In the Spotlight

This week, Russia celebrated the Day of Family, Love and Fidelity, a holiday that dates all the way back to last year, when first lady Svetlana Medvedeva snapped her manicured fingers and decided that on July 8 there should be an oddly shaped bench, a cheesy pop concert and lots of daisies.

The holiday falls on an Orthodox saints’ day for St. Pyotr and Fevronia and is a rather strange combination of religious tradition and the usual kind of state-organized merriment.  Unfortunately, it’s the kind of holiday when you don’t get a day off work.

Last year, the highlight of the Moscow celebrations was the installation of a “bench of reconciliation,” on the riverbank near the Tretyakov Gallery. The seat is gently curved, so that you slide into the middle with your beloved and forget what you were quarreling about.

I thought that the holiday might get swept under the carpet this year because of the crisis, but no — a banner went up on Tverskaya last month with daisies and a slogan about God helping you preserve your love “for all time.”

On Wednesday night, Medvedeva appeared on Channel One television holding a bunch of Michaelmas daisies, which she has ordained the official flower of the holiday. The channel also put a daisy logo in the corner of the screen.

Wearing a white suit, she talked about how the holiday is celebrated by people of different religions and of “no religion.” The daisy symbol is “opening up all over the country,” she said. It was fascinating to see her speaking, rather than just beaming in a decorative way at her husband’s side. She sounds very well-spoken and had long nails with a pearly manicure and carefully done hair.

I also enjoyed the irony that as she spoke about family values, her hubby Dmitry was posing at the G8 summit next to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.

The channel then cut to the holiday concert, which was at Murom in Vladimir region, where the saints were buried. An open-air stage was set up on an incredibly picturesque curve of the river, where a smallish audience was seated, with Medvedeva in the front row. It was a bit like Glastonbury without the mud.

First up was the regional governor, who held a big bunch of daisies in his noticeably shaking hands as he spoke.  He then made way for the first act, crooner Lev Leshchenko with his 1981 hit, “Parents’ House.”

The ceremony was hosted by heartthrob actor Yegor Beroyev and his wife, Ksenia Alfyorova. Beroyev looked pink and uncomfortable. At one point, Alfyorova said, “To be honest, I can’t imagine the world without Yegor.” He gave her a hug, then suddenly really went for it and kissed her passionately, before jumping in the air and running off stage. I can’t decide if it was really moving or a bit like Tom Cruise on the Oprah Winfrey show. I just hope it wasn’t scripted.

The acts were ultra-conservative and possibly even had to present a marriage certificate before they were allowed to perform. It felt wrong that pop diva Alla Pugachyova wasn’t there, after she announced the end of her concert career, and nor was the magnificent Lyudmila Zykina, who died last week. How much longer will these pop dinosaur concerts be able to go on?

The creepiest moment came at the end when Beroyev thanked Svetlana Medvedeva, and a group called Yin-Yang, whom I’ve never heard of, launched into a song called “Hymn to the Family.”

The lyrics by Ilya Reznik actually include the following line: “The family is the foundation of the state, my country, my Russia.”

Then it was time for the fireworks.