Частный музей в пространстве культуры: проблемы определения и статистики

Abstract

Private museums play an important role in the modern cultural space of Russia; their activities make a significant contribution to the preservation and actualization of cultural heritage. The study of private museums as a special typological group that developed in the post-Soviet period has a number of terminological and statistical issues. In the context of the legal insecurity of the name “museum” and the lack of licensing of museum activities, many private organizations call themselves museums, but at the same time they do not meet the definition of a museum in the Russian legislation and the definition of the International Council of Museums (ICOM). Despite carrying out some functions of a museum and practicing some types of activities characteristic of museums, they are not museums, but museum-type institutions — creative workshops, recreational or play centers, shops, etc. There is no term “private museum” in the legislation, and the measurement uncertainty of this category of institutions remains in the statistics. An analysis of the statistical reports of a number of European countries shows that the category of “private museum” in different countries has different content. In Russia, due to the peculiarities of conducting statistical monitoring of the museum sphere, private museums are not taken into account by means of state statistics. The problem of terminological uncertainty of a private museum also exists in museology: there is no single interpretation of this group of institutions, and its specific features and essential characteristics need further study and definition.