President's wife advocates charity

Ludmila Putina, wife of the Russian president Vladimir Putin, has given away the prize for school reconstruction

Wife of the Russian president Ludmila Putina has visited St. Petersburg's School of Folk Art yesterday. The facility is currently closed for reconstruction.

The School of Folk Art was built in 1912-1915 to teach children traditional Russian craftsmanship. Back in the old days, it used to be attended by a total of 70 young girls from different parts of Russia. There also used to be a church located on the school premises. The church was lavishly decorated with frescoes made by the students.

Nowadays, the building is closed for reconstruction. Ludmila Putina has paid her tribute to the school by transferring the money she received after winning the Jacob Grimm prize in Germany.

Putina has been awarded the prize in 2002 by the German Language Foundation for promoting German language in Russia. The winning prize constituted 35 000 Euro, reports ITAR-TASS.