On the evening of May 21, without any prior warning or explanation, the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications dismissed the director of the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra National Reserve, Maksym Ostapenko.
Ostapenko shared the news with UP.Cultura.
In the evening, after work hours, he received a call from Volodymyr Shornikov, Director of the Department for the Protection and Preservation of Cultural Heritage at the Ministry of Culture, who requested an urgent meeting. All of this took place outside official working hours.
“When I stepped outside, a private car pulled up with an employee of the Department, Zhukov, inside. He asked me to get in the car to review something,” Ostapenko said.
The head of the Lavra refused, at which point Zhukov took out a document and placed it on the car’s hood while simultaneously recording the interaction on camera.
“It was 8:30 p.m., right in the parking lot on Ivan Mazepa Street. I wasn’t wearing my glasses at the time. I took a photo of the document and only later at home realized it was an order for my dismissal. All of this happened at night, completely outside of any official working hours. At the same time, the official was filming me for some strange reason,” the director of the reserve added.
Maksym Ostapenko noted that there were no explanations or discussions regarding his dismissal. Instead, “they’re simply harassing people, using some kind of raider-like employees from private BTI offices. This isn’t communication with the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications—it’s abuse.”
“I haven’t been officially acquainted with the order yet. Last night, a letter was delivered to the reserve’s post, without the minister’s signature, without an electronic signature, just a stamp saying ‘according to the original,’” Ostapenko explained.
On his Facebook page, Maksym Ostapenko published the dismissal order and added that in recent weeks there had been growing rumors about a struggle for control over the Lavra. According to Ostapenko, the reserve’s staff had been feeling pressure.
The head of the Lavra said that the team is currently working actively to eliminate Russian narratives in the reserve’s museums. They were in the final stages of preparing a large-scale exhibition titled “Mazepa: The Strategy of a European Ukraine.” It is the largest collection of items related to Mazepa and his era. Seven museums are participating in the project. The exhibition is scheduled to open tomorrow, May 23, at the reserve.
Position of the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications
On the morning of May 22, a statement appeared on the website of the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications (MCSC), confirming that the dismissal order for Maksym Ostapenko had been signed. He was dismissed “due to improper fulfillment of the terms of the contract and identified violations in the activities of the reserve.”
The MCSC statement reads: “The decision was made based on a report by Volodymyr Shornikov, Director of the Department for the Protection and Preservation of Cultural Heritage at the MCSC. At the beginning of May, the general director of the reserve was issued a reprimand, which he was personally informed of. The reprimand was based on a report by an MCSC Working Group formed to assess the current state of record-keeping, usage, and preservation of state property under the operational management of the reserve.”
Maksym Ostapenko confirmed to UP.Cultura that he did receive a reprimand but still does not know the reason for it. The official statement on the Ministry of Culture’s website regarding his dismissal also did not clarify the grounds for the reprimand.
On May 22 at 10 a.m., Volodymyr Sholnikov arrived at the reserve to introduce the new acting director. Ostapenko also shared this information with UP.Cultura. The plan is to appoint Svitlana Kotliarevska, Ostapenko’s current deputy responsible for the development of the reserve’s paid services, as his replacement.
Who is Maksym Ostapenko
Maksym Ostapenko is a Ukrainian scholar, archaeologist, and a serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He is a recipient of the Order of Merit, 3rd Class.
Since October 28, 2023, he has served as the General Director of the National Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Reserve. Prior to that, starting in 2007, Ostapenko was the head of the National Khortytsia Reserve in Zaporizhzhia. Over 15 years of work on Khortytsia, he and his team discovered a Scythian settlement in the Sovutyna ravine, a Bronze Age sanctuary on the Braharnia hill, Bronze Age ritual structures near the Molodnyaha ravine, and underwater archaeological monuments such as the “Zaporizhian Chaika.” He also oversaw the construction of the historical and cultural complex “Zaporizhian Sich.”
At the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, he joined the ranks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications, Mykola Tochytskyi, announced on his Facebook page that the Assumption Cathedral in Kaniv has been officially transferred to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. In the second part of the post, he addressed the dismissal of Maksym Ostapenko from his position as General Director of the National Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Reserve, stating that it was a response to a weak stance on enforcing the law regarding the activities of Moscow-affiliated religious organizations.
“The process of cleansing Ukraine’s sacred sites is a priority that demands effective decisions—especially since the activities of Moscow-affiliated religious organizations are prohibited by law. The dismissal of the General Director of the National Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra Reserve is a response to the weak enforcement of that law,” the minister wrote. He added: “Ukraine does not have the luxury of waiting for the illegal trade, unauthorized leases, uncontrolled presence of Moscow monks, and the further destruction of heritage sites to stop on their own.”
However, the minister did not explain why Svitlana Kotliarevska—Ostapenko’s deputy, responsible for the development of the reserve’s paid services, including rental services on the territory of the Lavra—was appointed as acting director of the Reserve.
This comment marks the minister’s first original post on his page in a long time. Prior to this, Tochytskyi had only been sharing posts from diplomatic institutions, government officials, and the Office of the President. The Assumption Cathedral in Kaniv was returned to state ownership in 2024. In February of this year, it was transferred under the management of the National Taras Shevchenko Reserve.
What is known about the dismissal of the reserve’s general director?
Maksym Ostapenko was dismissed on the evening of May 21. This occurred outside of working hours when representatives of the Department for the Protection and Preservation of Cultural Heritage of the Ministry arrived at a parking lot on Ivan Mazepa Street around 8:30 p.m. They showed the general director a document containing the dismissal order.
On May 22, information appeared on the Ministry of Culture’s website stating that Ostapenko allegedly refused to come to the Ministry to familiarize himself with the dismissal order.
Earlier, Maksym Ostapenko told UP.Kultura that he was not given any explanations or discussions regarding his dismissal. Instead, he said, “they’re just harassing people, using some kind of raider-like employees from private BTI offices. This is not communication with the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications, this is mockery.”
The head of the Lavra said that the team is currently actively working on eliminating Russian narratives in the reserve’s museums. They were preparing a large-scale exhibition titled “Mazepa: The Strategy of a European Ukraine.”
On the morning of May 22, a statement appeared on the Ministry of Culture and Strategic Communications (MCSC) website confirming that Maksym Ostapenko’s dismissal order had been signed. He was dismissed “due to improper fulfillment of the terms of the contract and identified violations in the activities of the reserve.”
On May 22 at 10 a.m., Volodymyr Sholnikov arrived at the reserve to introduce the new acting director. Maksym Ostapenko also informed UP.Cultura about this. The plan is to appoint Svitlana Kotliarevska, Ostapenko’s current deputy responsible for the development of the reserve’s paid services, as his replacement.
