Russian Ministry of Culture removes Tretyakov director Zelfira Tregulova

The Russian Ministry of Culture has dismissed Zelfira Tregulova from her role as general director of the Tretyakov Gallery in Moscow due to a complaint regarding the exhibition's portrayal of 'destructive ideology.' A visitor expressed feelings of 'pessimism, emptiness, and hopelessness' in response to artworks featuring funerals and 'drunken alcoholism.' In January, the ministry instructed the gallery to ensure its displays reflected the state's 'spiritual and moral values.' Tregulova, who has been at the helm since 2015, found out about her termination through media reports, with the ministry citing the end of her contract. Yelena Pronicheva, formerly the executive director of Moscow's Jewish Museum and Tolerance Center, will take over. Forbes Russia notes that her father, Vladimir Pronichev, was a deputy head of the Federal Security Service. Tregulova has also worked at the Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts and co-curated the Amazons of the Avant-Garde exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum, as well as appointing architect Rem Koolhaas for the New Tretyakov building.