The message reads, in part:
“This truly unique and much needed forum has earned a deserved reputation over these last decades and has become one of the big annual events marking autumn and the new school year and a vivid part of Russia’s public, cultural and spiritual life.
Let me say that the future of books and the publishing sector’s effective development have always been among the top state priorities. After all, although new technology and mass media continue their expansion, books remain a tremendously important source of knowledge, teach us good, cultivate our best qualities and offer us moral guidelines.
I am sure that this book fair will attract the interest of specialists and a large part of the general public. It will help to popularise quality literature of substance and a general culture of reading, especially among young people. Of course it also has a strong focus on building business and professional ties and developing international humanitarian cooperation.”