The Council for Culture of the Russian Federation defines key vectors for industry development

Cinematography as a national identity.

In honor of Culture Worker’s Day, the annual meeting of the Presidential Council for Culture was held in the Kremlin, where not only the results of ongoing programs were summarized, but also key points and strategic directions in culture and the arts were outlined.

Vladimir Putin began his speech and discussion on cultural issues with cinematography. One of the central topics of the Council was the discussion of measures to support Russian cinema.

“In recent years, much has been done to ensure the intensive development of the national film industry and increase its competitiveness,” Vladimir Putin noted. The president also emphasized the need for young people to be familiar with the best, earlier examples of Russian cinema.

People’s Artist of the Russian Federation and General Director of the Mosfilm Studio, Karen Shakhnazarov, noted that the Council for Culture, together with the Minister of Education and filmmakers, has already compiled a list of the 100 best Russian films for school study.

“In this sense, I believe this initiative—to introduce the subject “History of Russian Cinema” into the core curriculum—is very important and very relevant.”

Furthermore, Karen Shakhnazarov commended the outstanding achievements of the national projects “Culture” and “Family”: “Over the past ten years, more than 1,500 new cinema screens have opened across the country. Every year, we see an increase in the number of moviegoers by 10 million, more than half of whom are young people and children. By 2030, we plan to open another 900 cinema screens.”

The key outcome of the Council was Vladimir Putin’s order to introduce quotas for foreign films in Russian distribution. It was noted that Minister of Culture Olga Lyubimova has accepted the president’s directive. As a reminder, last year Nikita Mikhalkov proposed introducing quotas for foreign films and charging a five million ruble entry fee for their screening.

A recording of the broadcast can be viewed here: rutube.ru/video/c794…