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Russian Court Rules Rostropovich Must Pay Apartment Damage


(RFE/RL) ST. PETERSBURG, 19 January 2006 -- A court in St. Petersburg today ruled Soviet-born cellist Mstislav Rostropovich and his wife, opera singer Galina Vishnevskaya, pay their neighbors 100,000 rubles ($3,500) as compensation for material damage.

A group of St. Petersburg residents had brought a suit against Rostropovich and his spouse for organizing repair works in their apartment that allegedly damaged the flat below.

A lawyer for the plaintiffs said his clients would appeal against today's court ruling because they believe the material compensation is not substantial enough.

The Interfax news agency says the apartment owned by Rostropovich and Vishnevskaya is the one where Soviet-era Russian composer Dmitry Shostakovich lived between 1914 and 1934.

The world-famous musician couple bought the apartment in 2002 with a view to turning it into a museum dedicated to Shostakovich.

(Interfax)

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