Why Sukhotino Ethno-Archaeopark Directors Change So Often
Acting Minister of Science and Professional Education of Zabaykalsky Krai Natalia Vikulova, answering a question from Chita.Ru editor-in-chief Ekaterina Shaitanova about the frequent change of directors at the Sukhotino Ethno-Archaeopark, explained the situation by the growing tasks within the project, including those related to construction. Vikulova discussed this in a new episode of the «Redkollegia» project.
The first director and author of the idea for the Sukhotino Ethno-Archaeopark, created in 2023, Natalia Vikulova, became acting minister of science and professional education on 14 August 2025. Since then, three people have held the director«s post — currently, since December 2025, the park is run by Sergey Maximov. From 2015 to 2022, he was chairman of the Control and Accounting Chamber of Chernyshevsky District, and from 2022 to 2025, he served as deputy head of the district.
«Why do colleagues leave? For various reasons. One of them left because his wife is pregnant. Nobody delves into what»s really going on inside when the news breaks out. And some see a trend in this. Two left in a row — the third is working. The third one is actually a very strong manager; he previously worked as deputy head of Chernyshevsky District. He will cope with the project. He has a lot of experience,« Vikulova noted.
According to her, initially, when the Sukhotino structure was created, it was more of a scientific and educational project: «And this form of work was clear to us. Holding festivals, scientific schools. That was clear. When it entered the phase of a project with federal funding and, accordingly, construction, there are a lot of regulations, contractors, and you also need to manage 14 contracts at the same time, and schedules. That is, a huge range of additional tasks appeared. And at this level, even conditionally, it was difficult for me. And now we needed a specialist who has these competencies. This is just a phase of the project»s growth where a different specialist was needed.«
It was previously reported that the Sukhotino Ethno-Archaeopark has ambitious development plans. Construction of a 9.7-mile (15.6-kilometer) circular eco-trail has already begun on Titovskaya Sopka, and the construction of a cable car is also being discussed. The park is planned to be included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Russia. Also, an ethno-village will be created on Titovskaya Sopka in the near future, which will include clusters of an Evenki settlement, a Buryat and a Semeiskaya (Old Believer) village, and trails and a single connecting path around the entire Titovskaya Sopka will appear.
