The Federation Council proposed to give cinemas a deferment from paying rent

The profile committee of the Federation Council on economic policy proposed to give Russian cinemas the opportunity to defer the payment of loans, rent and utility bills until the Ministry of Culture sends a signal to coordinate the mechanisms of the industry with all market participants. About it informed TASS with reference to a copy of the letter that will be sent today to Russian presidential aide Maxim Oreshkin.

“Since parallel imports in relation to films are not possible, we propose to provide support measures to cinemas in the form of subsidies, deferrals on loans, rent, utility bills until the moment when the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation agrees on the mechanisms that ensure the normal functioning of the industry with all its participants unanimously”, — stated in the text of the document.

In March, after the start of a special operation in Ukraine, Hollywood studios (Universal, Sony, Disney, Warner Bros. and Paramount) suspended the distribution of their films in Russia. In response, the Ministry of Culture announced that instead of the canceled Western premieres, Russian cinemas would show domestic films. Ministry of Culture reacted to the cancellation of premieres by foreign companies by the resumption of support for the distribution of national films.

Due to the termination of the distribution of Hollywood films in Russia, cinemas faced serious problems. October 17 at the Ministry of Culture reportedthat the number of cinemas in Russia has decreased by 11.5% since the beginning of 2022. It was noted that about 2,100 cinemas in the country are currently holding regular film screenings.

At the same time, films of foreign production cannot fall under the scope of parallel import, since according to the Commodity Nomenclature for Foreign Economic Activity (TN VED) of the EAEU, they are not goods, reported at the Ministry of Industry and Trade in early November.