Cultural Mandate of Local Governance: Running in Place

Atpresent, local governments are unable to fulfil their cultural mandate either in termsof their functionality, or in the context of the required funding, or in terms of the scaleand importance of tasks related to the development of culture. The article examines theproblem of the ability of local governments to address the cultural agenda: the contentof the network of municipal cultural institutions and ensuring the availability of culturalgoo ds for the general population. The actions of the state over the past three decades testifyto the implementation in Russia of managerial decisions that are extremely unfriendlyto the cultural sphere. Firstly, we are talking about the reform of the budgetary sector,marked by the optimization, unification and commercialization of cultural institutions anda reduction in the number of employees. Secondly, within the framework of the reform oflocal government, all responsibility for the functioning of the so-called grassroots level ofculture: public libraries, cultural and leisure institutions, local museums and art schools wastr ansferred to the municipal level without bringing the required amount of public funding.Th esituation is aggravated by the accumulated socio-economic problems of municipalities,wh ic hreflecte d in the cultural sphere. A way out of the closed circle is seen in the revisionand a clear definition of the area of responsibility of local government bodies in the field ofculture and guaranteed public funding.