversation with Aksenov - he confirmed that this was a political decision, and there was a request to write a statement,” Naumenko reproduced the events.
At the invitation of the prime minister, in the evening the director of the reserve arrived at the Council of Ministers, under whose walls employees of the reserve also gathered to protest against the unreasonable dismissal of the director. The conversation was short-lived - Naumenko resigned of his own free will, and Aksenov the next day introduced the new leader to the team, although Elmira Ablyalimova does not need a special introduction. The former deputy head of the Bakhchisarai district state administration is the wife of the leader of the local Majlis, Akhtem Chiygoz.
By her education, Ablyalimova is an economist and manager who has nothing to do with science or museum work. According to the qualification requirements, as a candidate for the position of head of the historical and cultural reserve, she would not have been approved either by the Ministry of Culture of Crimea or by the relevant commission of the State Council of the Republic. However, political expediency gave way to professionalism and the preservation of cultural heritage, bringing with it a split in the staff of the scientific institution and tension in Bakhchisarai.
The fact that such a rapid removal of the director of the reserve took place in front of the representative of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation, Archpriest Alexander Pelin, may also be unpleasant for the leadership of the Council of Ministers. Having arrived in Crimea specifically to meet with the administrations of two reserves - Bakhchisarai and Khersones, Father Alexander unwittingly witnessed the pace of the Majlis and its victorious outcome.
“This is not about keeping Naumenko - if the leadership of the republic believes that a new general director is needed, then please. But the management must respect, firstly, the status quo, and secondly, these people must be professionals. Sorry, but we don’t appoint the driver of the hospital’s chief physician as the operating surgeon. These are basic things,” the social activist shared his impressions with Navigator. – A reserve is not only an economy, not only a source of funds, but it is also a huge complex of problems, monuments, research, a systematic work plan, restoration plans. For example, in order to carry out a comprehensive study of a monument, its conservation and museumification, very serious research and expertise is needed. Who will do this?
Pelin intends to convey his opinion to members of the Public Chamber of the Russian Federation. This organization is opening its representative office in Crimea, where there will also be a commission for the protection of cultural and spiritual heritage. And if public control over the activities of government agencies in the republic until recently consisted of the possibility of lobbying business interests, then the position of the Public Chamber in the Russian Federation is somewhat different and it is unlikely that it will be possible to earn its loyalty with budget handouts.
In the meantime, the new head of the Bakhchisaray Nature Reserve, which includes the Khan’s Palace, Chufut-Kale, Mangup-Kale, and Eski-Carmen, is tasked with eradicating corruption and bringing out of the shadows the income of the objects for the holiday season, which is comparable to the budget of Bakhchisaray itself.
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