In the end of June, Kostroma hosted the now traditional 9th Jewelry Festival sloganned “The Golden Ring of Russia.” The main aim of this event was to secure the brand name of “Russia’s Jewelry Capital” for Kostroma. The “Kostroma Roadshow 2008” tourist forum held within the frames of the festival was to facilitate its operational use in the tourist industry. “The Golden Ring of Russia” annual jewelry festival continues to promote the “Kostroma is the Jewelry Capital of Russia” brand name, says the report of the Kostroma Region Administration. According to the data provided by the State Hallmarking Inspectorate, every third gold jewelry piece manufactured in Russia is of the Kostroma origin. For a region having neither gold fields nor gems-bestrewn mines this is a meaningful result and a marker of fast-moving development in the jewelry industry of the Kostroma Region. Not without reason, starting from the past year jewelry shows are being run in Kostroma twice a year – in summer and winter. Kostroma-made jewelry is successfully sold across Russia from Kaliningrad to Magadan.
The main aim of the “Kostroma Roadshow 2008” forum is to present tourist brands, says Maria Shapkina, Director for Foreign Economic and Inter-Regional Relations in the Kostroma Region Administration. “Kostroma is the Jewelry Capital of Russia” is one of the brands to which the Kostroma Region pins its hopes. As its organizers view it, this forum held together with the jewelry festival should vividly show the fairness of this title to guests, who had an opportunity to buy jewelry produced by Kostroma-based companies at factory prices. The Kostroma authorities plan as many as a dozen brands intended to increase the tourist flow to the Kostroma Region. These brands will be advertised and promoted, while tourist operators will be able to use them while planning their tours in the region.
According to Turinfo, a concise colorful booklet has been issued for each brand to stress it visually. In the nearest future a blanketing advertising campaign will be launched to explain why people from other Russian provinces should go to Kostroma. However, neither the advertising templates, nor the budget of this campaign have so far been defined. The local authorities impute the planning vagueness to the inception period in the project saying that exactly the “Kostroma Roadshow,” being the first tourist powwow, was expected to give the floor to tour operators’ opinions and make the plans and intentions more clear-cut. Internal tour operators paid compliments to the overtures of the Kostroma authorities. In their opinion, such a product should be in good request and it is the lack of information to potential buyers which trammels their wantonly growing inflow. “Operators are ready to offer Kostroma, but if the region will invest into advertising this will make things easier for us. We shall announce specific programs on our own, but we need PR coverage of the entire region,” explained the situation Vladimir Shatrov, Vice-President of ATOR.

In his address to open the jewelry festival, Kostroma Governor Igor Slyunyayev noted that currently the main task facing the regional authorities and jewelry community is to live up to the status of “Russia’s Jewelry Capital.” “To do this, we have to replenish our treasury. On repeated occasions I said that jewelers should give an example of being the best taxpayers maintaining good wage levels and fair and transparent business patterns,” Igor Slyunyayev emphasized.
In their turn, the regional authorities also promise to support the jewelry industry. Now the Kostroma Region considers matters related to elaborating and accepting a regional purpose-oriented program to develop the jewelry industry. It will comprise various component parts, including assistance in re-tooling enterprises. Besides, the governor promised his help in finding a solution to jewelry hallmarking matters. “The currently set hallmarking deadlines arouse many complaints from jewelers; among other things, they result in diverted funds from their turnover and operational slowdown. I am going to ask for a possibility to hallmark within three or four days, making other terms an incident,” the region’s head said.
The next jewelry festival, which will be a jubilee event, is to be kicked off in 2009. The Kostroma authorities are intent on turning it into a landmark for the whole jewelry industry of this country. It is decided to hold the 3d Congress of Jewelers within its frames. The regional authorities would like to time this event to coincide with the State Council’s session.
“This will be an attempt to draw the attention of the federal authorities and that of the President of the Russian Federation to the industry, which is of so great significance to us. Indeed, it is time to discuss the problems of the jewelry industry at the State Council level. And we shall ask President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Medvedev about it,” Igor Slyunyayev said.
The first international jewelry art contest “Golden Shallop” was the hit of the 9th International Jewelry Festival “Golden Ring of Russia - 2008,” the Severnaya Pravda writes. The jewelry items were evaluated in two nominations: “High Jewelry Art” and “Golden Series.” Jewelry companies and jewelers from the Kostroma Region, Moscow, Yekaterinburg and Kiev were its prize winners. In autumn, the winners’ jewelry will be displayed at one of the Moscow museums, in December at the State Duma and the next winter in Italy. Later on the winners of the contest will represent Russia at the new international jewelry art contest established by the organizing committee of the Hong Kong International Jewelry Show.

However, there was also a shade of irony in mass media publications about this accomplished event. “For the ninth time Kostroma hosted the all-Russian jewelry festival,” writes the author of an article in the Kostromskiye Vedomosti. “And for the ninth time it escaped the majority of the city’s residents. Even despite the unprecedented taste and magnitude displayed by its organizers. It was for the first time it went under the obtrusive slogan “Kostroma is the Jewelry Capital of Russia.” In his one-and-a-half-minute gala speech the governor used this slogan thrice. The contributing guests expatiated in gratitude (incidentally, quite well-deserved by the organizers), but did not call Kostroma the jewelry capital even once.”
Sure enough, the regularly held Kostoma forums are immensely useful, the Kostromskiye Vedomosti believes. It is here that new ideas are traced and new trends are charted and relationships are sorted out to probe for opportunities of partnership deals and wholesale purchases. However, this usefulness is of a private nature meant for the corporate segment of mid-size jewelry magnates. Let’s be frank, the edition says, real business sharks, whose companies rake billions of dollars, are exotic to Kostroma as before.
“Our main trump card is in the traditions established in Krasnoye-on-Volga more than two hundred years ago, which are non-existent in any jewelry enterprise in Russia… We have to back up these traditions in a modern way… We need a specialized complex with all exclusive bells and whistles, sure-fire security systems, laser beams and other gimmickry. And exhibitions-sales-negotiations should murmur in this palace all the year round. They should change only in themes: gold-diamonds-bla-bla-bla-you-slip-fall-faint-and-wake-up-plastered. Then the shark-like people will start moving closer. Even from the Republic of South Africa. The author’s irony in this case is only a way to beware, avoid a hoodoo and touch wood. In effect, everything looks serious.”
The same problem – absence of permanent residence for jewelry shows – is highlighted by the Sredny Class – Kostroma weekly: “Meanwhile, irrespective of the rebound produced by the jewelry show, the rank-and-file residents of Kostroma did not know where exactly it would be held to the last moment. Two years ago, the Kostroma Region administration was seriously discussing construction of a specialized building for jewelry exhibitions and first of all for the “Golden Ring.” This matter was controlled by Governor Victor Shershunov, who promised that in the course of several years the regional center would have a separate building for jewelers. Today, the plans of building an exhibition complex are not pronounced. And the exhibition itself is moving from one place to another with enviable regularity.”
However, the regional authorities agree the Kostroma Region needs a permanent trade and exhibition jewelry complex. According to the Severnaya Pravda, already now the authorities are intent on looking for an area where to build it and lay all the necessary service lines.