Under MOD's remit, SNP Museum enjoys great support with its budget up by half as much against last year
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- Date: 21.01.2022
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Having been moved to the remit of the Ministry of Defence, the Slovak National Uprising (SNP) Museum has seen its operational budget rise up by 50% against last year. The Museum can also rely on other forms of support like collection care and conservation treatment of large objects by experts from across MOD and Armed Forces elements.
This was acknowledged today in a statement by Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď, Deputy Defence Minister Marian Majer, and Chief of Defence Gen Daniel Zmeko after visiting the Museum and leading a discussion with the Museum's managers and staff.
Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “For the Ministry of Defence and military personnel, the legacy of the Slovak National Uprising is exceptionally powerful and we’ll do our utmost to make sure that the SNP Museum thrives under the MOD‘s remit and that it is taken to the level it deserves.” Mr Naď thanked Director General of the SNP Museum Marian Uhrin for his approach and cooperation during the transition process and now.
On the uplift to the Museum's spending, Naď said: “While the Museum’s budget was €2.21m in 2021 and €2.15m was planned for 2022, we took measures to increase it by €841,588 in capital investments, i.e. to help drive improvements to the Museum, and an additional €286,000 was allocated for standard maintenance and repairs.” This means the MOD has increased the Museum's operational budget by 50% up to €3.28m.
Mr Naď confirmed that while the Museum's legal status after its transition to the MOD's remit remains unchanged, the institution is neither moving to a different place, nor is being liquidated, and no redundancies have been made. He continued: “On the contrary, funding is up significantly and specific projects are being identified for implementation. This is our message in response to the scaremongering that we have witnessed.” Now that more funding has been allocated to the Museum, among the first projects to move forward are essential repairs, including to the Museum's roofs and fences, the support wall at an aircraft exhibit in the Museum's grounds, the concrete pedestals for exhibits at the Museum's open air site and the partisan bunkers at Kalište, as well as insulation works to a house at Kalište.
Given that the SVK Armed Forces and the Institute of Military History work closely on supporting the Military History Museums, soldiers are ready to assist with restoring and conserving items from the SNP Museum's collections. Similarly, experts from Aircraft Repair Company Trenčín (LOTN), the MOD-run joint stock company, are standing by to offer expertise in their specialisms.
Also at the meeting, the head of the MOD pointed to the findings and shortcomings at the Museum, revealed by the National Audit Office (NAO) in the years 2016-21. “The NAO has identified 29 serious irregularities. It is now up to the director to deal with them. Measures will have to be taken to remedy the mistakes, problems and law infringements and to prevent such practices from happening again in the future,” he said, emphasising that transparency is very important for him, both humanly and politically, and that he remains committed to greater transparency across all MOD agencies.
Director General of the SNP Museum Marian Uhrin said: “Over this short period of time since the Museum’s transition to the remit of the new establishing authority, there have been no changes at first glance. Yet, the prospects for the Museum are very promising and when we meet together in a year’s time, I think we’ll see concrete results which will enable us to take the Museum forward. For me as a historian, one of the priorities is to take good care of objects from the Museum’s collections.” Mr Uhrin appreciated the support announced by MOD and Armed Forces elements for the Museum.
The MOD and Armed Forces leaders received a tour of the Museum's exhibition spaces to be redeveloped under the Open Depository Project, as well as visiting the SNP Museum Education Centre.
This was acknowledged today in a statement by Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď, Deputy Defence Minister Marian Majer, and Chief of Defence Gen Daniel Zmeko after visiting the Museum and leading a discussion with the Museum's managers and staff.
Defence Minister Jaroslav Naď said: “For the Ministry of Defence and military personnel, the legacy of the Slovak National Uprising is exceptionally powerful and we’ll do our utmost to make sure that the SNP Museum thrives under the MOD‘s remit and that it is taken to the level it deserves.” Mr Naď thanked Director General of the SNP Museum Marian Uhrin for his approach and cooperation during the transition process and now.
On the uplift to the Museum's spending, Naď said: “While the Museum’s budget was €2.21m in 2021 and €2.15m was planned for 2022, we took measures to increase it by €841,588 in capital investments, i.e. to help drive improvements to the Museum, and an additional €286,000 was allocated for standard maintenance and repairs.” This means the MOD has increased the Museum's operational budget by 50% up to €3.28m.
Mr Naď confirmed that while the Museum's legal status after its transition to the MOD's remit remains unchanged, the institution is neither moving to a different place, nor is being liquidated, and no redundancies have been made. He continued: “On the contrary, funding is up significantly and specific projects are being identified for implementation. This is our message in response to the scaremongering that we have witnessed.” Now that more funding has been allocated to the Museum, among the first projects to move forward are essential repairs, including to the Museum's roofs and fences, the support wall at an aircraft exhibit in the Museum's grounds, the concrete pedestals for exhibits at the Museum's open air site and the partisan bunkers at Kalište, as well as insulation works to a house at Kalište.
Given that the SVK Armed Forces and the Institute of Military History work closely on supporting the Military History Museums, soldiers are ready to assist with restoring and conserving items from the SNP Museum's collections. Similarly, experts from Aircraft Repair Company Trenčín (LOTN), the MOD-run joint stock company, are standing by to offer expertise in their specialisms.
Also at the meeting, the head of the MOD pointed to the findings and shortcomings at the Museum, revealed by the National Audit Office (NAO) in the years 2016-21. “The NAO has identified 29 serious irregularities. It is now up to the director to deal with them. Measures will have to be taken to remedy the mistakes, problems and law infringements and to prevent such practices from happening again in the future,” he said, emphasising that transparency is very important for him, both humanly and politically, and that he remains committed to greater transparency across all MOD agencies.
Director General of the SNP Museum Marian Uhrin said: “Over this short period of time since the Museum’s transition to the remit of the new establishing authority, there have been no changes at first glance. Yet, the prospects for the Museum are very promising and when we meet together in a year’s time, I think we’ll see concrete results which will enable us to take the Museum forward. For me as a historian, one of the priorities is to take good care of objects from the Museum’s collections.” Mr Uhrin appreciated the support announced by MOD and Armed Forces elements for the Museum.
The MOD and Armed Forces leaders received a tour of the Museum's exhibition spaces to be redeveloped under the Open Depository Project, as well as visiting the SNP Museum Education Centre.
