Celebrations in Washington of the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg

A Gala concert of the US National Symphony Orchestra, conducted by world famous Russian conductor Yury Temirkanov, will open the celebrations in the USA on the occasion of the coming 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg. The concert will take place in the Russian Embassy in Washington under the motto: "Saint Petersburg - 2003: Cultural Revival." It is expected that Russian Ambassador to the USA Yury Ushakov will announce the beginning of the celebrations in the USA which are called upon to draw the attention of the American political, business and cultural quarters to the great cultural heritage of Petersburg and to the need of preserving it for the world community. Taking part in the preparation of this gala concert are the St. Petersburg International Centre for Preserving Cultural Monuments which is a joint project of the Getty Conservation Institute in Los Angeles, the St. Petersburg Mayor's Office and the Russian Academy of Sciences. The Centre has instituted the Peter the First Prize. On Tuesday it will be announced in Washington that former US President George Bush has become the first winner of this prize. It has been awarded to him for "his outstanding leadership" in strengthening Russian-American relations. On behalf of the ex-President the prize will be received by his daughter Dorothy.

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