Vladimir Putin gave the heads of the CIS countries a tour near St. Petersburg

On December 26, Russian President Vladimir Putin gave the heads of the CIS states a one-day tour of the suburbs of St. Petersburg. Kommersant special correspondent Andrey Kolesnikov believes that it is still impossible to even predict how this might end.

If you were approaching the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoye Selo from Triangular Square, you would be surprised by many things on the morning of December 26th.

A large number of people gathered in the square, dressed in the fashion of past years, or rather centuries. Some boyars, Bavarian hunters, Frenchmen in cocked hats, gypsies, and natural, dark-haired ones, and not the usual info-gypsies.

— I didn’t get any hairpins… Not a single one! – some yard girl complained.

A lady with curls that could barely stay on her head shared with her.

A carriage, riders on horses… In front of the Catherine Palace, literally overnight, either a mountain or a palace was erected, which was apparently proposed to be considered an ice palace…

Naturally, the spectacle was intended for the CIS leaders who had gathered in St. Petersburg for the annual informal summit. It is known that Mr. Putin always prepares some kind of surprise for them… Once they were given an immense historical lecture… Today everything promised to be more fun. There were rumors that ditties were waiting for them in Pavlovsk… Something was prepared in Peterhof as well.

Passing through metal detectors, hunters and guardsmen presented guns and knives. And it was only funny in appearance.

Meanwhile, it started from Pavlovsk. There, to the singing of a polyphonic choir, the leaders of Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan entered the palace. Moreover, Mr. Lukashenko was not among them. Even the day before, he attracted attention by the fact that he moved somehow strangely. Let’s just say it’s hard. But he definitely didn’t want to admit it. That is, his press service reported, for example, that he was holding negotiations with the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev.

Well, this is where their desires – not to rush to meet with other CIS colleagues – apparently coincided.

But even after the negotiations, when Ilham Aliyev nevertheless joined the others and behind the back of Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, even on his own initiative (that is, generously.— A.K.) shook hands with Nikol Pashinyan, did not come to see the sights of the Catherine Palace in Tsarskoe Selo. Now his Telegram channel reported that the President of Belarus had already seen all this (no, not there, in this terrible place, but simply saw it.— A.K.) and that is going to see again soon. Apparently, Alexander Lukashenko wanted no one to disturb him, or at least not to distract him with conversations while visiting the same sights. Moreover, if no one distracted him, he would definitely be distracted himself: that’s the kind of person he is.

In fact, it seemed that a very compelling reason was needed not to show up even to the third point, Peterhof. And he didn’t show up. But there was a feeling of concern for him.

And in the Pavlovsk Palace, the excursion was supervised by the special representative of the President of Russia Mikhail Shvydkoy, and the director of the museum-reserve Vera Dementyeva narrated.

She said that for them, the employees, the arrival of so many presidents and prime ministers is “a miracle of miracles,” and described to her colleagues the life of emperors that was so familiar, almost familiar to them:

– Catherine gave these lands to Pavel, her son, and from this the history of Pavlovsk began. “No one sets a goal here,” she drew special attention to those present, “to kill with an abundance of gilding, precious stones… Here, first of all, the highest artistic level!..

“Now we will show you,” continued Mikhail Shvydkoy, “the model of the station in Pavlovsk. You see, the train went by rail!

The leaders of the CIS watched in fascination as the train, the dream of every child, moved in a circle, clanging carriages. Judging by how enthusiastically they looked at this model, they themselves seemed to have been deprived of such a train in childhood. Well, you won’t envy people.

The director of the museum showed them an eye rinse – and it seemed to me that I could see their own eyes flashing: yes, they don’t have that either, but this can still be fixed…

The theme of the station did not leave Mr. Putin indifferent either.

“There was no special design,” he interrupted the other guides. “But it was more beautiful and better!”

Yes, he seemed to like the past more than the present.

Then they were told about the composer Strauss, and the chamber orchestra even performed his music right there. At the same time, the Russian President admitted that the Austrian Johann Strauss seemed to be a stranger (more precisely, unfriendly), but in reality what kind of stranger was he? It’s Strauss!

Moreover, the director of the museum reported that “the vase was returned to us with the help of the Austrians and Sberbank, but it was taken away, please note, by the Nazis during the Second World War.” Yes, there was a lot to love about the Austrians, why not. The excursion was detailed and lengthy, but no one was in a hurry.

In the Catherine Palace of Tsarskoye Selo, everyone I have already mentioned, that is, the boyars, hunters, gypsies, guards, horses (especially horses), appeared to the presidents. Vladimir Putin really wanted it to not seem too bad to anyone.

In addition, a concert took place in Pavlovsk, the orchestra was conducted by the Italian Fabio Mastrangelo, who 20 years ago accepted not only Orthodoxy, but also Russian citizenship.

In addition, Sergei Roldugin performed Young Strauss’s Romance No. 2 for cello and orchestra in front of the audience. The President of Uzbekistan, according to Kommersant’s information, liked it so much that he very much asked Mr. Roldugin to give a tour of Uzbekistan.

The guide said that Johann Strauss had 13 children – six from his legal wife and seven from his mistress, who, however, later also became his wife. Fabio Mastrangelo, who has six children, and Emomali Rahmon, who has nine, listened to this information with great attention.

Then a dinner took place in Tsarskoe Selo, which was remembered by those gathered for the fact that Nikol Pashinyan and Ilham Aliyev talked to each other without stopping at all, just like relatives. Emomali Rakhmon and Sadyr Japarov sat nearby and also couldn’t talk enough (as you know, they also have something to talk about).

We also didn’t stay in Peterhof for five minutes. We spent a lot of time in the room with mirrors, which, as everyone knows, was designed by Bartolomeo Rastrelli. The heads of state liked that the system of mirrors was designed in such a way that people in them seemed to go into infinity. Yes, the leaders of the CIS liked the fact that they were going into infinity.

Another room featured works by artist Philipp Hackert. He is known for the fact that Empress Catherine II once ordered him to paint pictures with views of the Battle of Chesma, and he then said that he could, of course, paint everything, but not this, because he had never seen ships burn and explode. And then Catherine asked Chief General Alexei Orlov to blow up a 60-gun frigate so that the artist could see it, and Goethe later wrote: “What kind of a beautiful country is this in which a 60-gun frigate is blown up so that the artist can just look at it?” .

However, the CIS leaders became quiet on the story about the blown up frigate.

And, finally, the “door to Europe” made an impression – a real door invented by Peter directly into the canal, from which the ambassadors of European countries ascended on small ships, transferring from large ones that remained in the bay, straight to the palace.

The door is now closed for obvious reasons.

Finally, everyone left Peterhof and, one might say, arrived at the Konstantinovsky Palace on two buses already late in the evening.

The official meeting of the informal summit was still to take place. But the main thing was already there. Mr. Putin achieved what he wanted. They all haven’t left each other all day.

And the last to appear on Aurus was Alexander Lukashenko.

“Don’t worry,” he warned, getting out of the car, general fears about himself.

And it had already begun.

Andrey Kolesnikov, St. Petersburg