Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine Oleksandr Tkachenko called on the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of the country to consider in the near future the issue of the activities of a branch of Rossotrudnichestvo (agency under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation) in Kiev.

The official posted the corresponding statement on his Telegram channel.

“The branch of the Rossotrudnichestvo State Agency and its so-called Russian Center for Science and Culture, under the guise of cultural and scientific cooperation, are engaged in the dissemination of Russian narratives and propaganda around the world,” Tkachenko wrote.

The head of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine was outraged by a post posted on Rossotrudnichestvo's Facebook page on March 9.

It announced a teleconference with the "Russian House" in Kiev, dedicated to the Day of Remembrance of the "Russian-Ukrainian poet" Taras Shevchenko.

Tkachenko stressed that it is unacceptable to associate the figure of Taras Shevchenko with Russian culture and Russia.

The minister called the statement about the "Russian-Ukrainian poet" Shevchenko "a petty information provocation."

In his opinion, "this is yet another example of an attempt by (Moscow. -

RT

)

to appropriate the

merits of the Ukrainian and other nationalities."

From Tkachenko's point of view, in a similar way, Russia is allegedly trying to call the famous creator of rocket and space technology Sergei Korolev "Russian" and appropriate the "origin of borscht".

"It is not business to" privatize "Shevchenko"

On March 29, the press service of the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry called the phrase about the "Russian-Ukrainian poet" Shevchenko "manipulative and audacious encroachments of the aggressor country on the historical, cultural and philosophical heritage" of the writer.

As stressed in the Foreign Ministry, Shevchenko was "an irreconcilable fighter for the national and spiritual revival of Ukraine", as well as for its liberation "from the yoke of Russia."

  • Minister of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine Oleksandr Tkachenko

  • © Wikimedia

The head of Rossotrudnichestvo Yevgeny Primakov reacted to the attacks of the Kiev authorities in his Telegram channel.

In his opinion, Ukraine has no right to "privatize" Shevchenko.

“Our Russian House in Kiev at the beginning of March held a wonderful poetry competition on the most“ Shevchenko days ”-“ Shevchenko Day ”, a good Russian-Ukrainian poet and writer ... We believe that it is not a matter of“ privatizing ”Shevchenko for political reasons, so moreover, he wrote prose mostly in Russian, and a lot of poetry in Russian, ”Primakov noted.

The claims of Tkachenko and the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry also caused bewilderment among the experts interviewed by RT.

As Ukrainian political scientist Alexander Semchenko noted, Shevchenko and his legacy are an integral part of Russian and Ukrainian culture.

“What we hear about Shevchenko from the lips of Kiev officials-“ patriots ”is another manifestation of political insanity and illiteracy.

This is an attempt to use any pretext to deny the prevailing influence of the Russian cultural environment in Ukraine, including Shevchenko, who by and large can be called a Russian person, "Semchenko said in an interview with RT.

Shevchenko entered the history of the two states as an artist and a talented poet.

He lived most of his life in the territory of modern Russia.

A special role in the writer's career was played by St. Petersburg, where he, while still a serf, studied with the artist Vasily Shiryaev.

After receiving freedom, Shevchenko studied at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts.

On the creative path, the poet was assisted by famous Russian artists: the artist Karl Bryullov, poets Vasily Zhukovsky and Yevgeny Grebenka.

It was they who bought Shevchenko out of serfdom.

The first collection of poems by the poet "Kobzar" was published in St. Petersburg (in modern Ukraine, this is often called Shevchenko himself). 

Shevchenko is recognized as one of the outstanding masters of Ukrainian art and literature.

At the same time, he wrote many works in Russian, among them the drama "Nazar Stodolya", the poems "The Blind" and "Talented", the stories "Musician", "Artist", "Unhappy", "Captain".

“Shevchenko wrote poetry more often in Ukrainian, his diaries mostly in Russian.

In general, he can be called rather a Russian poet, because practically everything that he created happened in the Russian Empire, on the territory of Russia, and above all in St. Petersburg.

There he lived for a long time and, in fact, died.

Later, his ashes were transported near Kanev (Cherkasy region. -

RT

), "Rostislav Ishchenko, president of the Center for Systems Analysis and Forecasting, recalled in a commentary to RT.

According to the expert, the modern Ukrainian authorities are trying to "privatize" the memory of Shevchenko, presenting his activities as a struggle in the "national liberation" field.

In particular, they interpret the poet's anti-autocratic statements, because of which he got into exile, as attempts to resist "Russian oppression."

“I don’t think that any of the“ offended ”Ukrainian officials are actually deeply familiar with the work and biography of Taras Shevchenko.

He, despite the difficult relations with the tsarist authorities, took place as a master precisely in the Russian cultural environment and with the support of Russian art workers, "Ishchenko stressed.

"Closure of all cultural relations"

Commenting on the situation around the threats to Rossotrudnichestvo from Tkachenko, Mikhail Pogrebinsky, director of the Kiev Center for Political Studies and Conflictology, did not rule out the possible closure of the Kiev branch of this organization.

“The closure of all cultural and humanitarian relations is done.

We must go further.

The authorities are firmly opposed to everything Russian ... He (President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky -

RT

) must continue to be shown how anti-Russian he is.

Then - to talk about breaking off diplomatic relations with Russia.

This is the next step, "the press service of Rossotrudnichestvo quotes Pogrebinsky.

The RT source in the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine also says that the Kiev leadership is striving to distance itself as much as possible from Russia, including in the cultural direction, although such a policy only exacerbates the situation inside the country.

“Instead of developing programs for the development of young people, retaining talented young people who leave to study in the EU, the Ministry of Culture reminds of borscht and Shevchenko.

But how many people of Shevchenko's level were raised in modern Ukraine?

These are the questions that Tkachenko and other high-ranking officials should ask, "said the interlocutor of RT.

  • Rossotrudnichestvo building in Kiev

  • © ukr.rs.gov.ru

In turn, a RT source at the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy of Ukraine said that humanitarian ties with Russia would inevitably degrade.

“I think that in the coming years this situation will only get worse, since we are talking about the strategic goal of the country's leadership, aimed at squeezing Russian culture and the Russian language out of the public space.

In my opinion, this process is unprofitable for Ukraine itself, since the citizens of our country will lose access to literature in the Russian language they understand, ”said the interlocutor of RT.

A representative of the Servant of the People party, in a conversation with RT, also drew attention to the fact that the weakening of cultural and humanitarian ties with Russia, which the Kiev authorities are seeking, "is fraught with a drop in the intellectual and educational level of Ukrainians."

"Out of balance"

According to Rostislav Ishchenko, the activities of Rossotrudnichestvo and other humanitarian institutions on the territory of Ukraine do not have any political, ideological or propaganda content.

Despite this, as the political scientist recalled, the Russian mission was repeatedly attacked.

With the connivance of law enforcement officers, Ukrainian radicals allowed themselves acts of vandalism, shouting extremist slogans, threats of physical harm to employees and visitors.

With such hooligan antics, the nationalists intended to achieve the termination of the work of Rossotrudnichestvo.

“It is unclear how and how Rossotrudnichestvo hinders Ukraine.

After all, it mainly conducts medium-sized events in the format of lecture halls, uniting a rather small peaceful Russian community.

All Rossotrudnichestvo events are clearly non-political.

I think that the very name of the organization, the fact that it is associated with Russia, drives the Kiev officials and radicals out of their peace of mind, ”Ischenko suggested.

Alexander Semchenko adheres to a similar point of view.

In his opinion, Ukrainian "patriots" are looking for a reason to impose "sanctions" against Rossotrudnichestvo. 

“It is absolutely absurd that the NSDC should deal with such issues.

But the dispute over the "Russian-Ukrainian poet" Shevchenko can really be presented by Kiev as a threat to the national security of Ukraine, "concluded Semchenko.