The opening ceremony was also attended by Mayor of Moscow Sergei Sobyanin.
The new campus of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University is located in the immediate proximity to the university’s historic buildings on the Yauza. Specifically, it comprises research and educational clusters, Quantum Park multifunctional complex with state-of-the-art laboratories, and dormitories. The campus has become the first facility of this kind in Russia to be built as part of the federal project Creating a Network of Advanced Campuses.
With the effort to create the Moscow cinema cluster already underway, the Moskino Cinema Park is expected to become one of its core elements. Its first stage has been completed: there are 18 filming grounds, four pavilions and six infrastructural facilities on its territory of 180 hectares. The cinema park will accept guided tours and hold special events in between filming sessions.
Troitskaya is a new, 16th metro line on the city map. Launching its first 8.3-kilometre section with four stations – Novatorskaya, People’s Friendship University, Generala Tyuleneva and Tyutchevskaya – will improve transport services for more than 800,000 people and reduce the burden on the Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya and Sokolnicheskaya metro lines, as well as on the adjacent street and road network: Leninsky Prospekt, Vernadsky Prospekt, Profsoyuznaya Street.
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Mayor of Moscow Sergei Sobyanin: Mr President,
As usual, you are attending the opening of several sites and facilities on Moscow’s City Day.
One of such projects is the campus of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University, a leading technical university that plays a pivotal role in ensuring the country’s technological independence.
In keeping with your instructions, we built the new campus in three years. Last year, we reported in your presence that six buildings out of 14 were completed. This year we launched the second stage.
What kind of buildings are they? They include the Nature Protection Technologies cluster, the Digital Materials Science cluster, the Digital Transformation cluster, the congress centre and innovation hub, the federal testing centre, the Quantum Park multifunctional complex, and a dormitory – or should I say a student palace with everything you need for living, for sports and for study. We have constructed a footbridge for the students to comfortably walk to teaching buildings. We are opening it today too.
If you do not mind, we will invite our colleagues to join this conversation so that they can report on the readiness of the new campus.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Yes, of course.
(Vladimir Yefimov, Head of Moscow Construction Complex, and Mikhail Gordin, Rector of the Moscow State Technical University, presented their reports on the new campus of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University.)
Vladimir Putin: I want to congratulate all the students, faculty members and professors on this remarkable occasion.
The Bauman University is almost 200 years old, right? On July 1, 1830, Tsar Nicholas I signed a decree establishing this institution, which grew into a major higher education institution in our country, and probably in the world as well. It evolved as one of the most important centres for training engineers.
A lot has been done for the Bauman University. I am very much looking forward for the Bauman University, like in previous years, to work effectively on delivering on the tasks that our country is facing.
You have invited me to visit the university. I will do it with pleasure as soon as I get this opportunity. Moreover, the institutions like the Bauman University– just as Mr Sobyanin was telling me on the way here –can be counted on the fingers of one hand around the world.
This is, naturally, a great achievement in strengthening our position in this most important and promising area of activity, because science and education are major economic growth drivers, just as we have been saying all along. The factor of science and education will undoubtedly play an increasingly important role.
Congratulations! I wish you all the best and every success.
Sergei Sobyanin: Mr President, there is one more project from a different sector which stands out among city projects. We are talking about the film industry.
In recent years, the Russian cinema industry has increased the scale of both filming and distribution many times over. If you remember, two-thirds of the films on our screens were foreign films, and today we have two-thirds of Russian films on our screens. Of course, this a major breakthrough.
On the other hand, making so many movies requires a new film industry, new platforms – high-tech, state-of-the-art, world-class.
On your instructions, we in Moscow – given that it is a leading city where a huge amount of content is produced and tens of thousands of people work in the film industry – are implementing a project called the Moscow Film Cluster, which includes the Gorky Film Studio. You issued an instruction to hand it over to the Moscow Government.
We are using two old platforms to implement a large construction and renovation programme. We have added another platform under the aegis of the Gorky Studio, which is much larger than the historic platforms. This studio used to have a floor space of just 22,000 square metres, but today there are already 53,000, and there will be 445,000 down the road. Building all this is expected to take three or four years. I am certain that we will fulfil these plans.
Moskino cinema park is a key infrastructure project. It provides for creating filming locations. In fact, this project can be traced all the way back to 1938 when Stalin received a proposal to build a big platform of this kind, similar to what we are doing today. Thе cinema industry was rapidly developing at that time, and it was called to deliver on formidable tasks, but the war upended these plans.
Vladimir Putin: They competed against Hollywood.
Sergei Sobyanin: You are absolutely right. They were in fact competing against Hollywood. This is what we are doing today too. Our goal is to create a world-class facility. Today, this is one of the world’s best sites among film sets, their number and quality.
This is just the first stage, and there will be two more construction stages, one scheduled to be completed in 2027, and the other in 2030. Today, there are 18 filming locations, and there will be 20 more in the project’s second stage, and 26 for stage three. Overall, this will be a very big filming studio, and it enjoys very high demand.
Over the past year, this platform served about fifty cinema projects of all kinds here. Just to give you an idea of what I am talking about, let me mention the Red Square for the Peter I project. It was shot here. There is also the film titled GDP – the German Democratic Republic. They shot it here and it has already been released. Then there is the film titled Olga of Kiev. The historical buildings and views were shot here, and the filming of this period drama continues.
There are also many war films, including War and Music. Moskino built defensive structures for producing films about the two world wars and the special military operation. Its latest projects included building a guerilla camp and it looks quite natural. In fact, many films dealing with military-related topics were shot here. This is a war-time film in a cityscape, in old Moscow. This is another project underway at Moskino. There is also the Heart’s Calling, a patriotic film.
Yuzovka is an interesting location. This project is devoted the history of Donbass from its origins to the present. The filming is underway. Moskino recreated a railway station and an airport for this project. These pavilions have become a hit among Moskino customers.
There is also an interesting project for Vladivostok, a city in Russia’s Far East. I am talking about filming Arsenyev. The filming is in full swing, and the location they chose for it is quite interesting. There are several other projects too.
(Sergei Sobyanin went on to give the floor to Natalia Sergunina, who oversees the project to create this cinema park. She talked about the project’s progress, followed by Channel One CEO, television and cinema producer Konstantin Ernst, and film director Igor Ugolnikov. Artistic Director of the State Theatre of Nations, theatre and cinema actor Yevgeny Mironov asked the President to declare the Moskino cinema park’s first stage open by saying the words – Camera, Action, which have been commonplace among professional cinematographers.
Vladimir Putin: Camera, action!
Mr Sobyanin has told me a great deal about this project. It goes without saying that this is a landmark project, and a very interesting one too. In addition to this, I have been informed that there are people specialising in making products they concocted here in Russia. They have been very popular and enjoyed a lot of demand across the country.
As far as I know, Russian films have succeeded in increasing their availability in the box office. It goes without saying that we are very happy about it. This is something that matters for this interesting and creative sector, as well as in terms of content. In fact, our filmmakers focus on our history and what brought us here, making us who we are, and how our country became what it is today. After all, we are not dealing with foreign producers here. Of course, there are very talented, interesting and creative people overseas too. However, they can hardly demonstrate the same kind of awareness and insight when it comes to dealing with our history, our spiritual values, while Russian cultural figures are much better at dealing with tasks of this kind.
As far as I understand, Moskino offers Moscow residents and guests to visit this park and discover the filmmaking process. Therefore, there is no doubt that this park will attract a lot of tourists. I am certain about this, since everyone is eager to discover the world of cinema from within in order to understand the filmmaking process. I strongly believe that this will be the case.
Of course, I was impressed by what you and Mr Sobyanin said regarding the development plans. In fact, this site can well become and will probably become one of the most revered, respected and one of the biggest and the most effective film studios in the world. This is the goal the Mayor has set, and the Government supported this vision. This is how we will proceed.
By the way, the Sobornaya Square location does look very natural here. Let me note that whenever you have a film sets in this location, you can reach out to us directly, and we will help you. We can always make some room for you and use less space, if you need it. We can reallocate the funds you spend on recreating buildings that still exist and use this money for renovating the Kremlin.
Of course, you are the ones calling the shots here. You know better how to work on these matters. However, please keep in mind that we are ready to support you not only by investing municipal or federal funds in the projects designed to make these plans a reality, but also by working with you.
Please accept my congratulations and my best wishes.
Sergei Sobyanin: In addition to such complex locations, we have created a special filming platform, where any directors, producers, who want to make a film, can come, and we prepare shooting locations in the city in advance: on streets, squares, in parks, and so on. That is, this segment has not been forgotten either. You are absolutely right, not everything has to be built, not everything has to be filmed using artificial set-ups – there are a huge number of films being shot on the streets of the city. We streamlined this procedure as much as possible, so that it would be, as people say nowadays, customer-orientated. And now dozens of projects are shot on the streets. But since you are inviting filmmakers to the Kremlin, I think that my colleagues will also be happy to do so.
Thank you, friends.
By the way, I must say that the Cinema Park was visited by people from about 50 countries already, four countries entered into agreements to carry out joint undertakings on this platform. I hope that it emerges as a platform for undertaking on only Russian, but also international projects.
Vladimir Putin: It will of course be so; they will use it.
Sergei Sobyanin: Thank you, friends.
Vladimir Putin: I congratulate you.
Sergei Sobyanin: And there is also a traditional issue related to urban construction: development of the transport system, Mr President. You are well aware of all the stages of its development, we have already built 119 metro stations and the Moscow Central Ring, increased the length of the metro 1.8 times, and built the Moscow Central Diameters. Today, the Moscow Central Ring has 156 million trips a year, the Moscow Central Diameter had 513 million trips last year, and the Big Circle Line, which we opened on City Day last year, had 348 million trips a year, which are huge amounts.
But nevertheless, there is a demand for transport infrastructure development, the city is developing, so we continue to implement major projects. One of such projects is the construction of the Troitsk metro line, 43 kilometres, 17 stations, it goes from ZIL, from the middle part of Moscow, the Moscow Central Ring, crosses the Big Circle Line and goes all the way to the science city of Troitsk.
Vladimir Putin: Is the ZIL territory being developed too?
Sergei Sobyanin: Yes, the ZIL territory is also being renovated. You know, there are essentially abandoned workshops there, and we have tried many times to approach and restore them, but nothing has worked. As a result, we had to come up with (I think, maybe it’s for the best) a comprehensive development project. Before the renovation, about a thousand people used to work there, and these people mostly being created on the ZIL territory, on this site, so this project goes far beyond building housing and helps create new jobs.
We have gone to great lengths to develop new Moscow territories. We wanted to strike a balance between housing and jobs, so that instead of simply building residential neighbourhoods, these districts take on an important role in the city’s economy.
Today, we are ready to launch the first section of a new metro line. It includes several stations: Novatorskaya, People’s Friendship University, Generala Tyuleneva, and Tyutchevskaya. About 800,000 people live close to these stations. We intend to complete this line in several stages.
(Mosinzhproyekt CEO, Sergei Zhukov, reported on building the Troitskaya metro line. It is the 16th metro line in Moscow which will be over 43 kilometres long and include 17 stations.)
Vladimir Putin: Friends, first, I would like to congratulate the people of Moscow, including those of them who will use this line. It goes without saying that it will change their lives, and we understand this very well. Moscow has made great strides in expanding its metro network, and the credit for these efforts goes to those who work in this sector. It plays a pivotal role in the municipal economy.
As I congratulate the people of Moscow, I cannot fail to express my gratitude to those who have made all this a reality, primarily metro construction workers and all those working in this sector which has so much importance for Moscow.
I would like to wish you every success in your future undertakings. I do know that this is just the first section of this line, just as Mr Sobyanin has reported, and that there will be more sections down the road. Is that so?
Sergei Sobyanin: Indeed, it will be 43 kilometres long.
Vladimir Putin: A distance of 43 kilometres – this is what people dream about when creating families and settling in these districts. I would like to wish you every success in your future undertakings. Thank you. Happy City Day!
Everything you do has its own meaning and importance, just as we have been saying.
The Bauman University Rector and the Moscow Mayor have mentioned the dormitory. Mr Sobyanin went as far as claim that it was more than just a student dorm, since it is part of a state-of-the-art campus. This is a very important point. As far as I know, and if I am not mistaken – and the rector is here to check me, 60 percent of first-year students come from outside Moscow. Is that so?
Moscow State Technical University Rector Mikhail Gordin: Yes.
Vladimir Putin: It is essential that young people benefit from cutting-edge facilities for a better educational process. This goes far beyond simply offering them accommodation. And all this matters.
All this matters for every citizen of Russia, including for our cultural figures, especially when they can work in a favourable environment for making quality products.
It is instrumental for Moscow and those who come here that we develop the city’s transport infrastructure. It goes without saying that the metro forms its backbone.
Let me offer you my congratulations on City Day and wish you every success. Thank you very much.
Sergei Sobyanin: Mr President, on behalf of Moscow residents and on my personal behalf, I would like to congratulate you on Moscow City Day. Thank you so much for your support.
Vladimir Putin: Thank you for your efforts.
Sergei Sobyanin: Thank you.
Vladimir Putin: Goodbye.