Director Nikita Mikhalkov to head new foundation promoting Russian national culture

A new foundation devoted to promoting the development of Russian national culture is to be created under the direction of filmmaker Nikita Mikhalkov, deputy culture minister Grigory Ivliev announced today. Russia’s Ministry of Culture and the Russian Cultural Foundation have agreed to jointly fund the new project, which will be “a public entity covering all areas of culture”, Ivliev said.

The new foundation will also be called the Russian Cultural Foundation, but will differ from the original, non-profit organisation by becoming a “social, governmental foundation”.

According to Ivliev, the new fund will be funded by government subsidies. Both the culture ministry and the foundation are currently in the process of preparing the presidential decree for the establishment of the organisation.

This is the second project spearheaded by Mikhalkov this year to be focussed on the promotion of Russian national culture. Last month, Mikhalkov and film director Andrey Konchalovsky — two brothers known for their anti-western rhetoric — appealed to the Russian government for funding to support a new national fast food chain, Let’s Eat at Home!, which billed itself as an alternative to McDonalds.