St. Petersburg to gather lawmakers from 140 countries in autumn

Lawmakers from 140 countries will take part in the 137th Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, which will be held in October in St. Petersburg, the Deputy Chairman of the Federation Council Ilyas Umakhanov said. According to him, the first meeting of the organizing committee, which was formed in accordance with the decree of the President of the Russian Federation, was held on March 20. At this meeting, working groups were formed to work in different directions. A separate independent working group was established in the government of St. Petersburg.

"We expect about 1,500 participants. It will be a record figure. Our preliminary measurements show that there are a lot of people who would come to St. Petersburg. It is not only the number of delegations, but the number of delegations as well. There were cases when national delegations consisting of 20-30 people come to Geneva," Umakhanov said.

According to him, the main events will be held in the Tauride Palace, which exemplifies the spirit and energy of parliamentarism. Perhaps, the assembly will be opened by President Vladimir Putin, which should give special political significance to the assembly's activities. It is planned to hold the closing sessions of the assembly at a new site of the Mariinsky Theater.

"Another reference point is the date of September 15. This date is declared the International Day of Democracy by the UN decision. For the time being, only 17 countries mark this date on a national scale. We must admit that Russia is not among these 17 countries," the senator said.

According to him, several events will be held simultaneously within the Assembly, including the youth and women's forums, committee meetings.

The main theme of discussions is 'From cultural diversity to cultural pluralism'. "This largely reflects the place, the city which will hold the assembly, the cultural capital and one of the most beautiful cities and cultural centers of the whole world," Ilyas Umakhanov said.