Russian President Vladimir Putin assured cultural workers during an online meeting on Saturday that the government's plan for post-coronavirus recovery would include stimuli for their projects
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 06th June, 2020) Russian President Vladimir Putin assured cultural workers during an online meeting on Saturday that the government's plan for post-coronavirus recovery would include stimuli for their projects.
"Culture is on the list of industries that received additional government assistance. We are now slowly going back to normal, while improving the nationwide plan for economic and social recovery. It must take cultural facilities into account," he said.
The meeting was timed to the 221st anniversary of the birth of Alexander Pushkin, one of Russia's most acclaimed poets. June 6 was designated as the Russian Language Day by the United Nations in 2010.
Putin promised to Julian Henry Lowenfeld, a US poet, playwright and Pushkin translator, that the government would have enough money to sponsor culture. Russian is more than a means of communication, he said, adding it served as a "cornerstone of our national identity."
"You say that it is expensive but I think that ... we will find money to promote the Russian culture and language, Pushkin's legacy, despite falling oil prices, all the more so since the prices began rising again," the president told Lowenfeld.
Putin suggested that cultural workers submit their proposals on how to help museums, concert halls, art galleries and cinemas recover from the coronavirus shutdown. Russia went into lockdown in March and began lifting restrictions in late May.
The president added that months of forced closure proved that the Russian cultural tradition was very durable but said he had ordered the cabinet to promptly adopt measures that would support concert crews and tour companies affected by the pandemic.
