President of Russia: Vladimir Putin, following his Address to Federal Assembly, proposed the creation of a presidential fund for cultural initiatives

April 21, 2021 President of Russia Vladimir Putin delivered address to the Federal Assembly. The announcement ceremony took place in Moscow, at the Manezh Central Exhibition Hall.

The ceremony was attended by members of the Federation Council, State Duma deputies, members of the Government, the heads of the Constitutional and Supreme courts, regional governors, speakers of regional legislatures, the heads of traditional religious denominations and public activists.

President of Russia Vladimir Putin announced the creation of a presidential fund for cultural initiatives during his message to the Federal Assembly.

“In order to support projects in the field of culture, art and creativity, we will create a presidential fund for cultural initiatives. Already this year, through its grants, we will finance more than 1,500 creative teams on a competitive basis”, - he said.

The President also proposed to allocate 24 billion rubles to renovate houses of culture, libraries and museums in small towns and rural areas.

Vladimir Putin also called for restarting the work of the Knowledge Society on a modern digital platform.

The head of state noted in his speech: “This year has been declared in our country as the Year of Science and Technology. We understand that science in the modern world is absolutely key. Until 2024, Russia will allocate 1 trillion 630 billion rubles from the federal budget for civil, including fundamental, research. But that's not all. We are launching innovative programs in areas critical to the country's development. They will receive the status of projects of national importance”.