The Ambassador of Russia to the Netherlands, H.E. Alexander Shulgin during his speech.
The Inauguration in Maastricht of a Memorial Plaque Dedicated to the Tricentennial of the Second Visit of Peter the Great to the Netherlands
27 July 2017. An inauguration ceremony of a stone memorial plaque dedicated to the tricentennial of the second visit of the second visit of Tsar Peter I to the Netherlands took place in Maastricht.
The ceremony was organised by the efforts of the Honourary Consul of the Russian Federation in the provinces of Northern Brabant and Limburg Mr Constantijn van Vloten. The plaque was inaugurated by the Ambassador of Russia to the Netherlands, H.E. Alexander Shulgin, the King’s Commissioner/Governor of the Province of Limburg, Mr Theo Bovens and the Mayor of Maastricht, Ms Annemarie Penn-te Strake.
In his speech Ambassador A.Shulgin noted that the second visit of Peter the Great to the Netherlands could be considered as the first full-fledged visit of a Russian sovereign.
The Ambassador thanked the sculptor, Alexander Taratynov, and his wife, a professional artist Ekaterina Taratynova for the plaque and “paid the tribute” to Constantijn van Vloten for the brilliant organization of the event.
He also expressed sincere appreciation to the authorities of Limburg and the city of Maastricht for their support. “This is the occasion for me to say how much we appreciate the relations between our cities, our provinces and our regions” – noted the Ambassador. “I am convinced that all the existing hardships in the nowadays bilateral relations are of a temporary nature and will undoubtedly be overcome” – he added.
The plaque is located on the wall of the “Bijenkorf” store next to the stone portal that has remained from the entrance into the building where Peter I stayed during his visit to Maastricht on July 27, 1717. The Russian Emperor is depicted wearing the traditional garments of a Russian Tsar against the backdrop of the Moscow Kremlin.
The ceremony was attended by some 140 people including representatives of authorities of the Province of Limburg and the city of Maastricht, Russian diplomatic missions in the Netherlands and Belgium, people of art, compatriots and the mass media.
