Vladimir Putin: Esteemed Ladies and Gentlemen,
Respected Colleagues,
So as to save time, a copy of my toast is on the tables. I ask that you please pick it up.
(Laughter, applause)
However, before I begin, I would like to address to you my word of thanks for your coming and would also like to thank your spouses because four us this has been an extraordinary event and it was very nice to see them with you.
St. Petersburg’s anniversary, its tercentennial, is a wonderful reason to meet on the banks of the Neva and on the shores of the Gulf of Finland with our close friends and neighbors.
The heads of states of 45 countries, representatives of international and regional organizations, various cultures and religions have gathered together here. We have wholeheartedly striven so that our joint activities here in St. Petersburg were fruitful and the recreation was enjoyable.
People have always come here to get an education and create freely. They have come to see with their own eyes those places, which are directly connected to Russian history and our great compatriots. To see the places where events have occurred that influenced the fate of the continent.
St. Petersburg has always captured the hearts of people. And this feeling is familiar to everyone who has had the happiness of living here, working, or visiting on business.
I would like you to feel this atmosphere.
But St. Petersburg is not only a beautiful city, it also holds a great status. It’s not only a unique live atmosphere of history. It is people who create, save, and develop a city. It is they we need to consider as the main wealth of St. Petersburg. Over the last three centuries, a special character of the people was formed here. They are open and capable of adapting to changes, free and at the same time able to withstand any hardships.
And today, in celebrating the city’s anniversary, we, first and foremost, are talking about and remembering those, who created and built it. They have created these cultural masterpieces and upheld their spiritual values. We remember those who today honor the high level of these traditions and bravely lay down the road before them.
I thank you once again for putting your affairs aside and coming here to St. Petersburg to share this festival with us.
I propose a toast:
To St. Petersburg and its prosperity and well-being!
To the people of the city!
To our guests!