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RAPAPORT... Kristall Production Corporation will celebrate its 50th anniversary on May 24, in Smolensk, Russia with an invitation-only event. It is expected that local diamond industry leaders, government representatives and other dignitaries, as well as many foreign guests, predominantly representatives from other diamond manufacturing centers will attend this landmark event. Among the Russian dignitaries participating will be Vladimir Zhirinovski, the 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, Russia's Minister of Finance; Sergei Ivanov, the chief of staff for the presidential administration of Russia; Yegor Borisov, the president of the Sakha Republic; Alexei Ostrovskiy, the governor of Smolensk; Fedor Andreev, the president of ALROSA and Vladimir Rybkin, the head of Gokhran, the State Precious Metals and Gems Repository of the Russian Federation. Kristall is the only diamond manufacturer in the country that continued to operate after the fall of the former Soviet Union. Since that time, Kristall has significantly raised its output of polished diamonds. Since the company's birth in 1963, it has polished 80.5 million diamonds with a total weight of 9.3 million carats. 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, it operates under the direct control of the country's president and it is a De Beers sightholder. Kristall's CEO, Maxim Shkadov, who is also the 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." In addition to the celebrations, the invited guests will have the unique opportunity to tour the company's production facilities and they will be offered a sightseeing tour of Smolensk's historical sites and landmarks.
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