President Vladimir Putin has issued 26 orders to allocate money for various purposes, and the fund has been almost completely exhausted by now. There are only 2,000 out of the 500 million roubles left ($1 equals about 30 roubles), said Mr Danilov-Danilyan.
He emphasised the social orientation of the fund. "It is now out of the question that the funds go to finance [the president's] election campaign," he said.
The Kremlin economic department had planned to earmark a special tranche for the restoration of Russian noblemen's manors in provincial cities, according to the official. "Unfortunately, we failed to do that, but we did allocate money for the restoration of a few manors," he said. Among the restored objects is Lopasnya Zachatyevskaya estate in Chekhov, near Moscow, Astashevo manor in Tomsk, Siberia, and the Governor General's Palace in Tobolsk, Siberia.
