| Summary/Abstract |
A YEAR AGO, on May 5, 2016, the world mass media announced a one-of-its-kind concert by the Mariinsky Theater orchestra, conducted by Valery Gergiev, in the Syrian town of Palmira. Unfortunately, this ancient jewel of the East had become the hostage of the pseudo-Islamic "state" (ISIS, banned in the Russian Federation). So a miraculous appearance of the Russian performers in the heat of an atrocious war became a symbol of the inevitable victory of Good over Evil. This concert, given by outstanding envoys of the Russian culture at the world-renown UNESCO landmark, not only gave the people of Syria hope for a peaceful future - it also demonstrated to the world community our country's high humanistic mission and a creative nature of Russian foreign policy.
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