The message reads, in part:
“Holding your forum at the St Petersburg Humanitarian University of Trade Unions has become a good tradition. I would like to note the Likhachev Readings’ substantial agenda and the committed participation of prominent academics and politicians, public figures and workers of culture and the arts. It is the foundation for a fruitful dialogue on vital current issues and for constructive discussions on solutions to them based on respect for all views. This is why the Likhachev Readings invariably attract the attention of experts and the general public.
I hope that this year’s forum on international issues will help strengthen productive humanitarian ties and mutual understanding among nations and will also make a fresh contribution to the preservation and study of the rich creative and spiritual legacy of Dmitry Likhachev, whose humanistic ideas are especially important and needed today.”