Izvestia: "Animated film makers asked for money"
Topics of discussion at a government presidium meeting included the transition of Russian companies to the international system of financial reporting, procurement prices for raw milk and the concerns of Russian animators.
Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin presented first. He reported to the prime minister and participants that the "laborious transition to the international system of financial reporting is nearing completion." A law on consolidated financial statements was adopted last year. This year, a several-stage adaptation of the standards must still be completed. Prime Minister Putin supported Kudrin's conviction that this will allow Russian companies to be more transparent.
Agriculture Minister Elena Skrynnik, who reported on spring crops sowing at the last government meeting, concentrated this time on raw milk. She said that average procurement prices for raw milk remained level at 12 to 16 roubles for almost an entire year, thanks to 5 billion rouble allocations given to the regions which allowed farmers to keep their cattle. The prime minister did not respond to this statistic. Last Friday in Saransk, Putin criticized Skrynnik for not passing a law that would register gardeners as agricultural producers.
First Deputy Prime Minister Aleksander Zhukov was concerned about children's activities during school holidays. More specifically, he spoke about the Orlyonok national children's centre. "Under the current plan set for 2012, Orlyonok will accommodate 5,000 children at a time. There is a need for more infrastructure in terms of accommodations, especially temporary accommodations, as most of the children come from remote parts of the country. They arrive in Krasnodar by plane at night, and they have to spend hours in the airport terminal," said Zhukov. A site in Krasnodar has been designated for the construction in 2013 of a multi-function centre where children will be able to spend the night. Two billion roubles have been allocated for these purposes.
Aleksander Zhukov also reported on problems faced by Russian animated film makers. During the week of his 75th birthday, the renowned Russian animated film maker Yury Norstein ("Hedgehog in the Fog," "The Tale of Tales") signed a petition requesting substantial federal support for the "Soyuzmultfilm" studio. It is said that his concerns are to be addressed.
"I have asked Aleksander Zhukov to have a preliminary meeting with his colleagues before meeting with me, to see what we can and must do to support them," said Putin at the meeting.
Yelena Suvorova
