The message reads in part:
“Student sports have a rich history and wonderful traditions in Russia. We are rightfully proud of our young athletes’ successes and achievements, of the significant role of student sports clubs and other associations in promoting the values of physical fitness and a healthy lifestyle in society, especially among young people.
I am confident that the current ASSK.Fest festival that brings together in hospitable Kazan a large and close-knit team of talented and determined young men and women from many Russian regions will be highly creative and competitive, that the participants will remember its packed and diverse programme and the atmosphere of an honest competitive struggle, and that it will facilitate the development of mass student sports.”