Notebook

Luzhkov Eyes Tretyakov

The fight over the redistribution of federal cultural assets continues. According to Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, the world-famous Tretyakov Art Gallery will be taken over by the city. In Luzhkov’s words, the state cannot afford the maintenance of the gallery, and the city government intends to ask federal authorities to include the gallery on the city government’s books. Utility providers are reportedly threatening to cut off the gallery’s heat or telephone lines due to unpaid bills. But this may all be so much posturing. According to the head of the Russian government’s Department of Culture and Information, Igor Shabdurasulov, the Tretyakov gallery will remain under federal jurisdiction.

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