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Mr Putin said the main task is to draw up a realistic reconstruction plan and keep strictly to the set timetable for work.

The President said that the government would oversee making the Kremlin Palace stage available for the Bolshoi Theatre’s troupe.

Mr Putin also asked the directors of the two theatres not to forget about cooperation with theatres in the CIS countries. The theatres’ directors assured the President that they already have plans to tour the CIS countries.

General Director of the Bolshoi Theatre Anatoly Iksanov said that the theatre’s closure for reconstruction would not affect the artists’ wages.

Artistic Director of the Mariinsky Theatre Valery Gergiev said that his theatre plans to reopen after reconstruction work no later than March 2008. According to the plans, by June 2006, a new concert hall will be built in the Mariinsky Theatre that will be able to rival any of the best halls in the world. The theatre does not intend using budget money to finance the hall’s construction, Mr Gergiev said.

Mikhail Shvydkoi, the head of the Federal Agency for Culture and Film, said the Mariinsky’s reconstruction, including construction of the new stage and concert hall, will require around $400 million.