PUTIN PUTS CRIMEAN SITE UNDER FEDERAL CONTROL AFTER SCANDAL | News from The Associated Press
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Russia’s President Vladimir Putin on Saturday placed a major archaeological site in Crimea, which he has hailed as the country’s most sacred spiritual symbol, under federal control following turmoil over the appointment of its director.
The Kremlin said that Putin ordered the area of the ancient Greek city of Chersonesus to be placed under federal oversight. The site is located just outside Sevastopol, the main port city in Crimea, the Black Sea Peninsula annexed by Russia from Ukraine last year.
Putin’s order followed the Sevastopol governor’s decision last month to appoint a Russian Orthodox priest as director of the Chersonesus museum, a move that has angered its keepers and fueled strong public criticism that the appointee lacked education and experience.
While presenting the new director to museum workers, the governor, Sergei Menyailo, reportedly sought to counter protests by saying that “religion has always dealt with science,” a comment that drew mockery on Russian social networks. Menyailo’s claim that he had received Moscow’s approval for the appointment was denied by officials in Moscow.