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Kremlin finalises preparations for New Year holidays

The Christmas tree will be cut down on December 17 in the Dmitrov district
Photo ITAR-TASS
Photo ITAR-TASS

MOSCOW, December 15 (Itar-Tass) —— The Kremlin is preoccupied with final preparations for the New Year. The schedule composed back in the summer is to be followed from beginning of the coming week.

According to press secretary of the presidential staff Viktor Khrekov, on Monday in the Moscow region, they will have cut down the country's main tree, which will arrive to the Kremlin on Tuesday, and on Wednesday its installation and decoration will begin.

"The Christmas tree will be cut down on December 17 in the Dmitrov district. This time we have chosen a 110-year-old tree of 30 meters high, the trunk’s diameter is over 60 centimetres," said Khrekov.

According to him, special training is required for the "forced march" to deliver the Christmas tree to the Kremlin. "The operation will involves dozens of people and special equipment which would be necessary, for example, to lift trolley wires so that the vehicles could get into the centre of Moscow", he said. He added that the tree will get into the Kremlin, like always, through the Spassky Gates, which were opened previously for Vladimir Putin's motorcade en route to the inauguration on May 7.

"This year, it would be for the first time that dressing of Christmas tree will be done not by the office staff, but by designers, whose ideas had been selected in a competition," Khrekov said. “The tree will need 3,600 balls of different sizes, which will be put together in "clusters", 1,500 meters of garlands and 4.5 thousand LED lights. The upper part of the tree will be dressed up in white-golden colours, the medium part – in blue and gold, the lower – in red and gold so that the Christmas installation symbolised the Russian tricolour. The tree will have a crown of 1.5-meter Wind Rose Christmas star.

Khrekov added that this time they have planned even a small presentation of the main Christmas tree so that reporters could have a photo session.

The Kremlin will continue the tradition of New Year holiday shows for children at the State Kremlin Palace. The first show is due on December 25. Next day the Kremlin will invite participants to the All-Russian New Year show. They will come from around the country. Mostly, they are children from orphanages, from large families, winners of various contests. "The show will be dedicated to the 50th anniversary of children’s New Year holidays in the Kremlin and it is called Ineffable Beauty. The script is based on The Tale of Tsar Saltan /”The Tale of Tsar Saltan, of His Son the Renowned and Mighty Bogatyr Prince Gvidon Saltanovich, and of the Beautiful Princess-Swan” by Pushkin – Itar-Tass/,”- said Khrekov.

He promised that all little guests coming to the Kremlin shows, like always, will receive sweet gifts from best domestic producers. The sweets are collected in tins, which the children can adapt later on for storing their toys.