2nd Annual Russian 'Old New Year' Gala Dinner
The Brewery, London, 13 January 2006
The Russian Old New Year Gala Dinner - the effective launch of the Russian Winter Festival - was held on Friday 13 January 2006 at one of London's most individual venues, The Brewery, right in the heart of the City of London.
The Gala Dinner comprised a night of exhilarating live entertainment and fine cuisine, all with a distinctly Russian flavour, something which was apparent to all as, following the first shot of celebratory vodka, the guests were regaled by the 'Russian Sinatra' himself, the renowned Iosif Kobzon. He got the party off to a magnificent start, and even persuaded both Yuri Luzhkov, Mayor of Moscow and Ken Livingstone, Mayor of London, to sing.
The Dinner continued with performances from star acts from the Festival, including the thrilling Chukotkan ensemble 'Ergyron', a children's folk act from Ossetia, 'Malenkiy Jigit', and the breath-taking voices of 'Ivan Kupala'.
In addition to the two Mayors, guests at the Dinner included HRH Prince Michael of Kent; Irina Kudrina, founder of one of the Festival charities, Northern Crown (and wife of the Russian Minister of Finance); Alexander Medvedev, Member of the Board of Gazprom and head of its export arm, Gazpromexport; Len Blavatnik, Chairman, Access Industries; Roger Munnings, Chairman, KPMG CIS; Maxim Shostakovich, son of the much-loved Russian composer; Nicky Gavron, Deputy Mayor of London; Vitaly Vasiliev, CEO, Gazprom Marketing & Trading; Dmitry Kistev, International Export, Baltika; James Bidwell, CEO, VisitLondon; Marina Kagan, Head of Corporate Communications, Wimm-Bill-Dann; Igor Finogenov, Member of the Board, Nomos-Bank; Dmitry Peskov, Deputy Press Secretary of the Russian President; Stephen Webster, Designer; Donatella Flick; Lady Aliai Forte; Dmitry Bertman, Artistic Director, Helikon Opera, Moscow; Sir Andrew Wood, former British Ambassador to Russia; Alina Kabaeva, Russian Olympic gymnastics champion; Andrei Malakhov, prominent Russian talk show host; Andrei Chupin, Chargé d'Affaires, Russian Embassy; Yuri Chliaifchtein, Russian investor; guests from the Federal Agency of Culture and Cinematography of the RF; members of the Russian and British financial communities and leading figures from the Russian Winter Festival sponsors including Baltika, RIA Novosti and Western Union. Senior journalists, commentators and members of the London-based Russian community also joined in the celebrations.
Money will be raised at both the Gala Dinner and the Russian Winter Festival itself in support of Northern Crown - a Russian charity that offers various forms of support to Russian orphans and also in aid of Life Line - a project that finances much needed operations for children in the Russian Federation, run by CAF - Charities Aid Foundation.
