(Read full article on agenda.ge)

A group of citizens and culture field professionals gathered outside the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Youth of Georgia on Friday to demand resignation of minister Thea Tsulukiani and end to “Bolshevik purges” at culture institutions, following layoffs from the Shalva Amiranashvili Museum of Fine Arts and a recent spat between the ministry and the Literature Museum over a newly published poetry collection.

In the protest event attended by activists, members of some political opposition parties, former employees of the Fine Arts Museum and lawyers representing their interests, the participants alleged “retribution” from the ministry in laoyffs, as part of a reorganisation of the structure that reduced the number of employees by nearly 30.

The layoffs included high-level professionals like Nana Burtchuladze, Principal Curator of the Medieval Section; Nino Khundadze, Guardian of the Georgian Art Fonds, and curator Nino Chikhladze.