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#11 - JRL 2008-95 - JRL Home
No significant changes on the map in Kremlin with Medvedev's arrival -presidential property manager

MOSCOW. May 13 (Interfax) - No significant changes will be made in the Kremlin after Dmitry Medvedev's election as president, Russian presidential property manager Vladimir Kozhin said.

"President Medvedev has not given any special recommendations regarding his working residence. He will work where Putin did," Kozhin said in an interview to be published in the Wednesday issue of the Argumenty i Fakty weekly.

"We are planning to put building 14, which houses a principal part of the presidential secretariat and the Federal Security Guard Service, into order in the near future," Kozhin said. "The building has never been overhauled. With the Constitutional Court's relocation to St. Petersburg, the complex of buildings on Ilyinka Street has been vacated. A larger part of the Federal Security Guard Service will move there," Kozhin said.

The House of Government is also under reconstruction now, Kozhin said. "I know that there have been a lot of speculations alleging that a swimming pool and a giant gym would be built in the premier's area. This is untrue. There will be no new installations or redevelopment in the House of Government. A quality refurbishment is under way in the premier's part of the building, in the government's session hall, and in the offices of the deputy prime ministers. Following the sad events of October 1993, the White House [the House of Government] was renovated in a hasty manner," he said.

Kozhin also denied rumors on plans to relocate the graves near the Kremlin Wall. "This is probably just another tale. The problem of the burial of statesmen does exist. A design of a special cemetery is being developed, and we will probably announce soon where it will be built. But nobody will touch the graves near the Kremlin Wall," Kozhin said.

The image of Red Square will remain unchanged, Kozhin said. "We held a military parade this year for the first time over the past years. The country should see what the huge money allotted for defense are spent on. And those who seek to speak with Russia from the position of strength should know as well that the Russian state is strong not only in words," he said.