OREANDA-NEWS. December 29, 2014. Vladimir Potanin, the CEO of Norilsk Nickel received the national Patron of the Arts of the Year title, awarded in honor of the Year of Culture in Russia in Moscow.

The award was established by Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and is given for support of projects that significantly benefit arts and culture in Russian regions. The event moves communities to resolve pertinent artistic and cultural problems in Russia, promotes participation in cultural and public life of the country and formation of a positive public perspective on social responsibility of major industries, it incentivizes those who freely contributes to preservation and development of the country's cultural heritage. The award winners, nominated by the Federal Subjects, were picked by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation expert council.

Vladimir Potanin was nominated by the Ministry of Culture of Krasnoyarsky Krai for socially significant work as the CEO of MMC Norilsk Nickel and the founder of the Potanin Foundation and his financial contributions to massive cultural projects. It is Krasnoyarsk Krai that houses a large number of culture projects supported by Potanin. In 2014 Vladimir Potanin successfuly completed relevant projects in Astrakhan, Vladimir, Voronezh, Ivanovo, Novgorod regions etc.

Vladimir Potanin's contributions to prominent projects such as the Russian Geography Society, Boris Eifman Balet Theater, Multimedia Art Museum, Andrei Konchalovsky Foundation, the Nucracker Opera at the New Opera Theater; significant for Russia reсeived particular praise.

The total amount of funds allocated towards cultural projects in 2014 exceeds RUB 170 billion. "The names of Tretyakov, Ryabushinsky, Morozov, Mamontov and Nemirovich-Danchenko are familiar to each Russian citizen, - said Vladislav Medinsky, the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation during the awards ceremony. - Many people know how large their contribution to the Russian culture truly was. But few know what kind of businesses those entrepreneurs had and how many millions in profts they made. They are remembered for the marvelous charitable contribution they've given to our society".

Vladislav Medinsky hopes that the year of culture will become a turning point in arts patronage in Russia. A total of 80 regions took part in the contest. The Federal Law on Arts Patronage should benefit the philanthropist movement according to Medinsky.

Laureates of the Patron of the Arts of the Year award include such Russian entrepreneurs as Viktor Vekselberg (founding the private Faberge Museum), Oleg Deripaska (for revival of the Kuban region cultural heritage), Mikhail Gutseriev (for development in Saratov region) among others.