| The Ministry of Culture intends to double media funding The new cultural and information policy implemented by the Ministry of Culture and Mass Communications created as a result of the government reorganization will be the subject of consideration at a meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers today. The head of the department, Alexander Sokolov, will make a report. And the day before, his deputy Leonid Nadirov presented the main points of this speech to journalists.
Mr. Nadirov said that he is still just getting used to the role of an official. Therefore, he is less concerned about numbers and bureaucratic documents, and more about global views on the development of culture and the media. In general, if you believe the deputy minister, today the ministry can offer the government rather certain “conceptual things” rather than normative acts, in which, in fact, officials should usually package their ideas.
During nine months of work, the ministry received 187 instructions from the president and government. But so far not a single one has been fully completed. Accordingly, not a single normative act or draft law was submitted to the government. Mr. Sokolov's current report, according to his deputy, implies the preparation of ten normative acts. But Mr. Nadirov named only three: about patronage activities, publishing and some new look at the law on the media “in the conditions of the new political format of Russia.” There were no clarifications regarding the new format: apparently, the deputy minister relied on the political literacy of the audience. “When changing the law on the media, we should look ahead to 2010,” the official also said, without explaining what exactly should happen in 2010.
The fact that print media will no longer have VAT benefits, the rate of which for them will almost double (from the current 10 to 18%), Mr. Nadirov mentioned somehow in passing: they say, the job is done. But the Federal Tax Service hastened to become concerned about the fate of the mass media - yesterday it advised to switch to early payment of VAT at a rate of 18%, without waiting for January 1, 2005.
With much greater fervor, Leonid Nadirov spoke about another component of Russia's new state policy. Namely, the transfer of monuments from federal to regional property. The mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, and the governor of St. Petersburg, Valentina Matvienko, are actively advocating for this. Today, according to Mr. Nadirov, this topic will not be directly addressed in the minister’s report. But only directly. Since “in the context” of the tourist, and with it the investment attractiveness of cultural monuments, Mr. Sokolov is rather ready to support the idea of transferring federal property to the regions. Despite the fact that the Prime Minister recently gave an unequivocal instruction to the Ministry and the Prosecutor General’s Office to deal with all these actions to the fullest extent of the law.
In conclusion, Mr. Nadirov expressed confidence that “state policy in the field of culture and mass communications is nothing more than financing.” So today Minister Sokolov will try to convince his government colleagues that it is impossible to finance these areas on a residual basis. Of course, the minister will not simply ask for money,” Mr. Nadirov assures. However, inside the cultural department they believe that state funding for mass communications and cultural institutions should be doubled. Vera KUZNETSOVA |
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