The contest began on April 25. Graduates from twelve schools in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and the Baltic countries competed in the contest. The goals of the contest are to strengthen friendly contacts between young people from CIS and Baltic countries, raise the level of the knowledge of the Russian language in those countries and promote the use of Russian in interethnic and international contacts.
In Almaty, Mrs. Putina met with the Sara Nazarbayeva, the first lady of Kazakhstan, during a friendly dinner.
During Mrs. Putina's visit to Kazakhstan, she will visit the Bobek health resort, which consists of a high school, a health resort and the Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man.
Charitable donations allow 1,500 7-14 year olds to improve their health there annually. The children are taught in Russian and Kazakh in accordance with the state educational standards. - 0 - (kos/yon)
