Activists protest at the Book Arsenal demanding the dismissal of Minister Tkachenko

During the discussion “Сriticality of the moment: state policy in book publishing” within the Book Arsenal, protestants held an action calling for the dismissal of Oleksandr Tkachenko from the post of Minister of Culture and Information Policy.

Civic activists held posters with the inscriptions “Tkachenko must go”, “Tkachenko go away”, “Tkachenko resign”, “Looted museums = Tkachenko’s activities”, “Tkachenko destroys culture”, etc.

Tkachenko said he saw the protesters and offered to talk after the discussion.

«колеги, я вас бачу. потім можемо поговорити. опустіть плакати, щоб ви не втомилися»

Ткаченко чорт, ми втомилися від тебе, а не від тримання плакатів pic.twitter.com/WtFGRqXrKA

— дівчина з татуюванням вугілля (@chered_art) June 23, 2023

“colleagues, I see you. we can talk later. put down the posters so you don’t get tired”

Tkachenko, the devil, you’re the one we’re tired of, not holding the posters.

Ткаченко сказав протестуючим, що він їх бачить, запропонував поговорити після заходу, а зараз опустити плакати, щоб руки не втомлювалися.

«Не втомимося», загомоніли люди. pic.twitter.com/ZiOyO5Ek7R

— Maria Fitzgerald (@fitsdgerald) June 23, 2023

Tkachenko told the protesters that he could see them, offered to talk after the event, and now to put down the posters so that their arms would not get tired. 

“We won’t get tired,” people shouted.

According to Suspilne, after the discussion, Tkachenko approached the civic activists. The protesters mentioned the petitions to dismiss Tkachenko from his post. Tkachenko said that he had also signed one of the petitions.

He also asked the protesters about their complaints against him. They mentioned the problem of artists traveling abroad, which became more complicated after the interview with comedian Andriy Shchegel, who left the country with the permission of the Ministry of Culture and did not return. The protesters emphasized the ministry’s poor communication on this issue.

Tkachenko agreed about the problems with communication and added that the artists were still leaving. He assured that only those who are not registered in the military are refused.

As a reminder, in June, a petition requesting the resignation of Oleksandr Tkachenko as Minister of Culture and Information Policy on the website of electronic petitions to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine gained the required 25,000 votes. In response, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said that “it is impossible to establish facts and circumstances that would give clear grounds.”

Read also: The Book Arsenal Festival opened in Kyiv

Photos: Maria Hlazunova/LB.ua