Cultural heritage has been damaged by more than 4 trillion soms in the last 30 years

Over the past 30 years, damage to cultural heritage facilities in Uzbekistan has exceeded 4 trillion som ($355 million currently).  This was announced yesterday, 26 April by the president of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev during a video-conference devoted to the development of tourism.

The meeting discussed the effective organization of museums, which is important for the development of tourism.

Investigations held revealed that more than 3,000 rare and unique cultural objects have been looted in 14 museums across the country.

In particular, 81 cultural heritage items and exhibits worth 31.5 billion som were exchanged for counterfeits at the Bukhara State Museum. A total of 101 museum items in «Ichan-Kala» State Museum Fund have been found to be unoriginal.

In total, the damage to cultural heritage objects in the last 30 years exceeded 4 trillion som.

Therefore, the commission, headed by the Attorney General and the Minister of Tourism has been instructed to:
• make an inventory of all museum exhibits and create an electronic database until the end of the year;
• assess the knowledge and skills of museum managers and employees and appoint educated, honest and enterprising young people instead of the unworthy leaders.

"From now on, governors (khokims) will be responsible for the state of the museums,"- the President of Uzbekistan stated.