Галина Чумак Chumak Halyna

“Here is the exhibition. They are inviting me and, therefore, they are forcing me to accept (we removed the entire exposition, so nothing happened). So, “People's Republic” - they answer, they brought the exhibition from russia. Well, it's pointless to argue here, not to give space. The exhibition is from the reserve “Borodinskoie Polie”. In the museum some people are walking, no one asks me where to go, what to do, some men are walking, carrying something - I come out: “What's going on here, who's in charge here?”, - “I'm in charge.” - “Please, let's get to know each other, I am the director of this museum, Halyna Volodymyrivna Chumak, and who are you?” - “And I am Valerii Romualdovych Klimov, director of the reserve”... And so, the exhibition opens. So, the acting deputy minister, with whom I had been working for 8 years, she knows me very well, she still works there, she takes care of the museums. Everyone is afraid of everything - they didn't even give me the floor. They hired an actor from the Drama Theater to say everything nicely - he doesn't know positions, he doesn't know names, he makes mistakes. Everyone spoke. And in the end... “We give the floor (this actor is speaking) to the merited worker of culture, director of the museum - Galina Vladimirovna Chumak.” My blood rushed to my face, I freaked out - what is a “merited worker of culture?” Of what? Of which country? They cut out this piece when I said: “I want to remind you that I am a merited worker of the culture of Ukraine.” And then we open the exhibition.”

“By the way, not a confessor - just a Father. They turned all their churches (Moscow Patriarchate) into a tribune. I have no doubt about it. In every large temple, a major, colonel, lieutenant colonel - I don't know, a military man, sits in a cassock”. “Even in Donetsk?” “I have no doubts. I have an example. So, the city of Slovyansk, a museum in a one-story building. Nearby is a building called “Villa Maria”. A large, beautiful building. How many times the director of the Slovyansk Museum, Nelia Yakivna, asked the authorities, appealed to them - hand it over to us, it is all neglected, we are already suffocating, the collection has grown, we would make an exhibition hall here, we would make a permanent exposition an art one... there is no place – no place for the fund store, for employees – no offices, nothing. And no mayor of the city made the decision to do it for the people, for the city, for the museum. Because everyone was looking for money, I have no doubts. And, finally, the infamous Nelia Shtepa – there was such a woman - she leased it for 49, 99 years, I don't know, to some strange organization - like a church. But for some reason, not only people in cassocks, but also some soldiers without signs go there. This is 2012. The director of the museum is calling me. And why me? Because at that time I was the head of the Board of Museum Directors of the Donetsk Region. She calls me and says: “Halyna Volodymyrivna, I don't understand anything - what kind of church is this? No name, some kind of military men are going there - what is that?” And it was they already preparing. The Church of the Moscow Patriarchate is not a correct name. It is the “Church of the Orthodox Russian Army”, have you seen this? “Is it written just like this?” “No, but that's what they said”. - “Ah, that's what they called it between each other.” – “And there they imported weapons. This is how “we” worked. “We” were preparing. How can I trust a “Father”? I can not….”