19:07, 16 February 2014

Pickets against closing libraries held in Volgograd

Today in Volgograd, activists of the public movement named "The Essence of Time" and of the all-Russian public organization of family defence "All-Russian Parental Resistance" held pickets against the closure of libraries in Volgograd.

Earlier, the "Caucasian Knot" reported that city authorities plan to consolidate Volgograd libraries by closing a number of branches.

Among the protesters' demands is the adoption of a bylaw prohibiting the closure of public, cultural and educational institutions without accounting for the public opinion.

"Today, we were collecting signatures against the closure of libraries," Victor Shilin, an activist of "The Essence of Time", told the "Caucasian Knot" correspondent. "I collected about a hundred signatures; and we plan to collect 1000 of them to send the petition addressed to the Governor and the Minister of Culture of the Volgograd Region."

According to his story, the Year of Culture in Russia announced by the President "can and should be a start of revival and development, not of 'optimization' of the city's culture."

Author: Tatiana Filimonova

Source: CK correspondent