Svetlana Medvedev visits Russian cultural center in San Francisco

Russian First Lady Svetlana Medvedev visited on Wednesday the Russian cultural center in San Francisco and the editorial office of Russian Life newspaper. The staff of the center greeted Svetlana Medvedev with flowers. She began her tour at the Teremok kindergarten, where a children’s choir sang for her.

The first lady brought the children books and asked if they knew the Russian alphabet. They said they knew some letters, but not all of them. “If you want, you can learn all of them,” Medvedev said

Svetlana Medvedev was given a thorough tour of the museum. Employees told her about the history of Russian immigration to San Francisco.

The Russian First Lady said this was her first visit to San Francisco and she still hasn’t seen the city.

The staff told Svetlana Medvedev that the museum has been working since 1945 and is a “small piece of the Russian Empire.” It houses exhibits from all over the world on the history of Russian immigration.

The First Lady gave the museum a photo album with photos of poet Joseph Brodsky and CDs with music by Russian singer Lyudmila Zykina.

Svetlana Medvedev also visited the editorial office of Russian Life newspaper. “The newspaper aims to cover current Russian affairs honestly and without bias,” the newspaper’s Editor-in-Chief Vladimir Belyaev (left) said.