Young Kyrgyz Music Star Rejects Appointment to Head Museum After Online Backlash · Global Voices
National Historical and Archaeological Museum Complex Sulayman. Photo by <PERSON>. Wikipedia (Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic)
Twenty-six-year-old music star <PERSON> was appointed director of a popular museum in Kyrgyzstan, but she was forced to refuse the position after receiving online backlash about her alleged lack of qualification and experience for the job.
On 28 July 2017, the Kyrgyzstan Ministry of Culture appointed Ms. <PERSON> as director of Sulaiman Too museum which is part of the Sacred Mountain Complex listed by the UNESCO as a world heritage site. The museum is located in the southern city of Osh which witnessed a bloody ethnic violence seven years ago.
After the appointment was announced in public, many social media users quickly pointed out the singer's lack of experience and educational background. 497
Some also raised the issue of conflict of interest since Ms. <PERSON>’s husband is a high-level official at the Ministry of Culture.
Below are some comments on Facebook citing the reasons why Ms. <PERSON> is not fit to become the director of the museum:
И как говорил великий Ленин “каждая кухарка может управлять государством”!!! Её назначение – это тоже самое, что лечить людей поставили талантливого повара, а собирать ракеты – артиста т.к он “талантлив”… Никто не спорит, что она талантливая, но ведь петь на сцене одно, а управлять музеем в одном из сакральных мест это не песенки петь!!!???
As <PERSON> said “any kukharka (Russian: A female cook, who cooks at home) can rule the government”. Appointing her is equal to let a talented cook to {be a doctor and} treat people, and let a singer to make rockets, as she is a “talented”. No one argues that she is a talented {singer}, but singing in a stage is different from managing a museum in a sacred place.
“В музее должен работать настоящий специалист историк этнограф или научный работник нужно проводить научно исследовательские открытия”
A real expert on history and ethnography or an academician should work in a museum, as it requires doing researches. 497