The message said, in part:
“This is the first time that Russia has carried out such volume of work on so tight a schedule. Not only have you restored a cultural monument with such care, but you have also replicated an engineering artifact. The Constantine Palace has by rights become a landmark to grace the St Petersburg anniversary.”
The message was read out by Valentina Matviyenko, the presidential envoy to the North-Western Federal District, at a gala function dedicated to feting the builders and restorers of the Constantine Palace.
About 6,000 people took part in rebuilding the Constantine Palace – a state-run Palace of Congresses, which will carry the main “burden” of the international top-level meetings on May 30–31.