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First Lady Promotes Reading in RussiaFirst Lady Laura Bush boosted books and reading October 1 at a Moscow book festival hosted by Lyudmila Putin, wife of Russian President Vladimir Putin.Mrs. Bush called the event—modeled after festivals she has held in the United States—“a celebration of freedom, the freedom to write what we want to write and read the books that we want to read,” Reuters reported October 1. An official traveling with Mrs. Bush said her comments reflected U.S. concerns over government pressure on the Russian media. At a discussion with Mrs. Putin, Armenian First Lady Bella L. Kocharian, and Bulgarian First Lady Zorka Pyruanov a day earlier, Mrs. Bush described American children's literature as “a way to teach values that people in our country share, and people around the world share—values that have to do with living a good life and being a good person,” she said. Mrs. Bush’s visit, which occurred shortly before she was scheduled to host the third annual National Book Festival October 4 in Washington, D.C., was part of a diplomatic trip that included a stop in Paris to celebrate the return of the United States to UNESCO after a 19-year boycott. Posted October 6, 2003. |
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