Moscow culture minister Kapkov set to quit

Sergei Kapkov, minister of culture in the Moscow city government, is poised to resign, Russian broadsheet Vedomosti reports. Kapkov, who became a household name thanks to his prominent role in the remaking of Gorky Park, is said to be “tired”.

Kapkov, 37, took over the running of the park in March 2011; after a positive response to the park’s modernisation he was appointed Minister of Culture, where he attracted attention with eye-catching initiatives such as free entrance to museums during holidays and the creation of a committee on urbanism.

His imminent departure has been met with regret by a range of cultural figures. Marina Loshak, director of the State Pushkin Museum, told colta.ru: “I think most people who are used to what Sergei Kapkov and his team do will regret his leaving. … He absolutely matches the contemporary international idea of a strategist who can determine certain important things for the development of a city.” The mayor’s office has not commented on the issue.