Friday, November 11, 2005

Kommersant: President Raises A Glass to Philanthropy

Kommersant: President Raises A Glass to Philanthropy: "President Raises A Glass to Philanthropy
On November 4, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a reception in honor of the new holiday, the Day of National Unity. Kommersant special correspondent Andrey Kolesnikov observed that the Kremlin fete united quite unexpected people.
A lot of effort went into the Kremlin reception. The guests were lovingly handpicked. The administration was represented not by Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, but by three ministers simultaneously: Minister of Health and Social Development Mikhail Zurabov, Minister of Culture Alexander Sokolov and Minister of Education and Science Andrey Fursenko. They were there because it had been decided from the very start that the holiday would be one of peace, friendship and state social policy, and a holiday of the state's unity with the people. There is some likelihood that the people of this country will take that holiday close to heart (like any other day off) and will celebrate it with all their hearts, only to wake up the next day to find out, with some perplexity, that the people and the state are now in unity. The higher purpose of the holiday would thus be realized."

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