The Morozov Project, an ambitious plan to provide management education to thousands of Russians, is to open 20 more business training centers in the former Soviet Union in 1994, its project director said Tuesday.


Professor George McGurn, in an interview during the academy's third annual conference, said that in addition to the 12 business training centers already open, another 20 could be operating, "hopefully by the end of the year."


The training centers, a 21 million-ecu ($24 million), 2 1/2-year project, are being set up in conjunction with local authorities to teach Russian managers how to operate within the new market economy.


Topics covered in the training courses include banking and finance, accounting and cost control, marketing, general management, human resources and market economic literacy.


"It's extremely important for Russia," said Philippe Dewilde, head of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development's education and training unit, who said that in order for Russian banks to obtain vital large business loans, "the managers will have to be trained."


The funding is provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, or EBRD, and other international organizations such as the U.S. Agency for International Development, the World Bank, and the International Monetary Fund.


The project is a partnership between the Russian Academy of Management and Market and the EBRD.


The Russian cities selected for the training sites range from Vladivostok to Kaliningrad and include Perm, Voronezh and Novosibirsk. There is also a center in Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, and in the Ukrainian city of Dnepropetrovsk.


McGurn said that when all the centers are complete and staffed, they will be training 2,000 managers annually. The program targets entrepreneurs, business owners and former military personnel.