In a huge undertaking, a top animation studio is adapting the folk tales of Russia`s numerous ethnic groups. Russia`s largest-ever animation project, "Mountain of Gems" (Gora Samotsvetov), debuts on Channel One over the upcoming holiday weekend -- and it looks set to stay there for quite some time. The project`s scale, running to more than 11 hours, is certainly considerable. "Mountain of Gems" is due to comprise 52 13-minute films, each adapting a fairy tale, or skazka, from one of the nationalities of the Russian Federation. Its emphasis on national heritage clearly hit a national chord at the project`s first public presentation last week, which was hosted at the Federation Council, the upper house of parliament. Standing behind the project is Alexander Tatarsky`s Pilot Studio. Set up 17 years ago as the country`s first private film studio, Pilot has long been acclaimed, both at home and abroad, as one of Russia`s top animation facilities. Tatarsky, who also happens to be one of the most colorful figures in the Russian film world, said earlier this week that two years of work had gone into "Mountain of Gems" so far. In the interview, he recalled that the inspiration for the project had been both personal and political. "The first book I remember, a collection of fairy tales of the nationalities of the Soviet Union, had that title," he said. "My mother would read it to me before I could read myself. Though the project as we made it is certainly a work of art, it also has a clear political standpoint. ... What is happening in Russia is coming close to a state of ethnic war -- and I don`t want to live in such a country. The idea was to show that one nationality shouldn`t think of itself as better than another. I want to live in a country where tolerance reigns. Otherwise, there`s every risk that we will move toward fascism." MoscowTimes