The Academy of Sciences of Uzbekistan provided clarifications regarding the relocation of the collections of the State Museum of Literature named after Alisher Navoi. The temporary suspension of the museum's activities and the transportation of exhibits were actively discussed on social media.
According to the Academy's press service statement, the collections are being moved to ensure the preservation of national heritage and to conduct a verification procedure. On June 9, 2026, 847 rare manuscripts from the 'Rare Manuscripts and Lithographs' fund were transferred to the special storage facility of the Center for Islamic Civilization. The reception and transfer process was carried out with the participation of a special commission.
During the initial inspection, discrepancies were found between the accounting data and the actual number of exhibits. It was established that there were 847 rare manuscripts instead of the declared 831; the number of lithographs was 1,491 instead of 1,334; and the materials of the archive of writers and poets amounted to 189 instead of 173. Additionally, 1,450,188 documents were registered in the personal fund.
Currently, specialists are comparing inventory books, accounting documents, and fund lists to determine the reasons for the discovered discrepancies. Although the museum is temporarily closed to the public, its staff continues to work. It is planned that the collections will be moved to a new building in New Tashkent after its commissioning, and the future of the current building will be determined by authorized structures.
Furthermore, there was previously information that the Abdululla Qahhar House-Museum would not operate from September 21 to December 31 due to renovation work being carried out in the building by the cultural heritage agency.