08 March 2004 12:41
Putin celebrates the women of Russia on international women`s day
[Presenter] Today, 8 March, was originally an international day of female solidarity and is now a vibrant spring
holiday in Russia. Today Vladimir Putin presented top awards to 16 Russian women, representing a wide range of
professions. At the start of the meeting, the president congratulated all women on the holiday.
[Putin] Certainly, 8 March is a day of celebration of women, a celebration of kindness, wisdom, beauty and spiritual
strength. The women of our country are not inferior to men in anything, not in education, not in their active position
in society. For example, women are ahead of men in middle management. That is, where they need to work. It is generally
accepted that they are also highly successful in business. This is based not only on their professionalism, but their
unique intuition, natural precision and their ability to avoid extremes, their tendency towards consensus and to fair
compromise.
There are many clever, professional and strong women in this country. Women capable of thinking strategically and
defending people's core interests. Dear friends, it is of course the main privilege of women, one of the main
privileges for women, to keep the home fires burning, bring up the children and suffuse the home with warmth and
comfort. However, all of you are able to combine these qualities with successful employment and active public works. And
the other half of humankind, the men, are well aware of this and appreciate this. I congratulate you and all the women
of Russia on the holiday. I wish you happiness, love and well-being.
[Presenter] An order of merit was presented to Valentina Zaykina, mother of a large family and nursery worker in the
Komi Republic; an order for service to the fatherland, second class, was received by a member of staff at the Severstal
company, Galina Bylova. The president presented a medal for excellence in protecting public order to St Petersburg
police captain Yelena Nikitina. Those receiving awards included the daughter of the first Soviet cosmonaut, Yelena
Gagarina, who is now in charge of the Moscow Kremlin museum. She was given the title of cultural worker of merit.
After the awards ceremony, the president invited his guests for tea and biscuits. At the table, Vladimir Putin spoke
about a wide range of subjects with the women, about the weather, their families and, of course, their work. Yelena
Gagarina said a Faberge exhibition opens in the Kremlin in May and invited everyone present. Observatory director Polina
Zakharova responded to a question from the president about student interest in astronomy by saying her observatory did
not have enough places to accept everyone who would like to take one up.
At the tea party, the head of state did not miss out a single one of the women, talking to each of them.
[RTR Russia TV] |
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