Regional component of implementing national project “Culture” (case study of the Vologda oblast)

In Russia, to support the cultural development, the national project “Culture” has been implemented for the first time since 2018; it prioritizes improving access to it services for all citizen of the country. It is the cultural and leisure sphere that at the present stage provides the development of the creative potential of the nation and makes a significant contribution to the qualitative characteristics of human capital and the transition to the innovative economy. Successful implementation of the national projects requires timely monitoring and identification of possible problems. Due to it, the aim of our research is to analyze the development of cultural sphere of the Vologda Oblast in the context of implementation of the national project. Despite the apparent success of the implementation of the national project “Culture”, the research reveals some problems, primarily the reduction in a number of cultural institutions, decline in attendance of theaters and cinemas due to the pandemic, the disparity in the provision of cultural and leisure institutions and libraries among cities and regions. At the same time, in the Vologda Oblast, 62% of museums and 5% of libraries of the Ministry of Culture of Russia are in poor condition. About 10-13% of libraries and the same number of museums do not have Internet access, which limits public's access to cultural heritage in digital formats. Also, in relation to the vast majority of indicators of the cultural sphere, including the national project “Culture”, statistics are not kept or are presented sparingly without the ability to track the dynamics of processes, which increases the risk of making intuitive management decisions.