Russia 090310 Basic Political Developments Russia, Hungary pms to discuss energy coop'n, gas issues

Putin Pledges Support for Shipbuilders

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/article/1009/42/375168.htm
10 March 2009

ST. PETERSBURG -- Russia plans to triple orders of state ships in the next six years to 680 billion rubles ($19 billion) and build a new shipyard near the Baltic Sea port of Primorsk, Industry and Trade Minister Viktor Khristenko said Friday.

The state's spending should help shipbuilders boost their share of contracts in Russia to 28 percent, from 8 percent last year, and cushion slowing sales to companies, Khristenko said at a government meeting in St. Petersburg.

Gazprom and Rosneft will order 307 vessels over the next two decades, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin said at the meeting. Another 791 transport and 265 fishing vessel orders are expected by 2030, he said.

The government plans to complete the formation of United Shipbuilding Corporation this month, hoping that the state-run enterprise can compete with foreign companies better than individual Russian shipyards, Putin said.

United Shipbuilding should focus on niche products, such as floating nuclear power stations, ice-class vessels and ships transporting commodities, Putin said.

The state's support program for the shipbuilding industry may total 136 billion rubles to 2016, Putin said.

One of the projects designed to help the industry may be the building of a shipyard near Primorsk, which would cost more than 40 billion rubles in total, Khristenko said.

The government revised its industry sales forecast to 170 billion rubles this year from 180 billion rubles, Khristenko said.

No nationalization in Russia - Medvedev's economic aide Dvorkovich

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20090309/120483759.html

MOSCOW, March 9 (RIA Novosti) - A Russian presidential aide dismissed on Monday fears that the Russian authorities could start taking over major assets of banks and businesses under the pretext of providing assistance to them during the financial crisis.

"The authorities don't have any plans to take things away from people and nationalize them," Arkady Dvorkovich told The Wall Street Journal. "But that doesn't mean that one shareholder can't sell to another investor. It doesn't mean that the state won't wind up owning some assets that were held as collateral."

Dvorkovich also denied speculation that Russia's economic situation had provoked tensions in the relations between President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

"Their positions don't differ at all," he said.

Dvorkovich, 36, warned against excessive optimism: "Many still think that in half a year or more we'll return to the easy existence when you could throw money around. [But] we'll never return to that situation."

Moscow gov't to subsidize food suppliers

http://www.rbcnews.com/free/20090310104915.shtml

      RBC, 10.03.2009, Moscow 10:49:15.As one of the anti-crisis measures, the Moscow government is expected to provide additional funds to organizations participating in the realization of programs for wholesale food supplies in 2009. Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov signed a decree to this effect, the government's press office told RBC. Before receiving the funds, each company's financial standing will be closely examined.

Medvedev signs decree on financing of New Jerusalem Monastery renovation.

http://www.itar-tass.com/eng/level2.html?NewsID=13658578&PageNum=0

MOSCOW, March 9 (Itar-Tass) -- President Dmitry Medvedev on Monday signed a decree on the recreation of the New Jerusalem Monastery.

The government was instructed to subsidise the monastery restoration fund from the federal budget starting in 2009.

Earlier, Medvedev identified priorities in the job to restore the monastery and fixed the concrete time limit for this work.

The New Jerusalem Monastery is unparalleled among the monuments of human history, Medvedev said. "It is deservedly regarded as a cultural phenomenon and it is the only successful attempt to produce an exact copy of the Holy Land," the president noted, adding, "By restoring our great spiritual centres, we are contributing to the revival of our roots and our values."

The restoration of the New Jerusalem Monastery may require 13-20 billion roubles, First Vice Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov said earlier.

"The monastery has not been essentially examined yet," he said, adding that there were no documents for the restoration and renovation of the monastery and it was difficult to calculate the cost of work.

"We will have to begin virtually from scratch. We will begin by examining the condition of the monastery and other objects and drawing up necessary documents. We will thoroughly study the artistic and historical features designed several centuries ago and give a great deal of attention to that," Zubkov, who is the board chairman of the New Jerusalem Monastery Restoration Fund, said.

"We examined the monastery and other objects. The impression is that there will be a lot of work to do here. We think that the volume of work is comparable to the restoration of the Kremlin or the construction of the Christ the Saviour Cathedral," Zubkov said.

He said all work would cover a period of five to seven years.

Zubkov recalled that 50 percent of the cost of restoration would be paid by the federal budget, and the other half would come from corporate and private donations.

The historical New Jerusalem Monastery outside Moscow will be restored by 2016 or possibly sooner, with budget appropriations and donations being closely watched, he said.

"The scale of work to restore this unique historical and cultural monument of global importance requires joint efforts of the stat, the church and society. Work is to be completed within 5-7 years. Financing will be provided both from the budget and donations," Zubkov said.

He said, "Each rouble will be used for the stated purpose and will be under strict control."

Gazprom, Rosselkhozbank, Russian Railways, VTB Bank, ministries, institutions, enterprises and organisations in the Moscow region have made their donations to the fund.

Private donators include ordinary people, statesmen and businessmen, such as President Dmitry Medvedev, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, Zubkov, Minister for Regional Development Dmitry Kozak, Vice Prime Minister and Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin, Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, Moscow region Governor Boris Gromov, Gazprom CEO Alexei Miller, Rostekhnologii head Sergei Chemezov, businessman Suleiman Kerimov, and Norilsk Nickel CEO Vladimir Strzhalkovsky.

The employees of some social institutions in the Moscow region have transferred their day's salary to the fund.

The New Jerusalem Monastery was conceived in the 17th century by Patriarch Nikon as an "icon of the Holy Land" with its Garden of Gethsemane, Calvary and Jordan. The Cathedral of the Resurrection of Christ is the main cathedral and was built to resemble the cathedral in Jerusalem.

The monastery's abbot Feofilakt said the late Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow and All Russia had cared about the monastery with all of his heart and soul. It was his initiative to make the decision to begin comprehensive restoration.

"The patriarch wanted this monastery to be an image of the Holy Land where Jesus Christ had lived, but also as an image of the kingdom of heaven - New Jerusalem described in the Revelation of John the Evangelist," Feofilakt said.

The restoration of the New Jerusalem Monastery outside Moscow will involve several key phases, Alexy II said.

In addition to big construction and restoration work it would be necessary to revive monastic life, he said.

"The New Jerusalem should be restored as a great holy place of the Christian world and show everyone the true meaning and imperishability of our homeland," Alexy II said.

He noted that the monastery, built in the 17th century on orders from Patriarch Nikon and Tsar Alexei, had been an Orthodox spiritual centre and become "a spatial icon of the Holy Land".

"It was the Russian Palestine that attracted many pilgrims. Russian people who could not make long and dangerous trips to Jerusalem at that time had the opportunity to bow to Golgotha, the Holy Cross and other holy objects," the late patriarch said.

He recalled that "active devotional life in the monastery was combined with churchly enlightenment, record-keeping, icon painting and other crafts".

Charitable traditions were also quite strong at the monastery. "Almost all members of the Romanov family donated to the monastery generously," the Alexy II added.

"I also told the patriarch that the fund had been registered by the Justice Ministry, a certificate had been received and documents had been submitted for opening accounts so that the fund could accumulate donations for the restoration of the monastery," Feofilakt said.