The President will take part in the ceremony inaugurating the central stretch of the Western Rapid Diameter Highway. The project is part of the North-South international transport corridor and consists of a multi-lane intercity express toll road that will make it possible to bypass St Petersburg in less than 20 minutes and ensure transport access for the city’s port.
Mr Putin will also chair a joint meeting of the Presidential Council on Culture and the Arts and the Presidential Council on the Russian Language. On the agenda is greater involvement by public organisations, movements, and volunteer associations in carrying out state culture policy and developing regional theatres and cinema production centres.
The same day, the 5th St Petersburg International Cultural Forum will open on the Mariinsky Theatre’s new stage, where, in the President’s presence, the results of the Year of Russian Cinema will be summed up.
Mr Putin will also meet with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, who will be in Russia on a working visit for talks with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov. Mr Kishida’s visit to Russia will sum up a series of bilateral contacts in political, economic, humanitarian and other areas in 2016, and will mark the final stage in preparations for Mr Putin’s upcoming official visit to Japan.