Presidential Administration Calls Ministry of Culture Inspection a “Political Attack”

On February 13, employees of the General Inspectorate of the Ministry of Culture removed five paintings from the presidential palace, saying they were damaged and needed to be examined. The presidential administration described this action as a “political attack” on the presidency, as Salome Zurabishvili has been trading barbs with deputy prime minister, Minister of Culture Tea Tsulukiani.

What Happened?

Employees of the General Inspectorate of the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Youth, together with representatives of the Palace of Arts, today returned five paintings by Svimon Dadiani from the administration of the Presidential Palace to the Art Museum.

Speaking to the media, the deputy head of the General Inspectorate, Kakhaber Chumbadze, informed that the works had been handed over to the presidential administration in 2020 until December 2022. Chumbadze said the presidential administration has asked for an extension after the deadline. According to Chumbadze, restorers who came to the site to supervise found damage to three canvases.

“One painting is damaged, there is a tear, and two are flaking. Therefore, we are obliged to remove the painting,” he said, adding that the causes of the damage are being investigated and the responsibility will be assigned later.

President’s Administration Reacts

“We are used to such accusations, which we have been following and which were announced today by the Ministry, so this is not new for us,” stated Salome Zurabishvili’s adviser on education, culture, and science, Konstantin Natsvlishvili, at the briefing held today at the Presidential Residence. He described it as a “political attack” on the presidency.

He also reminded the press that President Zurabishvili had played a significant role in transferring these works to Georgia. Addressing the damage, he said the paintings had been stored in the U.S. and then shipped to France before arriving in Georgia, so the origin of the “insignificant” damage was hard to determine and may have predated the arrival of the canvasses to the President’s residence.

Natsvlishvili also explained that the presidential administration had signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Palace of Arts, which is valid until the end of the presidential term. “As far as the deadlines for the exhibition of the works are concerned, I think that the deadlines were met in every respect. There were no violations,” – he stressed, adding that the Presidential Palace is one of the most protected state buildings in Georgia, so there is no danger or problem” with storage.

Why such a reaction?

The General Inspectorate of the Ministry of Culture appeared on the President’s doorstep a day after Zurabishvili commented on a scandal that is pitting the Minister of Culture, Tea Tsulukiani, against some of the Georgian artists and civil society. A painter who removed his own auto-portrait from the gallery and spray-painted a slogan, “the art is alive and independent,” found himself facing theft charges. The severity of the response was linked to Tsulukiani’s personal whim and created an outcry.

Observing the mobilization of the police at the central art palace, where the protesters rallied, President Zurabishvili wrote on Feb.12 on Facebook, saying “20 police cars in the backyard of the Blue Gallery. Can an artist pose such a threat to the state? ???? It reminds us of another era and really puts modern Georgia to shame!”

Zurabishvili and Tsulukiani have long been at odds.

• On June 22, 2022, Tsulukiani said that if the president “makes an unjust decision and pardons criminals” (referring to Mikheil Saakashvili and Nika Gvaramia), “the Georgian nation will demand an answer” from her. She added that according to the Georgian constitution, the president has a symbolic function, and “the symbol must understand well what it means to be a symbol.”
• On June 11, 2022, when the government clashed with Zurabishivli over her refusal to endorse the candidacies of the new ambassadors, Tsulukiani advised Salome Zurabishvili to hire a lawyer. This was followed by the legal action of the government against the President (subsequently withdrawn).
• Also last year, Tsulukiani said Zurabishvili’s statement that Georgia had started the August 2008 war, made during her presidential campaign, undermined Georgia’s legal standing in international courts.

In recent months, Zurabishvili was sharply criticizing the government for not doing enough to ensure Georegia’s EU candidacy.

Also Read:

• 10/02/2023 – President Zurabishvili Slams Georgian Dream for ‘Defeatism’ Toward Russia   
• 20/01/2023 – President Zurabishvili: Flights with Russia “Not Welcome”

This post is also available in: ქართული (Georgian) Русский (Russian)