         | President Clinton arrives in Moscow on Tuesday morning, local Moscow time. After his arrival, the President will attend a brief ceremony with President Yeltsin at the Kremlin honoring those Russians who served during the Second World War.
The wreath laying ceremony will take place at Aleksandrovskiy Sad, the fenced-in memorial park outside the west wall of the Kremlin. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is at the north end of the park, across from the State Historical Museum. The tomb was built in 1966 and dedicated May 8, 1967 after the remains of an unknown soldier who fell in the Great Patriotic War (the Russian term for World War II) were transferred from another mass grave site. The tomb, with its over-sized helmet and guidon draped near the eternal flame within a large metal star, is on a large red granite square at the base of the Kremlin wall and northwest tower. On the wall to the south of the tomb are granite blocks for each of the cities awarded "Hero City of the Soviet Union" after the war. The tomb is visited by citizens of all ages, including brides and grooms still in their wedding outfits, who lay bouquets near the flame.
After the wreath laying ceremony, Presidents Clinton and Yeltsin will begin their fourth summit meeting in five years at residence of the Russian President, located in the former senate building in the Kremlin. The residence was built on the order of Catherine II by M.F. Kazakov in the classical style in 1776-1787 and is roughly triangular in shape, anchored by a huge rotunda crowned by an ornate cupola. The modern Russian tricolor flag was raised atop the cupola in 1991 (the year the building became the President's residence), and dominates the view from Red Square.
That afternoon, President Clinton will help kick-off the school year by visiting with Russian students. The President's final visit of the day will be at the Moscow State University of International Relations. The university is home to a wide-range of students, many of whom are viewed to be the next generation of Russian leaders. During his speech, the President will discuss the enormous progress Russia has made toward creating a democratic political system and free market economy, while pointing to the new challenges Russia faces in ensuring that they reap the benefits of our ever changing and expanding global economy. |
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