On 23rd September, 2015, HRH Princess Basmah bint Saud bin Abdulaziz al Saud arrived in St Petersburg, Russia. HRH was welcomed to St Petersburg in the evening with a gala concert featuring opera and ballet performances at the Mariinsky Theater, complements of the Eurasian Women’s Forum. The following day, HRH Princess Basmah delivered a speech on “Women and Empowerment: Making a difference in the 21st Century” at the Eurasian Woman’s Forum, where MPs, representatives of executive authorities, businesses, academia, NGOs, and prominent leaders of the worldwide international feminist movement came together to discuss the women’s role in addressing both domestic and global challenges within the Eurasian space. On 25th September, HRH Princess Basmah better acquainted herself with St Petersburg and was hosted on a tour of the historical city, during which she visited the famous Peter and Paul Fortress. HRH Princess Basmah gave a lecture on the relationship between Russia and the Middle East at St. Petersburg University of the Humanties and Social Sciences on 26th September. The university was founded in 1926 and focuses on educating specialists for a market system formed Russia. Today, more than 12 000 students attend the university. They gave HRH Princess Basmah a warm welcome and are looking forward to future collaborations between the two sides. On 27th September, HRH Princess Basmah was hosted in further tours of the city, St Petersburg, during which she visited the famous Hermitage and St. Isaac Cathedral. HRH Princess Basmah was welcomed in Moscow on 28th September, and commenced her stay in visiting the famous Kremlin and square. On 29th September, HRH Princess Basmah toured the city of Moscow and visited the Tretyakov State Gallery. In the evening, Mr Eifman hosted HRH Princess Basmah to his renowned ballet production, “Up and Down” at the Bolshoi Theatre. HRH also visited the Moscow Cathedral Mosque, which was reopened on 23rd September by President Putin. The original structure was built in 1904 according to the design of the architect Nikolay Zhukov and has undergone some reconstructions since then. The turquoise-domed mosque can host over 10,000 worshippers and is one of the largest in the country. During her time in Russia, HRH Princess Basmah also took part in other cultural events, such as Saudi National Day, where she met with many interesting and influential figures. She also visited ballet performances, such as Swan Lake at the Hermitage Theatre and concerts such as Opera Le nozze di Figaro at the Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre. HRH concluded her journey by travelling from Moscow to St Petersburg by train, during which she crossed the Russian countryside. During her stay, HRH visited tourist facilities, resorts and realised the tourist potential of Russia. She toured various parts of the cities and tasted the different types of the famous Russian cuisine, especially realising the clear eastern influence from the Republic of Georgia. Upon her return to St Petersburg, HRH was seen off at the airport, by a delegation from the conference and those who has hosted her for the tourist activities. Please note: Photos will soon be published with a full report on this historic journey, HRH Princess Basmah’s first trip to Bella Russia Russia Statistics: Population: 142,423,773 (July 2015 est.) Unemployment: 5.11% (2014) Graduate unemployment: 0.5% Gender Inequality Index – Value: 0.312 (2012) Rank: 51st Women in labour force: 56.3% (2011) Females over 25 with secondary education: 93.5% (2010) Religions: Russian Orthodox 15-20%, Muslim 10-15%, other Christian 2% (2006 est.) Note: estimates are of practicing worshipers; Russia has large populations of non-practicing believers and non-believers, a legacy of over seven decades of Soviet rule Muslim population: 16,379,000 (2010) Links: https://eawf.ru/en/ UNIVERSITY OF THE HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES http://www.gup.ru/en/press/news/detail.php?ID=181535

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