Public Remarks

Saint Tatiana Day Celebration Remarks at MGU

William J. Burns, U.S. Ambassador to Russia

Rector Sadovnichiy, [Mayor Luzhkov,] Professors and Students.

Thank you for inviting me to join your celebrations of All Russia Student's Day and the founding of Moscow State University. If Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov and Ivan Ivanovich Shuvalov were here today, not only would they be the oldest people present, but they would be dazzled by Moscow State University's dynamic student body and world-renown faculty. You should be very, very proud.

America and American students in Russia share your enthusiasm and pride in our shared educational history. Over 200 years ago, an American student named John Quincy Adams spent 14 months in St. Petersburg studying the classics and serving as an interpreter for the American delegation to the court of Catherine the Great. Enriched by his experience in Russia and bolstered by his knowledge, he went on to become our first Ambassador to Russia and eventually our sixth President. While I wouldn't suggest that all foreign students go on to become Ambassadors -- or that all Ambassador's are destined to become Presidents – I think it is a tribute to Russia's tradition of academic excellence that you attract such a high-quality of foreign scholars and their experience here is so rewarding.

Like many students, John Quincy Adams kept a diary and recorded some general observations along with his more erudite thoughts. He wrote of his immense homesickness in St. Petersburg and complained that the food was lousy. Obviously, he should have been a student at Moscow State! He also wrote fondly of his time in Russia and noted that "There is a character of romantic wildness about the memory of my travels, which gives to it a tinge, as if it was the recollection of something in another world."

This year, we celebrate the 200th Anniversary of the establishment of U.S. – Russia diplomatic relations. We remember the work of John Quincy Adams who did much to establish a friendship between our two nations that has prevailed despite the challenges of the Cold War and differences in foreign policy. I hope you will join me in celebrating that anniversary -- and in building the next century of relations between our great nations.

Moscow State University is, and always will be, an important place to exchange ideas and build partnerships. Once again, my congratulations.