OREANDA-NEWS. June 28, 2013. VTB Bank and Lenfilm have signed an agreement for RUB1.53bn in credits as part of the St Petersburg International Economic Forum.

The agreement was signed by First Deputy President and Chairman of the VTB Management Board Yuri Soloviev and Lenfilm General Director Eduard Pichugin.

The credit line is established for ten years and will be secured by government guarantees. The credit will facilitate the implementation of a modernisation project at Lenfilm, including renovation of film studios, acquisition and installation of modern equipment and the construction of a new studio at Lenfilm’s branch in Sosnovaya Polyana.

“Film production is rapidly developing in Russia today," First Deputy President and Chairman of VTB Bank Management Board Yuri Soloviev said. "We see a lot of interest in Russian films in this country. Lenfilm is a unique asset with vast development prospects. Given the government’s attention to this film studio, we are confident that this is a very profitable project.”

“We are carrying out President Vladimir Putin’s instruction to preserve and develop Lenfilm," Lenfilm General Director Eduard Pichugin said. "We have completed the preparatory work to enable the start of equipment supplies and overhauls at buildings and pavilions. Thanks to the VTB credit line, Lenfilm will emerge as one of the most modern studio complexes in Europe.”

“Our main task is to create a strong team of specialists, who will both service up-to-date filming equipment and make films worthy of the history of this great film studio," Chairman of Lenfilm’s Board of Directors Fyodor Bondarchuk said. "We are reviving the Russian movie industry. Specialists are coming back to the studio and the film studio's workshops are being rebuilt. Lenfilm’s state-of-the-art equipment will lead the famous studio to the vanguard of the Russian film industry.”