Dear Provost,

Dear Ladies and Gentleman,

Dear Friends,

It is a great pleasure to be here tonight with you at The Fair Maid’s House of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society and take part in the opening of the exhibition dedicated to the 25^th anniversary of the twinning between Perth and Pskov.

I was glad to learn that the motto of the Society is «passion for people, places and the planet», which I think you would agree with me, reflects the very sense of our gathering today.

Moreover it fully corresponds with another important moment in the history of the humankind that we celebrate today which I also cannot help but notice – 55th Anniversary of the First Man in Space. It was the first time in history that the Russian spaceship «Vostok» with the man on board roared into orbit. 12 of April 1961 Yuri Gagarin spent 108 minutes in space.

After his flight Yuri visited many countries and gained fame in hearts of people all over the world. A memorial stone commemorating his pioneering space flight was unveiled in Scotland (on the Orkney island) in 2008.

His figure inspires us to cooperate and explore to the benefit of all people despite all the differences and even to create extraordinary art pieces – this year on the ice of the lake Velye (Велье) in Pskov Region appeared a portrait of Yuri Gagarin size of 500 by 500 meters done by two people using both modern navigation systems and shovels.

But let’s not forget about the reason why we are all here today – to pay tribute to the long-standing links of friendship between ancient cities of Pskov and Perth.

Cooperation between our cities is a brilliant example of the truthful twinning. It is as efficient and prolific now as it was during all these years. Moreover we see that year after year joint activities expand, more cultural projects are being implemented, and this exhibition by three talented Russian photographers – Igor Dokuchaev, Igor Soloviev and Stanislav Tikhonov – is a vivid case of this kind.

Indeed 25 years of people-to-people friendly ties is a great achievement. We consider it our priority to support this partnership, and we are grateful to enthusiastic people who help promote links between two ancient and rich cultures, including the Council of Perth and Kinross, Friends of Pskov Association and just all those people involved.

Taking this opportunity I also would like to present a Letter of Recognition signed by Ambassador of Russia in Great Britain Alexander V.Yakovenko to Ms. Meg Luckins and Mr.Sandy Miller for their great contribution to the development of the twinning links between cities.

I thank our kind hosts and wish everyone to spend a wonderful evening.