Official website of the President of Russia

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The new concert hall is distinguished by a unique performance space with world-class natural acoustics, achieved through its architectural design and carefully selected materials. It features two auditoriums – a main hall and a chamber hall – with a combined seating capacity of 1,700.

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President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon, friends.

I am delighted to welcome you to the new Sirius Concert Hall. Majestic and modern, it is destined to become a landmark cultural space in Russia. It will host stellar performers and rising stars alike, lighting up new talents in classical music, opera, and ballet. I would like to thank the Russian architects, engineers, and builders, as well as our international partners and all the specialists who have created a true masterpiece – a veritable palace of world art, without any exaggeration. Thank you so much.

The opening of such a concert venue is an inspiring gift for the 10^th anniversary of the Sirius Educational Centre, which we are celebrating this year.

I sincerely congratulate all the wonderful people who stood at its origins and who, over all these years, have devoted themselves to fostering the younger generation, painstakingly and carefully helping the young talents of our nation to flourish.

I am referring to the outstanding teachers, scientists, musicians, coaches, and employees of regional centres who seek out and support gifted children. I am certainly addressing the employees and members of the Board of Trustees of the Talent and Success Foundation and its permanent head, Yelena Shmelyova. Today is Mrs Shmelyova’s birthday. We extend our warmest wishes to her from the bottom of our hearts.

I would also like to say a few kind words to the children who have graduated from Sirius. I should note that I met with the students joining its first programmes just ten years ago, and I remember how we set goals and talked about the future together.

Today, the grown-up children who were part of that conversation in 2015 – they are here today, in this hall. Please show them. Stand up, please! Good afternoon!

Graduates of the first Sirius cohort are around 25 now, and graduates of subsequent Sirius programmes are even younger. But among them are holders of high sports titles and awards in figure skating, hockey, and chess, as well as medallists of prestigious contests in culture and art. Some are now artists at the Bolshoi, Mariinsky, and other renowned theatre companies in Russia.

In the fields of science and technology, many Sirius graduates have graduated from leading Russian universities or are currently studying there. Some now head research laboratories, work in major Russian companies, and others have started their own high-tech businesses, creating unique products.

All these achievements are a vivid manifestation of the children’s hard work, as well as the support they received from their parents and mentors. Yet it is precisely Sirius, with its unique atmosphere of creativity and inspiration, that has enabled young Russian talents to reach new scientific, artistic, and sporting heights, truly moving to qualitatively new levels.

Let me stress: the Sirius Educational Centre, created at the former Olympic facilities, remains unparalleled in the world. The secret of its success lies not only in its infrastructure, but in its spirit, its distinctive approach to education, built on the unity of knowledge, sports, and arts. It rests on genuine partnership between students, teachers, and mentors, and on shaping a well-rounded personality: a free, responsible individual and a devoted citizen.

This is, in fact, the deeper mission of the school: to help transform individuals into a nation: a community bound together by shared spiritual values, traditions, culture, language, and history, and united by common interests and a shared future – a community of Russian people.

Today we also honoured mentors who raised heroes and defenders of our Fatherland. Such teachers are living examples for their students. They pass on to them not only knowledge, but also historical memory, values, and love for Russia. This bond between generations is the most important principle of our national education system. We will continue to develop it, drawing on the best traditions of the pre-revolutionary, Soviet, and modern Russian schools of education.

I am counting on Sirius to play an active role in updating curricula and improving teacher qualifications. We must ensure that the best practices and approaches developed here, together with the methods of Russia’s leading teachers, are introduced in schools throughout the country. I would like to emphasise that this is one of the centre’s key goals for at least the next decade.

Friends, much of what we once dreamed of has already been realised. In 2015, we could hardly imagine how vibrant, diverse, and innovative Sirius would become. Today, it is not just an educational centre, but a genuine city of the future, with the status of a federal territory that gives it special rights and responsibilities.

We will continue to expand Sirius’s research infrastructure, enabling it to develop and test new products for the technological paradigm of the future. This will significantly strengthen its role in Russia’s development, allowing its students to make an even greater contribution to the wellbeing and prosperity of our Fatherland.

Once again, I congratulate you on this special day and on your anniversary! May you always move forward with confidence and courage, towards new horizons and discoveries. And may music forever resound in this beautiful hall, remaining in your hearts and guiding you towards new victories.

Thank you very much.