Year of Russian Culture in Germany Opens in Berlin

The opening ceremony of the Year of Russian Culture in Germany took place yesterday in the concert hall of the Deutsches Konzerthaus am Gendarmenmarkt Berlin - one of Berlin's leading concert halls. The event featured Russian and German Presidents Vladimir Putin and Johannes Rau, as well as Gazprom chairman Alexei Miller and Dr. Burckhard Bergmann, the chairman of the board of Ruhrgas. The event was sponsored by Gazprom and Ruhrgas.

Over 370 events will take place in Russia and Germany during 2003 and 2004 to mark the Year of Russian-German Culture. These will include the biggest multi-sectoral exhibition of the last 20 years: '300 Years of St. Petersburg: Russia, Open to the World'. The exhibition will not just tell the city's history, but will also cover trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Germany. In addition, the Amber Room in the Catherine Palace in Pushkin and the Moscow-Berlin art exhibition are planned to be opened.