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State visit of Queen Elizabeth II to Russia, October 19, 1994
The arrival of Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain is certainly an extremely important event. According to the protocol, Her Majesty can make an official visit to another state only once, all subsequent trips are considered ordinary trips.
Since her coronation in 1952, Elizabeth II has visited several dozen countries, but she was in no hurry to come to Russia for a long time. There were several reasons for this. Firstly, the relations of the British royal family with our country noticeably cooled after the revolution of 1918. The Windsors flatly refused to meet with the "murderers" of Nicholas II— the last Russian emperor, with whom they had a long-standing relationship (see also: "Save the royal family: why did George V refuse to help his cousin Nicholas II?"). At least, the formal reason for their refusals to the invitations of the USSR sounded exactly like this. Secondly, Downing Street has repeatedly reminded the British monarchs that all Communists are a threat. In the second half of the 20th century, thanks to the efforts of politicians and the mass media, the prospect of a nuclear war with the Soviet Union hung like a threatening cloud over the heads of prim Britons. Most of them had no idea what to expect from these "scary Russians", flashing menacing glances from under fur hats. But we were preparing for the worst.
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The Queen looks at the troops upon arrival in Moscow, 1994
And yet, as you know, the forbidden fruit is sweet. At the height of the Cold War, the interest of Soviet citizens in the inhabitants of Foggy Albion only grew. And it was mutual. In the USSR, they read Agatha Christie's detectives, put children under stories about Winnie the Pooh. In the UK, they watched Soviet films about Sherlock Holmes with Vasily Livanov in the title role with curiosity and wondered how "these Russians" managed to accurately convey the images of British strangers to them. And when Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin arrived in the United Kingdom in 1961, English girls fell in love with this modest Russian hero with a charming smile. Suddenly it turned out that not all communists are so terrible (read also: "Yuri Gagarin in the UK: how the Soviet cosmonaut conquered the Queen and all her subjects").
However, there were not such sentimental people in the governments of both countries. They understood perfectly well that it was not about English detectives or Russian cosmonauts, but about games on the world political arena. No one wanted to lose their positions and allies, so they did not risk direct contact with the "enemies". But then 1991 came, the Soviet Union collapsed, the government changed — and changes in relations between Great Britain and (now) Russia.
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The Queen and President Boris Yeltsin raise glasses of champagne at a State reception in the Kremlin, Moscow October 18, 1994
In 1994, Queen Elizabeth II agreed to the invitation of President Boris Yeltsin — and this sensational news was immediately picked up by the British and Russian media. The Washington Post said that this historic visit "will put a symbolic end to the almost 70-year cold spell in relations with Russia." A few days before the trip, the husband of the current queen, Prince Philip, gave an interview to the Daily Telegraph, in which he mentioned that the tragedy of the Romanovs is part of his own family history, but now it's time to learn from it - together with Russia. "We have gone through the whole drama of the collapse of the Marxist state, and now we see the gradual reunification of the countries," he added. "There is a huge potential." President Yeltsin also made no secret of his enthusiasm for the historic event and told reporters: "For Russia, this visit is the highest recognition that our country is on the path to democracy."
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Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip upon arrival in Moscow, October 18, 1994
The head of the Kremlin protocol service, Vladimir Shevchenko, said that in Russia all services were literally "put on their ears" to ensure security and compliance with the protocol during such a responsible event. I had to adapt to all the traditions of the English court — including the most inconvenient for the host party. For example, according to the protocol, if the queen is going to visit a country with a maritime border, then she - a representative of the largest maritime power - must arrive in the country or leave it by sea. Since the main part of the planned program during the trip took place in Moscow, it would be illogical to meet Elizabeth II in the port of St. Petersburg. Therefore, it was decided that she would arrive in the capital by plane, and sail out of the country by ship.
On October 17, Elizabeth II and her husband descended the ramp of an airliner at the Moscow airport, from where she was taken on a royal Rolls Royce directly to the Kremlin. In the heart of the capital, she was greeted by President Boris Yeltsin and his wife Naina. The solemn meeting was held in St. George's Hall— the largest and most luxurious space of the Grand Kremlin Palace. The queen appeared at the event in a yellow suit, while officials with their wives - obviously warned in advance about the intricacies of the royal dress code - preferred dark shades of clothing. On that day, Boris Yeltsin presented Her Majesty with a bouquet of yellow flowers, which, as if by chance, perfectly matched the color scheme with the outfit of Elizabeth II.
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Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh with Russian President Boris Yeltsin and his wife Naina Yeltsina, Moscow, 1994
A little embarrassment occurred when the president decided to act like a gentleman and reached out to the queen to help her take off her coat. As you know, the royal protocol prohibits touching the monarch, but for some reason Boris Yeltsin forgot about it. Elizabeth II did not lose her head and showed wonders of dexterity, elegantly dodging the president's hand.
Her Majesty was in the capital for two days, and all this time her program was extremely busy. A tour of the cathedrals of the Moscow Kremlin was organized especially for Elizabeth II, during which she was accompanied by top officials of the state. Boris Yeltsin proudly showed the honored guest the household items of the Russian emperors preserved in state museums. Patriarch Alexy II himself joined the delegation at the Assumption Cathedral. He talked with the British Queen and presented her with an Orthodox icon as a gift.
In honor of Her Majesty, an evening banquet was also organized in Moscow, before which Elizabeth II and his wife were entertained with ballet numbers by leading ballerinas and dancers of Russia. During the dinner, the Queen made a solemn speech.
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The Queen on Red Square, Moscow, 1994
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The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh with Boris Yeltsin and his wife Naina Yeltsina in the Vladimir Hall of the Kremlin Palace at the State Banquet in honor of the Queen, October 18, 1994
And, of course, the program of events of that visit included a visit to the Bolshoi Theater. Elizabeth II went to the performance in the company of her husband, Prince Philip, as well as President Boris Yeltsin and his wife Naina.
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Elizabeth II and Prince Philip together with Boris Yeltsin and Naina Yeltsina at the Bolshoi Theater, Moscow, 1994
The next day, Elizabeth II and her husband took part in the grand opening of the museum "Old English Yard" on Varvarka, which became a branch of the Museum of the History of Moscow. And in the evening, at a dinner at the British embassy, a curious incident occurred, subsequently described by the royal biographer Robert Hardman in the book "Queen of the World" (Queen of the World). The wife of the Russian ambassador, Delmara Fall, was responsible for the seating of the guests, and she made an unusual decision, deciding to postpone the protocol and not seat everyone according to the rank of the embassy. "She planted the Queen with Dr. Hugh Carpenter, a well—known personality in the Moscow community of Britons," Hardman wrote. He was not one of those who could be confused by the status of the person sitting next to him. Therefore, Dr. Carpenter constantly tried to strike up a conversation with Elizabeth II, telling her all sorts of stories from his own life. "I remember his wife, sitting across from him, constantly making hand gestures, meaning, 'Stop talking so much,'" Delmara Fall recalled— "The Queen was very surprised at first, and then said: "I have to try it on Philippe one day."" Her Majesty's witty comment pleased everyone present and perfectly defused the situation.
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Queen Elizabeth II and Boris Yeltsin at the state banquet, Moscow, 1994
The last two days of the visit, the Queen and her husband spent in St. Petersburg, where an excursion to the Peter and Paul Fortress, the Hermitage and the Mariinsky Theater was organized for them. And on October 20, Elizabeth II held a farewell banquet on board the yacht Britannia, which had been moored in the port of the Northern capital for several days. As the diplomat Anatoly Adamishin told in the book "English Divertissement", the last evening was also not without embarrassment. Before Boris Yeltsin made a toast, "he suddenly started banging his fist loudly on the table in pandan to the queen, who knocked with a wooden hammer before the start of his speech." Elizabeth II did not become indignant and reacted in a purely English aristocratic manner: half-jokingly, half-seriously threw up her hands and gasped.
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Prince Philip, Naina Yeltsina, Queen Elizabeth and Boris Yeltsin on board the Royal yacht Britannia, October 20, 1994
The gift presented to the president by Elizabeth II, which was a casket made of polished wood, especially strongly sunk into the soul of the president. "I opened it, and it smelled like some kind of children's fairy tale," Yeltsin said. — There were a lot of drawers in the box. There are bags of seeds in the boxes. A whole collection of seeds from the royal garden."
Anyway, the British Queen's only visit to Russia went well, leaving only pleasant impressions for both sides and giving hope for further cooperation between the countries. Of course, since 1994 there have been many events that have shaken relations between Russia and the UK, but many still warmly recall the four days that Elizabeth II spent visiting us.
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Queen Elizabeth II during a visit to St. Petersburg, 1994
Photo: Getty Images
source https://www.marieclaire.ru/stil-zjizny/kak-proshel-edinstvennyiy-vizit-elizavetyi-ii-v-rossiyu/
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