The house, intended for an audience of 1,200, was packed with guests, and some had to stand in the aisles during the concert, featuring Russian pop and rock stars, such as Tamara Gverdtsitelli, Yuri Shevchuk, Alexander Marshal, and Oleg Gazmanov.
As one of the organizers told RIA Novosti, veterans of the two Chechen wars and well as participants in Russia's military campaigns in Tajikistan and Afghanistan were invited to attend the gala. In the VIP box seat one could see Igor Rodionov, the Commander of the Interior Ministry troops and a former Russian Defense Minister, and also deputies to the Ground Force Commander.
The event was meant primarily for those "directly involved in the establishment of constitutional order in the North Caucasus," RIA Novosti's interviewee said.
