The Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Northwestern Federal District Inspects the Cultural and Educational Complex in Kaliningrad

On 25 March, the construction site of the cultural and educational complex in Kaliningrad was visited by Alexander Gutsan, Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Northwestern Federal District. He was accompanied by Anton Alikhanov, Governor of the Region, and Natalia Volynskaya, President of the Project Owner – the National Cultural Heritage Foundation, during the site visit.

“No doubt, the Baltic branch of the Tchaikovsky Central Music School and the branch of the Moscow State Academy of Choreography will open their doors on 1 September. Furthermore, the youth department of the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts will be open for all schoolchildren wishing to develop their art talents,” said Alexander Gutsan, Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation in the Northwestern Federal District.

Despite the COVID restrictions, the construction was carried out without interruptions last year. By now, a comprehensive school with a swimming pool for 550 students has been built at the Eastern Site. It has ample opportunities for additional education service rendering. The interior decoration of all buildings of the educational complex, installation of equipment, and furnishing are actively underway. In general, the educational infrastructure is 86% complete.

The finishing of the buildings contains solutions that will make the educational complex space as functional as possible, for example, external enclosing structures will provide for proper sound insulation. Sound-absorbing facings will also be used, noise dampers will be installed in forced ventilation and air conditioning systems, and measures are additionally taken for vibration isolation of the building utility equipment.

Since February 2021, cable lines have been installed in concert halls for sound and light equipment. Today, workers have already begun assembling a sophisticated stage mechanism in the music school and choreographic academy.

Active construction of five multi-apartment residential buildings for employees of the cultural and educational complex is underway at the Eastern Site. The buildings are 28% to 85% complete.

Construction of a sewage pumping station, landscaping, in particular, a foundation has been prepared for the construction of sports grounds, laying of paving stones are in progress on the territory of the educational complex.

The Western Site will accommodate the Opera and Ballet Theatre for 950 seats (branch of the Bolshoi Theatre), the Higher School of Musical and Theatrical Arts (branch of the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts), and a museum complex (branch of the State Tretyakov Gallery). As for the latter, reinforced concrete structures are already 61% complete.

In total, over one and a half thousand people are engaged at the facility.

Project information:

The task to create a new cultural centre was set by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2018 State of the Nation speech and spelled out in detail in the Decree “On National Goals and Strategic Objectives of the Russian Federation for the Period until 2024.” The Project Owner is National Cultural Heritage Fund handling social and cultural projects.

The project will allow the Region to reveal its cultural and educational potential, arrange modern cultural space, change the residents’ life quality through introduction to art and, at the same time, make the city particularly attractive for visitors and tourists. The facilities construction is one of the largest cultural projects of the recent years.

The Western Site will accommodate the Opera and Ballet Theatre for 950 seats (branch of the Bolshoi Theatre), the Higher School of Musical and Theatrical Arts (branch of the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts), and a museum complex (branch of the State Tretyakov Gallery).

A comprehensive school for 550 schoolchildren with a swimming pool, academic buildings of a music school and an academy of choreography with student boarding schools, a dormitory for the students of the higher school of music and theatrical arts, and residential buildings for employees of the cultural and educational complex will be located on the Eastern Site.