After unveiling a stele in the Lomonosov Gardens, on the bank of the Severnaya Dvina River, Prime Minister Vladimir Putin addressed the gathering with a speech devoted to the anniversary of Mikhail Lomonosov's 300th birthday.
Transcript:
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Mikhail Lomonosov's birthday anniversary is undoubtedly an event of national significance. A son of Kholmogory peasants, Lomonosov from his early years demonstrated a rare eagerness to learn and achieved outstanding results in an amazingly vast variety of areas of intellectual activity. His endeavours were governed by aspirations to benefit the nation, and in this sense he could serve as a role model to all Russians, especially to younger generations. It is great that right across from the stele there is an educational centre, the Lomonosov House, which has just reopened its doors to the public after lengthy renovations.
We are unveiling this stele in the year that marks the 300th birthday anniversary of Lomonosov, a great son of a great nation. Congratulations to all of you! And thanks a lot!
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After the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Mr Putin chatted with local inhabitants and posed with some of them for a photo. Staffers of the Lomonosov Public Fund then invited him to the Lomonosov House to join them for a cup of tea and cloudberry pies. He gratefully accepted the invitation. During the tea ceremony, he was offered a badge with an effigy of Lomonosov and a carved ivory medallion bearing a portrait of this outstanding Russian scientist and scholar.
