50th anniversary celebrations at Kristall Production Corporation

Kristall Production Corporation, Russia's leading diamond manufacturer plans to host a by-invitation event in Smolensk on May 2, 4in celebration of completing its 50 years. The participants will include local diamond industry leaders, government representatives and dignitaries, as well as many foreign guests, predominantly representatives from other diamond manufacturing centers.

Among the Russian dignitaries participating will be Vladimir Zhirinovski, leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR), Vice-Chairman of the State Duma and a member of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe; Anton Siluanov, Minister of Finance, the Russian Federation; Sergei Ivanov, Chief of Staff, Presidential Administration of Russia; Yegor Borisov, president of the Sakha Republic; Alexei Ostrovskiy, Governor of Smolensk; Fedor Andreev, President of Alrosa; and Vladimir Rybkin, Head of Gokhran, the State Precious Metals and Gems Repository of the Russian Federation.

The guests will also have the opportunity to tour the company's production facilities, and will be offered a sightseeing tour of Smolensk's historical sites and landmarks.

Kristall Production Corporation was established in 1963 and is the only diamond manufacturer that continued to operate after the fall of the former Soviet Union. Since that time, Kristall has significantly raised its output of polished diamonds. The company has polished 80.5 million diamonds weighing a total of 9.3 million carats, since its inception. The government-owned firm specializes in top-quality cutting and polishing, and markets the Triple X Russian Cut. Kristall employs 2,200 people, and operates sales offices in Antwerp, Dubai, Hong Kong and New York. Kristall is on Russia's official list of strategically important corporations and operates under the direct control of the President of Russia. The company is a sightholder of the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) of the De Beers Group.

Kristall's CEO, Maxim Shkadov, who is also president of the International Diamond Manufacturers Association (IDMA), said: "Kristall Production Corporation is proof that in spite of the enormous changes Russia has gone through during recent decades - politically, economically and geographically - a solid, well established company like Kristall can overcome these difficulties and even thrive. We are very pleased and extremely proud to be celebrating the 50th anniversary of our company, together with our peers and international colleagues."