"Open Russia" to finance "Nord-Ost"

The public organization Otkrytaya Rossia (Open Russia) will finance the tour version of the musical "Nord-Ost" and the troupe's performances in several cities of Russia. According to a source in the organization, that was the agreement reached between the head of the oil company Yukos, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, and the musical's General Producer Georgy Vasilyev.

"'Nord-Ost' is the first musical that is fully Russian," said Khodorkovsky. "The fund Open Russia supports civil and humanitarian initiatives that accompany the rise and democratic development of the country. We think it is our duty to help revive a musical that has become a symbol of civil courage." The October, 23 performance of "Nord-Ost" was interrupted by terrorists, who seized the building of the Theater Center, where the musical had been running every day in the course of 12 months. More than 700 viewers and actors were taken hostages and liberated on October, 26 during a special operation.

The geography of the upcoming tour covers a wide territory, noted the source in Open Russia. The revived "Nord-Ost" will travel to Samara, Belgorod, Nefteyugansk, Tomsk, Krasnoyarsk, Irkutsk and Yakutsk.

Open Russia was set up by bidders from the oil company Yukos and a group of private persons with the purpose of implementing large-scale social projects.