Konstantin
Petrov, Robert Langlois, Sergey Zverev, Aleksandra Efimova, Peter Oykhman,
Vladimir Platonov, Alexander Etman, Emily Etman, Alexander Krutov, Nikolay
Figurovskiy
Over
130 guests gathered to welcome the delegation of parliamentary and economic
leaders from the Mayor's Office of Moscow.
Distinguished guests included Prince Piotr and Princess Maria Anna Galitzine;
Kohong Jung of the Korean Consulate; Chicago Association of Russian-speaking
Physicians President Lev Elterman, M.D.; City of Chicago representatives;
Foundation sponsors; and many prominent professionals from Chicago's vibrant
Russian-speaking community.
In
the elegant setting of Russian Pointe Dance Boutique, Russian Foundation of
Chicago President Aleksandra Efimova introduced the delegation and sponsors in
a brief speech.
Delegation
leader Vladimir Platonov, Moscow City Duma (Parliament) Chairman, spoke about
collaboration and cooperation between Chicago and Moscow. The two cities are
part of the Sister Cities International program, under the auspices of their
respective mayor's offices. Collaborations are under way or planned in a wide
range of areas, from education and culture to business and commerce.
Mr.
Platonov also praised the efforts of the hosting organizations, for bringing
together Russian-speaking Americans who preserve their heritage and work
together for common goals of value to the entire community.
In
addition to Mr. Platonov, the Moscow delegation included Duma members Alexander
Krutov and Sergey Zverev, Duma Press Secretary Nikolay Figurovskiy, and
Konstantin Petrov of Moscow's Department for External and International Relations.
It
was an unusual opportunity for Russian-speaking community leaders to interact
directly with parliamentary and economic leaders from Moscow. "We met them as
individuals, not just someone you'd read about in the newspaper," Ms. Efimova
explained.
The
reception was attended by its sponsors: TMK IPSCO chairman Prince Piotr
Galitzine, who gave a speech about Russian-American collaboration; Laura
Sekhar, Evan McKay and Kevin Dages of Compass Lexecon; and media sponsor Emily
Etman, CEO of Svet Russian Media Group.
Sponsors
joined the delegation for a private post-reception dinner at Ditka's, along
with Ms. Efimova, Foundation Vice-President Alexander Etman, and Robert
Langlois, chair of the Moscow committee of Chicago Sister Cities. Ditka's was
chosen for its authentic Chicago ambience. Owner Mike "Coach" Ditka was present
for the dinner, and John Vincent performed. "His selections - especially Frank
Sinatra and Louis Armstrong songs - are a good representation of American and
Chicago culture," Ms. Efimova commented.
Publication-ready photos are available upon request.
Top to bottom, left to right:
*Aleksandra Efimova, Vladimir Platonov, Sergey Zverev, Alexander Krutov, Nikolay Figurovskiy, Konstantin Petrov
*Prince Piotr Galitzine, Vladimir Platonov, Sergey Zverev
*Emily Etman,
Prince Piotr and Princess Maria Anna Galitzine, Aleksandra Efimova
*Kohong Jung, Emily Etman, Alexander Dukor
*Alexander Vedenin, Alexander Krutov
*Dr. Lev and Inna Elterman, Dr. Helen Plavnik, Aleksandra Efimova
*Dr. Lev Elterman, Konstantin Petrov, Vladimir Platonov, Leonard Mogul
*Julia Bikbova, Laura Sekhar, Princess Maria Anna Galitzine
Slide show with additional photos
