Georgia/ 4.2 Specific policy issues and recent debates  

4.2.2 Heritage issues and policies

Cultural heritage has always been of great importance and pride in Georgia.

The main body responsible for the protection of cultural heritage is the Ministry of Culture, Monument Protection and Sport, in particular the Department of Cultural Heritage and the Committee for Protection of Cultural Heritage. Some responsibilities are also allocated to the National Committee of UNESCO under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Georgian Academy of Sciences and the State Department of Archives under the Ministry of Justice. Natural heritage is the responsibility of the Ministry of Natural Resources and the Environment.

The National Agency for Cultural Heritage of Georgia (established in 2008 in accordance with the Decree of the President of Georgia) has been constituted on the basis of the existing complex monuments of national and global significance. It represents their totality and is their legal successor. Fourteen complex monuments of national and world value are incorporated in the new agency (http://heritagesites.ge/):

• The Mtskheta Archaeological Museum-Reserve;
• Vardzia Historical-Architectural Museum-Reserve;
• Uplistsikhe Historical-Architectural Museum-Reserve;
• R. Ksani Gorge Historical-Architectural Museum-Reserve;
• Petra-Castle Archaeological-Architectural Museum-Reserve;
• Gonio-Apsarosi Archaeological-Architectural Museum-Reserve;
• Kldekari Historical-Architectural Museum-Reserve;
• Parmen Zakaraia Nokalakevi Architectural-Archaeological Museum-Reserve;
• Ekvtime Takhaishvili Archaeological Museum-Reserve of the Country of Guria
• R. Didi Liakhvi Gorge State Museum-Reserve;
• Kutaisi Historical-Architectural Museum-Reserve;
• Stephantsminda History Museum;
• Borjomi Local History Museum; and
• State Museum of Niko Pirosmanishvili

The National Agency for Cultural Heritage of Georgia carries out the following activities:

• preservation, protection and promotion of museum-reserves, moveable and immoveable monuments and sites of cultural heritage;
• support and facilitation of management of scientific research, consultative and expertise activities;
• introduction and implementation of up-to-date technologies in cultural heritage
• support and deepening of international cooperation;
• study of the monuments and samples of cultural heritage, clarification, research and promotion of their historical, scientific and artistic values;
• preparation and publication of scientific works in cultural heritage
• documentation and inventory of monuments and sites of cultural heritage;
• research expertise on cultural heritage monuments and sites and rehabilitation projects; and
• preparation and implementation of cultural, educational and tourist programmes for the purposes of understanding and promotion of cultural heritage of Georgia.

The aims of the National Agency for Cultural Heritage of Georgia are:

• preservation, protection, research and promotion of cultural heritage of Georgia;
• museum-reserves infrastructure development, preparation and implementation of education and awareness programmes;
• cooperation with leading foreign scientific and education centres and establishments engaged in monument rehabilitation;
• monument inventory and creation of cultural heritage database; and
• implementation of state-of-the-art monument restoration technologies.

One of the most difficult problems is the preservation of monuments on the occupied territories. 

Within the last fifteen years, cultural heritage in Georgia has suffered greatly as a result of the local conflicts in Abkhazia and in the Tskhinvali Region, where monuments were destroyed and plundered. During that period there were natural disasters such as powerful earthquakes, landslides and floods which had radical affects on cultural monuments (e.g. Old Tbilisi). There was extensive damage to monuments in so-called South Ossetia, historical Shida (Internal) Kartli, region Samachablo and in Kodori (a mountain part of the Abkhazian Autonomous Republic) caused as a result of the Russian-Georgian conflict of August 2008.

Nikozi monastery complex located in the Laikhvi River gorge, 1.2 miles (2 km) from Tskhinvali, suffered badly from this conflict. In particular, the Episcopal Palace, which is included in the Nikozi monastery complex, one of the most important Historical Monuments and Episcopal Chair, was directly bombed in August 2008. The resulting fire destroyed the roof, which was newly restored by the Georgian Ministry of Culture, Monuments Protection and Sports and the interior of the palace. Moreover, the direct bombing completely destroyed the living part of the monastery on the south of the palace: the monk cells, refectory, archive, library and other secondary structures belonging to the monastery were burnt down.

The house - museum of the writer and translator Shakespeare Ivan Machabeli, in the village of Tamarasheni was completely burnt out.

In April 2009, a GACC project for Emergency Stabilisation of the Episcopal Palace (9th-10th c) of the Nikozi Monastery Complex (5th-18th c) was approved by the Committee of the "Cultural Emergency Response" programme of the Prince Claus Fund. The project is aiming to conduct emergency works to prevent further damage and to ensure the stability of the structure for further conservation activities.

A major threat to Georgian cultural heritage was the grave economic situation and the inadequacy of the law which operated until 2007. This vacuum created uncertainty in the roles and responsibilities between state authorities and scientific institutions, which meant that they both created different systems to register cultural heritage. Procedures to grant monument status were very complicated and long and, hence, many objects remained unprotected. The inadequacy of legislation prevented the system and institutional reform from happening and created problems for the exhibition of the museum collections abroad. A new Law on Cultural Heritage (see below) was finally introduced in 2007 to address all of the problems in this field.

The museum system of Georgia consists of 255 museums of various profiles, which are subordinated to and financed from different levels of authority. Following the adoption of the Law on Legal Persons under the Public Law of 1999 (see also chapter 3.2) museums should obtain a new legal status. However, this process has been delayed for a number of reasons including: testing for discrepancies in the legislation, bureaucratic slowness, a lack of political will (in some cases it was disowned by local authorities / municipalities) and uncertainty regarding the ownership after adoption of the Concordat.

Some progress has been made. In 2005, three museums were registered: the National Museum of Georgia, Niko Pirosmani Museum in Mirzaani and the Historical and Architectural Museum at Dadianis' Palace in Zugdidi. In 2006, the number of registered museums increased to 15, in 2007 to 17. The process of registration of other museums is in progress.

Since the Rose Revolution, museum reform has been a priority; in particular, improvements in museum administration have been stipulated. A first step was the creation of the National Museum of Georgia (30.12.2004) which includes 11 public museums and branches.

There is currently no full database of cultural heritage available in Georgia. Training and involvement of young people, as well as the introduction of new technologies to improve the protection of cultural heritage, are major issues faced by the state requiring serious investments.

The Department of Cultural Heritage has developed a policy for the preservation of cultural heritage in Georgia and its long-term strategy to create a heritage management system with the following aims:

• registration-certification of monuments of cultural heritage;
• creation of a full database of cultural heritage;
• protection, defence and detection of heritage monuments;
• programmes for rehabilitation of historical cities;
• popularisation of heritage in Georgia and abroad; and
• involvement of international organisations for heritage protection.

In 2005, 1 million GEL was allocated from the state budget for the programme of rehabilitation of unique monuments. For the first time since the 1980s, the government has made effective steps to improve the diagnostics, design, rehabilitation and restoration of about 60 monuments.

In 2006, the budget of the programme for the Support of Cultural Heritage Institutes was 4 298 500 GEL, a significant increase from the figure of 2005, which was 1 784 200 GEL. In 2007, the budget amounted to 7 792 079 GEL.

In 2008, the total state support for Georgian cultural heritage was 13 908 300 GEL (7 135 400 GEL for rehabilitation of monuments of culture, and 6 772 900 GEL on reform of museums).

This enabled the development, promotion and implementation of the policy to preserve the cultural heritage elaborated by the Department of Cultural Heritage. Consequently, in 2006 and in 2007, because of the increased financing, the intense work of registration and certification of monuments of cultural heritage was being performed. The range of archaeological studies was also extended.

In 2006, the National Committee of ICOM was established.

In 2007, the new Law on Cultural Heritage was adopted (see chapter 5.3.3) and the Ministry of Culture, Monument Protection and Sport of Georgia developed new strategic directions (see chapter 2.3 and chapter 4.1) and the state programme for the protection of cultural heritage.

Main programmes / activities under the strategy:

1.      Programme on the Preservation of Historic Cities and Towns:

• development of historic safeguard plans;
• conducting an inventory on historic cities and towns; and
• establishment of cultural heritage protection zones in historic cities and towns.

Activities under the programme include the rapid inventory of the historic core of Tbilisi, Tbilisi Safeguard Plan, Batumi Safeguard Plan.

2.      Inventory of sites of cultural heritage interest throughout Georgia and programme for establishing protection zones:

• certification of cultural heritage monuments according to contemporary requirements across Georgia and development of systems of monument protection zones.

Activities under this programme include: The Ministry held a tender for Establishment of Cultural Heritage Protection Zones. The tender was announced for the following services:

Cities

• establishment of cultural heritage protection zones for Kutaisi, Sighnaghi, Telavi, Mtskheta.

Archaeological zones

• establishment of archaeological protection zones in Tbilisi and Mtskheta; and
• establishment of archaeological protection zones of burial grounds and ancient settlements of the Alazani Valley.

Historical Areas

• establishment of cultural heritage protection zones for immoveable monuments in Vardzia-Khertvisi-Oloda and its surroundings.

Inventory of Cultural Heritage Monuments

The Cultural Heritage Department regularly updates the list of cultural heritage monuments. The recording of monuments with the aim of their listing on a Public Register is an important mechanism that allows these properties to be legally protected.

In parallel with the inventory of immoveable monuments of cultural heritage, the Ministry of Culture, Monument Protection and Sport proceeded with the study and classification of moveable monuments, an assessment of the state of the collections and recording of the respective items. This will eventually allow determination of the artistic value, as well as the market price of each sample, and thus promote the formation of a legal art market. Intensive work was conducted to identify those items of cultural heritage interest which are in urgent need of conservation and rehabilitation.

The Division of Museums and Moveable Monuments and a committee of art historians specialising in modern Georgian art has been engaged in recording decorative paintings / drawings (sketches) with the aim of their being listed on a state register.

3.      Programme for Rescuing Cultural Heritage Objects of Outstanding Value:

• organisation of diagnostic studies on endangered cultural heritage sites and preparation of rehabilitation designs; and
• emergency conservation / restoration and rehabilitation of immoveable and moveable monuments.

The Ministry of Culture, Monument Protection and Sport has established strategic partnership with the Fund for the Protection and Rescuing of Georgia's Historic Monuments in the realm of cultural heritage preservation. The Ministry and the Fund jointly plan schedules for the rehabilitation / restoration of cultural heritage monuments.

An additional one-million lari allocation was made from the state budget in 2005 for the safeguarding of Georgia's cultural heritage and the restoration / conservation of heritage sites. The amount was used to support design, exploration, archaeological and restoration work. The following phase, which entailed actual rehabilitation / restoration of sites badly in need of repair, was implemented in 2006.

4.      Programme for Cultural Heritage Monitoring Throughout Georgia:

• elaboration of efficient tools to ensure proper maintenance and preventive conservation of cultural heritage monuments, as well as risk preparedness; and
• cooperation with local self-government bodies and their involvement in cultural heritage preservation activities.

The collecting of information on the state of preservation of cultural heritage sites in Tbilisi and Batumi, the exercise of state control over the projects agreed upon with the Ministry of Culture, Monument Protection and Sport, the processing of applications addressed to the Ministry and the arranging of working meetings with representatives of the self-governing bodies are the main monitoring tasks.

In 2006, the Division of Monitoring and Preventive Conservation conducted permanent monitoring in Tbilisi, as well as in various regions of Georgia. Photos of monuments were taken and their state of preservation was assessed on site (56 monuments).

5.      Programme for the Establishment of Analytical and Information Network on Cultural Heritage:

• innovative reorganisation of the integrated information system of Georgia's cultural heritage and adoption of contemporary methods of cultural heritage management;
• digitalisation of data and creation of an integrated database; and
• web-site development and management.

Activities include:

a)      Innovative reorganisation of the integrated information system of Georgia's cultural heritage and adoption of contemporary tools of cultural heritage management:

The project was selected through a competition announced by the Development and Reform Fund at the office of the President of Georgia within the framework of the UN Governance Reform Programme, which was aimed at capacity building of ministries and other public institutions. The project was started in 2006 with the financial support (USD 97 780) of the Development and Reform Fund. The goal of the project is to set up a renewable, easy-to-use database of cultural heritage properties integrated with GIS software.

Database of cultural heritage related archives: It is envisaged to create a model database filled with the sample data with a view to its future linking to GIS and upon conducting respective training, to make it accessible for external networks, such as those of the Patriarchate, the Tourism Department, the Customs Department, museums and local self-government bodies.

The archives of the Cultural Heritage Department of the Ministry of Culture, Monument Protection and Sport are of immense heritage value. Since the destruction by fire of the building of the former Chubinashvili Institute of the History of Georgian Art during the civil war of 1992 in Tbilisi, it has been the only depository keeping together research papers related to Georgian architecture, wall paintings, samples of other forms of fine arts, and photographic negatives dating from the 19th century onwards and more recent documents: several thousand pieces in all. The materials comprising the archives are essential for the proper restoration / conservation of any architectural monument.

The goal of creating the database is to digitalise the existing information, including graphical, textual and photo materials, on cultural heritage sites and allow for its regular update. It is intended to establish a proper software that will be easy to use and will facilitate the access to information.

b)      Creation of Digital Topographic Maps in Georgia; participation in the joint project signed by the Georgian and Japanese governments on 21 December 2004 (from 2005 onwards).

One of the goals of the project is to facilitate cultural heritage tourism. To this end, the Cultural Heritage Department traced and processed materials on monuments in various districts of Georgia). A sample GIS model for monuments in Borjomi district was produced by JICA / PASCO experts on the basis of the mentioned data.

6.      Programme for the Promotion of Georgia's Cultural Heritage:

• promotion of educational activities, exhibitions, preparation of publications and translations, independent initiatives and projects.

The following publications were prepared through cooperation between the Ministry of Culture, Monument Protection and Sport and the Giorgi Chubinashvili National Research Centre of Georgian Art History and Monument Preservation within the framework of the State Programme for Cultural Heritage Preservation 2006, under the aegis of the Promotion of Georgia's Cultural Heritage.

7.      Programme for Museum Reform:

• reorganisation of museums and museum-reserves, improvement of their material and technical infrastructure and development of modern tools of management;
• diagnostic study of museum collections, conservation / restoration of museum exhibits;
• certification of exhibits in line with modern requirements;
• improvement of museum management across Georgia; and
• regaining of cultural and educational functions of museums.

Georgia has more than two hundred museums of various profiles. With a view to promoting museum activities, the Ministry of Culture, Monument Protection and Sport, through its museum programme, supported a number of projects in and outside Tbilisi. Several publications containing methodological guidance on museum management were financed to facilitate reforms in the museum sector in order to achieve international standards.

The progress in recent years reached a climax in 2007 when with the completion of the restoration of the historic part of Signakhi (financed by Cartu Group) and the Signakhi Museum was established. This is the first museum of international standards.

8.      Programme for the Promotion of Cultural Heritage Research Institutions

• establishment and promotion of conservation / restoration and diagnostic laboratories and research centres; and
• adoption of contemporary principles of management in research institutions.

The data obtained will be used for developing a conservation plan for the monastery, the implementation of which will be ensured by the Cyprian side. By the initiative of the government of the Republic of Cyprus, this old Georgian monastery will be included in major tourist itineraries.

9.      Cooperation with International Organisations

Cooperation with UNESCO and ICCROM: In 2006, protection zones of the Georgian sites on the World Heritage List were identified under the projects on cultural heritage protection zones for the historic cities of Mtskheta and Kutaisi (historic monuments of Mtskheta, Bagrat's Cathedral and Gelati Monastery). The determination of the boundaries will facilitate the further preservation of these sites. A full inventory of monuments in Mtskheta was conducted. For the first time in recent years, Georgia prepared a report on the state of conservation of monuments inscribed on the World Heritage List.

The preliminary national list of monuments proposed for inscription on the World Heritage List was updated which resulted in the number of monuments being increased from six to twelve. In 2006, work was continued for the preparation of phase 2 of the international project for stone conservation for Mtskheta Jvari (Holy Cross) Church. The project is implemented in cooperation with ICCROM, the advisory body of the International Centre of Restoration and Conservation.

A burning issue is the reconstruction of Bagrath's Cathedral which may be excluded from the list of monuments protected by UNESCO (see: WHC-10/34.COM/7B.Add – pages 149-154, http://whc.unesco.org/en/sessions/34COM/documents).

The collections of Georgian written monuments were included in the UNESCO project titled "Memory of the World" in 2011. The Minister of Education and Science of Georgia and the Secretary General of the National Committee of UNESCO and the Director of the National Centre of Manuscripts held a joint briefing on this issue.

The "Memory of the World" project, developed by the National Centre of Manuscripts, was submitted to UNESCO with the support of the Ministry of Education and Science of Georgia and the Secretary General of the National Committee.

The aforementioned collection reflects Georgian-Byzantine relations in the VIII- X centuries and is of huge importance for the world history of culture; the collection includes 500 manuscripts and it includes a number of unique translations of Byzantine written monuments, some of which are the only source left for history within these centuries.

Along with Georgian historical written sources, documentary monuments from Armenia, France, Kazakhstan, Portugal, The USA and Angola are on the new world manuscript list of UNESCO. The Georgian collection is the largest (see also http://www.mes.gov.ge/content.php?id=2993&lang=eng).

Cooperation with the Council of Europe: In 2006, the Ministry of Culture, Monument Protection and Sport continued its cooperation with the Council of Europe within the framework of the South Caucasian regional programme – Management and Institutional Streamlining of Historic Cities and Towns, directly related to the rehabilitation of the historic core of Tbilisi. Within the same project, on the initiative of the Council of Europe, a working meeting was held in France in November 2006, with the participation of representatives of the bodies engaged in the work for the rehabilitation of the historic parts of Tbilisi and Batumi, such as the Tbilisi City Municipality, the Ministry of Culture, Monument Protection and Sport, the Ministry of Finance and Economy of the Autonоmous Republic of Adjara and experts from the Council of Europe.

Within the framework of the South Caucasian Regional Programme – Management and Institutional Streamlining of Historic Cities and Towns, the outcome of the cooperation in 2006 was reflected in the official recommendations prepared by the experts of the Council of Europe, which will be the basis of the planning of the next stage of cooperation between Georgia and the Council of Europe in the area of cultural heritage.

In 2006, the implementation of a new culture and heritage programme with a duration of four years was begun on the basis of the Kiev Declaration signed in 2005 by the Minister of Culture of Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Ukraine and Moldova. Within the framework of the programme entitled the Kiev Initiative, Supporting Democracy Through Culture, which unites the five mentioned states, a large number of important projects in the next four years will be supported.

Mission of the Council of Europe in Georgia

In cooperation with the Council of Europe, the National Agency for Protection of Cultural Heritage of Georgia is implementing the (pilot) Project in the conflict region (Shida Kartli) – "Post-Conflict Immediate Actions for the Social and Economic Revitalisation of the Communities and the Cultural Environment in the Municipality of Gori - Georgia" PIAG.

The Project comprises three sub-components as follows:

• Guidelines for the repair and reconstruction process of the villages in the Conflict Zone Adjacent Area;
• A feasibility study for the rehabilitation of Nikozi Monastery and The Reference Development Plan for the Revitalisation of Nikozi Village; and
• The Local and Regional Sustained Development Programme for Gori Municipality.

Provided that the Project is successfully implemented, the respective document prepared by the Council of Europe (and as part of the project by Georgian experts) will be submitted to potential partners and possible donors for further international funding. http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cultureheritage/cooperation/Kyiv/PP2/georgia_en.asp

Since 2010, under the initiative of the Council of Europe, the pilot project for rehabilitation of cultural heritage in historical cities (PP2) is being implemented. The project partners are the Ministry of Culture and Monument Protection of Georgia and the National Agency for Cultural Heritage Protection of Georgia.

The goal of the project is to improve the legitimate framework and management in the sphere of urban heritage, to expose the rich and diversified resources of Georgian urban heritage on the regional and international levels and to assist small and medium towns to use heritage as a factor promoting socio-economic development.

The project is of particular significance for Georgia against the background of the intensive process of rehabilitation of historical towns in the country. The leading experts of the Council of Europe have been mobilised for supporting these endeavours in the framework of the project in order to share best practices and harmonisation with European standards.

In 2010, a heritage evaluation project was prepared and the following towns selected to participate: Abastumani, Akhaltsikhe, Borjomi, Dusheti, Gori, Mestia, Telavi, Poti, Tskaltubo, and Chiatura. In 2011-2013 the next stage of the project will be implemented in those towns: detailed evaluation of the towns and identification of possible activities for rehabilitation of cultural heritage. Assessment of their anticipated effect on the local socio-economic development and elaboration of strategic intervention plans to promote the mobilisation of national and international funds and attraction of private investment will be implemented.

Traditional Georgia: Projects include an inventory of Immoveable Monuments and Sites with Monument Features in the Village of Atskuri in Akhaltsikhe District and the creation of a database.

The project involved the village of Atskuri, in the Akhaltsikhe district, including students of the Georgian University of Social Sciences during their summer internship. An icon was discovered with the Crucifixion scene carved on a jasper stone set in a cloisonné enamel frame, presumably dating from the 10th-11th century. The icon was found in the grave of the Bishop of Matskveri, in the interior of the Church of the Virgin at Atskuri. This is an open search system which can be updated with information on the moveable and immoveable monuments in Georgia and abroad.

The non-governmental sector implements projects aimed at preservation and popularisation of the multinational cultural heritage. Among these are: the Project Arts Interdisciplinary Research Laboratory "Tbilisi Modernist Artistic Cafes and Their Murals - the Space of International Communication". It involves the research and conservation planning (research, analysis, documentation) of the murals of unique artistic cafes - "Argonaut's Boat" (1918) and "Khimerioni" (1919), which were the meeting places of modern artists, poets and writers. These cafes significantly expose the multinational character of Georgian Modernism. Along with the high artistic / aesthetic quality of the paintings, the conservation of these cafes is also important, as they are the only painted artistic spaces / cafes surviving from early period of modernism. The project is supported by the "Open Society Georgia" Foundation.

There are funds and non-governmental organisations in Georgia which are engaged in, and make a significant contribution to, the development of cultural heritage; these include: the Fund for the Preservation of the Cultural Heritage of Georgia, ICOM, ICOMOS (International Council on Monuments and Sites) Georgia, Museum Association of Georgia, Heritage & Modernity Association, E. Privalova Painting Technical Studies Centre "Betania", Georgian Cultural Heritage Information Centre (GCHIC), and the Fund for Science "Udabno".

Private funding and sponsors: The fact that there is no special legislation for charities in the field of culture frequently hampers private charity initiatives. In spite of this, some Georgian companies periodically provide subsidies, in the form of charity, for conservation-restoration works to be conducted on an individual monument. For instance, the "Cartu Group" provided 6 million USD for the rehabilitation of the important architectural monument – the Rustaveli State Academic Theatre building.

In recent years, the private sector has allocated approximately 28 million GEL, for the restoration and rehabilitation of the buildings of public theatres: Shota Rustaveli Tbilisi State Academic Drama Theatre, Kote Marjanishvili Tbilisi State Academic Theatre, Nodar Dumbadze Theatre for Young Spectators, Michael Tumanishvili Theatre of Film Actors, Vaso Godziashvili Theatre of Musical Comedy and Drama, and the Jansug Kakhidze Musical Centre.

In Georgia, there is only one network in the field of cultural heritage – "European Heritage Days National Office", which unites the competent institutions of this field, non-governmental organisations, diplomatic missions and cultural institutions of several countries.

Libraries and Archives: Against the comparatively favorable background of development in the sphere of cultural heritage, the situation for libraries and archives is completely inadequate. The existing system has 2 089 libraries and their number is decreasing day by day (in comparison, in the Soviet period, the number of operating libraries was about 8 000). Currently libraries, with their obsolete material and technical base and methodology, do not meet the requirements of contemporary readers, whose numbers have been also decreasing. (In 2004, the number of readers decreased by 100 000, as compared with 2003, and made up 971 422).

Table 1:        Public and universal libraries in Georgia, 2001-2008

Source:    Ministry of Culture, Monument Protection, State Department for Statistics of Georgia.
Note:       Not including the data on Ajara Autonomous Republic.

Most of the libraries in Georgia are responsible to the local authorities, but their supervision, especially the central libraries, falls within the competence of the Ministry of Culture, Monument Protection and Sport of Georgia. School libraries (2 100 units) are responsible to the Ministry of Education and Science. The financing of the library sphere is the weakest and the librarian's salary is one of the lowest nationwide. This has resulted in the outflow of personnel and complicates the inflow of new high-skilled workers.

The preservation of archival cultural heritage is vested in the National Book Chamber, which holds more than 1 600 000 titles. The Chamber's role is to prepare the national bibliography and to store, in the archives, all editions dedicated to the culture, history and achievements of Georgia.

The National Archive Fund, which was established for the extended use and improvement of the centralised register of documents created by the state authorities, is also engaged in the protection of the cultural heritage.

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