Rossiiskaya Gazeta: “A day at the theatre”
The Bolshoi Drama Theatre to receive 200 million roubles for restoration.
Vladimir Putin inspected the state of Russian culture in St Petersburg last Friday. Along the way, he discovered that the Drama Theatre was housed in a building with cracked walls and a crumbling ceiling.
Putin's visit to St Petersburg covered a whole spectrum of problems. On Friday, he launched an Arctic tanker, promising more like it in its stead. He chaired a meeting in support of the Navy, visited the Bolshoi Drama Theatre and the Russian Geographical Society, and floored a dozen judo wrestlers on the mat before boarding a high-speed Sapsan train to Moscow on Saturday.
Several minutes after the bottle of champagne was smashed against the side of a new vessel, the giant tanker Kirill Lavrov slid gently into the water. "A year ago I saw the shining eyes of the shipbuilders who were starting a new job. It was definitely a professional challenge. This giant was built within a short space of time and what is more, at a very high technological level," Vladimir Putin said as the vessel sailed off. People's Artist of the USSR Alisa Freindlikh took an unexpected part in the ceremony. As the tanker slipped towards the water, she threw up her arms and made the sign of the cross. "God Bless the vessel Kirill Lavrov and its crew," the actress repeated. The new tanker is designed for very low temperatures off the Arctic shelf and for round-the-year transportation of crude oil from Prirazlomnoye Field due to start in 2010.
The problem of "black gold" cropped up unexpectedly at the Admiralty Shipyards (where the vessel was launched). Deputy Prime Minister Igor Sechin called in journalists for an urgent briefing and said that as of January 1, 2010, Russia would cancel a downward coefficient for supplies of oil and oil products to Belarus and replace it with a 100% customs duty.
Moscow will not charge a duty on oil intended for internal consumption in Belarus, estimated at some 6 million tons a year. "In the 1990s, the Russian budget began to suffer losses because of the lack of duties. It undermined the competitiveness of the Russian oil sector," said Igor Sechin, adding that one ton of petroleum products produced in Belarus was $8.5 cheaper than in Russia. In the Deputy Prime Minister's opinion, "economic partnership cannot be built at the expense of one partner. [...] It is never the case in business that one partner wins and the other partner loses." Next year, Gazprom will transfer $625 million to Belarus to pay for a 50% stake in Beltransgaz. The Belarusian authorities can use the money as they see fit, for example, spend it to make up for a revenue shortfall due to the new customs rules. Asked by RG about the contradictions between the emergence of the Customs Union and the introduction of new customs barriers for one of the member countries, Mr Sechin said that the size of the customs duties had yet to be determined under additional agreements attached to the customs code. In other words, the friendship between Moscow and Minsk would be based on new market terms.
The meeting at the Admiralty Shipyards devoted much of its time to taking a new look at Russian domestic problems. The Russian Navy needs a long-term development programme, Mr Putin said. "It should take into account the objective needs of the Navy, the tasks that face it today or are likely to face it in 30 years' time. That is a minimum," the Prime Minister stressed during a meeting with the military and security agencies. He demanded that the United Shipbuilding Corporation (OSK) concentrate on serial production. This is the only way, Mr Putin is sure, that budget money is to be of any use rather than being spread thin among many unrealistic projects. It was announced at the meeting that 3 billion roubles have already been allocated to the Amur Shipyard and that the Kaliningrad plant, Yantar, has been incorporated into the OSK.
Having finished with defense issues, the Prime Minister headed for the Bolshoi Drama Theatre. The building, which looks beautiful from the outside, had walls full of cracks. Not trusting his eyes, Vladimir Putin touched a wall with his hand. "The Bolshoi Drama Theatre is one of our oldest theatres and is beloved not only in Petersburg but throughout the country. It is a special school, it is 90 years old," said the head of Government over tea with Alisa Freindlikh, People's Artist of the USSR Oleg Basilashvili, Minister of Culture Alexander Avdeyev, and others. Vladimir Putin did not stay long: on the day of his visit, the play Uncle's Dream was to be performed and the following day, The Power of Darkness.
After the tea party, from which the press was banned, an RG correspondent asked Mr Putin about the outcome of the meeting. "We have agreed that we will find now money from the Ministry of Culture, 200 million. They will prepare the cost estimate and work will start around spring on the foundation and structures, provided it will not require the company to move to a new stage," the Prime Minister said. "In 2011-2012, when the bulk of the money will be disbursed, the theatre will have to move to some other place. But in May of next year, the authorities will provide the theatre's youth company with a small stage on Kammenny Island." In 2009, 1.5 billion roubles was to be made available for refurbishing the theatre building, Alexander Avdeyev told this newspaper. However, because of the crisis, the money had to be put on hold and the repair be postponed by two years.
The building of the Russian Geographical Society nearby is also having its share of troubles. Five years ago, a huge chunk of the ceiling crashed on the showcases and stands, nearly destroying valuable exhibits. There is still a gaping hole in its place. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko said that the first stage of the building's restoration would cost 46 million roubles, of which the city is prepared to pay 10 million. "We will raise the remaining sum, but I think that is not enough, we will have to crunch some numbers and find the resources for a full-scale restoration," the Prime Minister commented.
Late in the evening, the Prime Minister indulged in his favourite sport. Clad in a judo uniform, he appeared on the mat to practice his judo throws at the School of Higher Sports in St Petersburg.
Pier Sidibe
