Prime Minister Vladimir Putin met with Yury Norshtein, Eduard Nazarov, and other classic Russian cartoonists to discuss a strange fact. Since 2000, the United National Film Collection has collected royalties for the cartoons, and in that time it has misappropriated three quarters of the funds.
"You surprise me," Vladimir Putin said. "They rob you, and you keep quiet! A shady front company has been established..."
The United National Film Collection was established by the Ministry of Culture and the Federal Agency for State Property Management. In the early 2000s, there were proposals to privatise animated cartoon studios, which meant that both the filmmaking facilities and the cartoon archives would be held by private owners. But the state decided to retain control, and the resulting intermediary company became a parasite.
It was decided to eliminate the intermediary company and to allow Russia's Gosfilmofond state film archive to collect royalties.
Government support will help the animated cartoon industry improve its financial situation. Vladimir Putin said the Ministry of Culture have already allocated 257 million roubles for the cartoon industry in 2011. He promised to set aside another 500 million roubles by the end of the year. In 2012, the sum will be doubled to 1.5 billion roubles.