Britain's Secretary of State for Culture to Visit St. Petersburg

Baroness Tessa Blackstone, Britain's Secretary of State for Culture and Arts since 2001, is coming to St. Petersburg on Thursday, April 3. It will be her first visit to Russia's Northern Capital.

According to a source in the British Consulate General to St. Petersburg, the purpose of the visit is to obtain the fullest information about Russian-British partnership ties in the spheres of culture and art by getting familiarised with a number of projects supported by the British Consulate General and the British Council as part of the British program of celebrating the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg. The projects include an exhibition of works by modern British artists in the Marble Palace of the State Russian Museum.

On Friday, April 4th, Baroness Blackstone will meet the city's Governor Vladimir Yakovlev and visit St. Petersburg State University to make a speech in front of its students and teachers.

The program of the baroness's stay in St. Petersburg also envisages an excursion around the State Hermitage, one of the world's largest historical and cultural museums, and the Pavlovsk State Museum Reserve. The visit ends on April 5th.

According to the British Consulate General, Baroness Blackstone's trip opens a series of top-level visits from Great Britain, all timed to coincide with the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg.