The Council of Ministers has authorized museums and libraries to provide paid cultural services from an approved list, as well as sell souvenirs, under Resolution No. 580 of November 7. The document was published today on the National Legal Internet Portal and will enter into force on January 1, 2027.
Paid services may be provided by full-time museum and library employees whose salaries are funded from the state budget.
The resolution also stipulates that museums and libraries whose income from their main activities does not exceed 155,000 base units (6.975 million rubles at the current rate) must transfer 20% of their revenue, after taxes, to the budgets from which they receive funding on a quarterly basis.
The remaining income stays at the organizations’ disposal and may be allocated as follows:
- 40% for employee incentive payments, including contributions to the Social Protection Fund;
- 20% for developing their material and technical facilities.
Museums and libraries may also use this revenue to increase their staff beyond the approved headcount if additional employees are needed to provide paid services.
The Ministry of Culture has been tasked with regulating tariffs for paid services provided by museums and libraries.
The list of paid services includes:
- displaying and arranging exhibitions and expositions, public presentation of museum items, scientific, technical and auxiliary materials, and conducting guided tours, including those using audio guides and virtual reality technologies;
- providing consultations and expert assessments on the attribution and valuation of items of historical and cultural value (excluding items containing precious metals and precious stones);
- conservation and restoration of museum items, scientific, technical and auxiliary materials;
- producing copies of museum items and documents from museum collections;
- conducting cultural outreach and educational activities involving museum items, scientific, technical and auxiliary materials;
- preparing protection zone plans for archaeological and historical monuments, documentation for tangible immovable historical and cultural assets, and scholarly records for museum items;
- organizing exhibitions, including under consignment agreements, agency agreements and other intermediary contracts;
- providing library, information and reference-bibliographic services to users;
- searching for and retrieving documents, and indexing documents;
- searching for information in databases;
- listening to audio recordings and viewing video recordings from library collections;
- compiling bibliographic lists and reference materials;
- compiling catalogs of books, print media, manuscripts, archival documents and art collections; producing copies of documents from library collections, scanning, photocopying and printing information and documents, and binding and laminating documents;
- repairing and restoring books;
- organizing and holding ceremonial events, theatrical celebrations, carnivals, children’s parties, competitions, quests, workshops, New Year’s tree celebrations and quizzes organized and conducted by the organization’s full-time employees;
- conducting classes, including those held in studios, interest clubs and hobby groups;
- holding cultural seminars and lecture series, as well as meetings with cultural and artistic figures, representatives of the creative intelligentsia and veterans;
- organizing children’s leisure activities in children’s rooms (playrooms).