Overview

• President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on October 7 establishing the Council and publishing its membership on the official legal acts portal.
• Putin chairs the new body, with presidential aide Vladimir Medinsky named secretary and filmmaker Karen Shakhnaazarov appointed deputy chair.
• The membership brings together leading figures from the arts, media and the Russian Orthodox Church, including Valery Gergiev, Yuri Bashmet, Polina Gagarina, Oleg Dobrodeev and Konstantin Ernst.
• The decree creates three annual presidential prizes for works and projects for children and youth, each worth 5 million rubles.
• The stated aim is to improve and ensure effective implementation of state cultural policy, and no schedule or procedural details were announced.