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The jubilee book forum which just opened is being held under the title “Russian spring”, and Russia is participating as an honoured guest for the first time.

Opening the meeting, the Russian President mentioned the particular attention given by the French President to Russian literature and culture. Vladimir Putin noted that Jacques Chirac translated Russian classics many years ago.

The two Presidents talked with Russian writers participating in the 25th Paris book salon.

The meeting participants thanked the French President for the excellent organisation of the book fair, including the Russian section. As Viktor Yerofeev noted, so many writers from Russia had never come to France at once – neither in Pushkin’s time nor in the silver age.

Mr Putin said that such an interest in Russian literature at the fair shows that people feel the nature of relations between our countries.

At the end of the meeting, the Presidents of Russia and France were photographed with Russian writers in the garden of the Elysee Palace.

The head of the Federal Agency for the press and mass communications, Mikhail Seslavinsky gave the Presidents unique books “A century of Russian book art”. He noted that these tomes in Russian and French, which discuss Russian book graphics of the XXth century, have a circulation of only 999 copies.

Over 40 Russian writers of different generations and genres have gathered at the 25th Paris book salon. Among them are Andrei Voznesensky, Daniil Granin, Viktor Yerofeev, Aleksandr Kabakov, Vladimir Makinin, Edvard Radzinsky and Aleksandra Marinina. Three of them – Ol’ga Sedakova, Irina Prokhorova and Vasily Aksyonov – were just awarded the French order “For services in art and literature.”