Penza, 27 December 2015. PenzaNews. A TV spot nearly 7 minutes long about the Penza region and its experience in import replacement was featured in the final 2015 run of “Vesti Nedeli” weekly TV show with Dmitry Kiselev broadcast in the evening of Sunday, December 27, by Russia-1 channel.

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The Penza region is one of the parts of Russia “that emerged and grew thanks to import replacement,” and the good results were achieved in a large part thanks to “nothing short of a concoction of Russian cultural traditions,” the show host suggested.

In confirmation of these words, Oleg Yagov, Doctor of Historical Sciences, dean of the History and Philology faculty at the Penza State University, pointed out that Penza is a comparatively modern city.

“That is, it was built just over 350 years ago. The city’s history is rather short; however, this land gave birth to so many prominent personalities of science, of culture – take Klyuchevsky for example. So this is a wonderful phenomenon,” he said.

In particular, the TV feature mentions the Penza region as the place of birth of the surgeon Nikolai Burdenko, the historian Vasily Klyuchevsky, the theater director and producer Vsevolod Meyerhold; the place of residence for the major statesman of Imperial Russia Pyotr Stolypin, and the region where Alexander Kuprin and Mikhail Lermontov created some of their works.

One of the spots in the clip is dedicated to the Tarkhany estate that is visited by 250,000 people annually.

The main objective of the cultural complex is to show the people “the roots of Lermontov, where does he come from, how this young man who died when he was 26 became a genius,” explained Tamara Melnikova, director of “Tarkhany” State Museum-Reserve.

“And so I wanted the people to realize what’s necessary for that, the nature, the land, and this sky. Just look how big is the sky here,” she pointed out.

Another point of praise for the Penza region in the clip, according to the TV feature, is the pharmaceutical enterprise “Biomed” that produces affordable equivalents of medicines for people with heart ailments and diabetes.

“We are studying the people’s demand for various medicines, evaluate the choices for patent clearance, and if all is good, we take them up for development,” explained Larisa Rassadina, assistant general director for prospective development at “Biosintez.”

Currently, the company is in the process of developing 40 alternatives to imported medicines, she added.

The clip also mentions the enterprises located in Zarechny closed administrative-territorial unit that produce elements for “Igla,” “Iskander,” “Topol” and “Armata” weapon systems.

The military-industrial complex enterprises are showing success, said the Penza region governor Ivan Belozertsev.

They are supplied with state procurement contracts and successfully complete their objectives, including in import replacement, he elaborated.

“And certain backbone enterprises of the Penza region even surpass their prospects by the end of the year – 105%,” the head of the region pointed out.

According to the TV spot, the Penza region is able to feed itself: the shelves of some local shops are 85% stocked using the goods produced in the region, said the reporter Denis Davydov.

The reel also highlighted the tourism attractiveness of the region and certain landmarks, such as the unique production facility for “Kuvaka” mineral water, the Narovchat cave monastery, and “Dom Meyerkholda” theatrical art center, a small scene that is nevertheless characterized by its luxurious attention to details, with tickets to many performances getting sold out months ahead.

The TV feature ends with a clip about one of the developing residential areas of Penza, where newlyweds are able to buy housing on reduced-interest mortgages.

“For as long as three centuries so far, this place continues to give birth to bright people. And the words of Evgeny Yevtushenko who said ‘Penza has all history of Russia’ will likely remain true for a long time,” Denis Davydov concluded the report.