A class of ethnic Russian pupils of the Lomonosov School of Riga had come to Moscow at Mr Putin’s invitation.
The President had received a letter from 10-year-old Yaroslav Karpelyuk six months before. The boy asked the President to help him to study in Russian. Mr Putin posted him an encyclopaedia and invited him to Moscow.
The children told him about their visit to a Moscow school, where they made the acquaintance of fourth-formers of their own age and saw an amateur performance. Their itinerary also included a tour of the Kremlin and visits to the circus and museums.
They asked the President about his hobbies and workdays. He answered all their questions and said that history was his favourite subject at school.
He said that he loved Latvia and had spent holidays there with his classmates. The President called on ethnic Russian children in Latvia to work for better relations between the two countries. Regrettably, these relations were occasionally encountering problems now, he said.
The President stressed that Russian-language speakers in Latvia must enjoy international and other rights and fight for those rights—but without extremism.
He showed the children his study and the office where he hosted international meetings.