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Russian president, government officials to celebrate New Year with families

Shortly get down to work

MOSCOW, December 31. /TASS/. The Russian leadership plans to celebrate the New Year with their families, but will control the situation in the country even during the holidays.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in an interview with the Russian News Service last week that Vladimir Putin “will see in the New Year with his family and friends.”

“We hope he will have couple of days to get his wind,” Peskov said, adding however that Putin would not be able to devote the traditional New Year holidays from January 1 to January 12 to rest.

“The situation demands careful attention and everyday control, and it won’t be possible to get long time off,” Peskov said.

The Russian cabinet of ministers won’t have long New Year holidays either.

Putin told the government at a meeting last week that the ministers should keep the situation in check.

"The holidays are due soon and they continue for rather a long time here; people ought to have some rest… Nevertheless, we cannot afford such long holidays either for the government or its structures this year at least," Putin said.

Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has backed Putin’s initiative, saying that the cabinet of ministers should spend the New Year holidays at work.

“This does not mean that we should not have a rest at all, but the situation needs to be under control,” Medvedev said.

Medvedev plans to have a short break and go skiing in Sochi, the host city of the 2014 Winter Olympics, which expects an increased tourist flow.

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