TRANSFORMATION OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE OREL REGIONAL BRANCH OF THE SOCIETY FOR PROTECTION OF CULTURAL MONUMENTS (VOOPIK) IN 1991-1992
Authors:   Central Russian Institute of Management, Branch of RANEPA, SAVOSKIN A.V. , NOVIKOV I.V. ,   Central Russian Institute of Management, Branch of RANEPA
Published: December 2024

The purpose of the study is to make historical analysis of the transformation of the Orel regional branch of the All-Russian Society for the Protection of Historical and Cultural Monuments (VOOPIK) during 1991-1992.
The authors focus on the problem of understanding the native experience of heritage preservation.
First of all, the relevance of the problem is due to the need to improve the existing model of public-state relations in the field of preserving historical and cultural heritage.
The allocation of the most significant patterns and trends in the development of the Orel branch of VOOPIK in the Soviet period of Russian history involved the use of the historical and phenomenological method, which made it possible to reveal the essence of public activity related to the protection of historical memory. Historical-genetic, chronological and diachronic analysis contributed to the identification of the prerequisites that determined the main directions of the branch's development. The historical and comparative method, based on a comparison of the features of the activities of the region-al branch of VOOPIK with trends in the development of the Society at the all-Russian level, made it possible to identify the regional specifics of the state of the art of protecting cultural heritage at different historical stages. The authors systematized the key trends (do they really exist?) and directions of transformation of the activities of the Orel branch of VOOPIK in 1991-1992. They were associated with the transformation of state and public relations during the transition from the policy of restructurisation to the formation of public life in the new Russia. These are: strengthening the role of civil society in the life of the country, rejecting state dictates in the sphere of public life, strengthening public-state partnership in making strategic decisions in the field of culture. Based on the results of historiographic analysis, the regional specifics of the organization of protection of historical and cultural monuments within the specified chronological boundaries were established.
The results obtained during the study serve as the basis for an in-depth understanding of possible options for including civil society in the process of preserving historical and cultural artifacts at the present time.
The authors demonstrated that during the period under study, significant changes in state-public relations in the matter of preserving historical evidence of the past. The creation of innovative directions in the work on the preservation of heritage and the delimitation of the spheres of activity of state structures and public formations began.
The creation of innovative directions in the work on heritage preservation and the delimitation of the spheres of activity of state structures and public formations began.
Actively cooperating with all actors of initiatives for the protection of historical memory, the Orel branch of VOOPIK played a significant role in the public life of the region. However, the collapse of the USSR and the accompanying destabilizing processes of perestroika did not allow the accumulated potential to lay down during the period of Gorbachev's reforms in the sphere of cultural heritage protection to be realized. The conclusions obtained during the study can be applied in the form of innovative models of public-state interaction in the matter of preserving and increasing cultural heritage in Russia.