The Lomonosov Imperial manufacture of porcelains will remain Russian, a Saint Petersburg court decided on October 8th, 1999.
Some American investors had bought shares of the manufacturer but Russian authorities did not want to see such cultural institution fall into foreign hands.
Russian officials said that employees of the manufacturer feared for their future if it was privatized. Bloomberg, the American-Russian Investment fund set up in 1995 had become a partner of the manufacturer after acquiring almost 50% of its shares in September 1998 but a few months later the Russian ministry in charge of State properties had asked for a cancellation of such participation.
Some 1 800 people work for the manufacturer set up in 1744. It has recorded a US $ 4 million turnovers during the first six months of 1999. The manufacture houses a museum with a collection of some 25,000 pieces, including many drawings produced by avant-garde artists such as Malevich or Kandinsky who worked for the manufacturer at one time. These drawings alone could be worth several millions of dollars, one of its officials said.
About: Lomonosov Porcelain Factory was founded in 1744 in Saint Petersburg under the will of Elizabeth Petrovna, daughter of Peter the Great. It became thus the first porcelain manufactory in Russia and the third in Europe.
Contact: “Imperial Porcelain Manufactory,” 151 Prospekt Obukhovskoy Oborony, Saint Petersburg, Russia, 192171, Tel.:+7 (812) 326-17-44, Fax: +7 (812) 326-17-40.
More on history of Lomonosov Porcelain Factory in Saint Ptersburg.
