Speaking at an evening reception, the head of state pointed out that the Mariinsky Theatre has absorbed the most outstanding domestic traditions of opera and ballet and become a well-known vocal and choreography school.
Vladimir Putin presented state awards to artists from the theatre. The award recipients include opera soloists Yury Marusin, Larisa Shevchenko and Lyudmila Filatova. The honourary title of People's Artist of Russia was awarded to opera soloists Anna Netrebko, Vladimir Galuzin, and Vasily Gerello, as well as to ballet soloist Yulia Makhalina.
The President expressed his gratitude to all the employees at the Mariinsky and awarded a certificate of merit to the theatre's artistic director Valery Gergiev.
The official date of the founding of the Mariinsky Theatre is considered to be 12 July 1783. It was on this date that Catherine the Great signed a decree on the establishment of troupes to perform operas and ballets in St Petersburg.