ST. PETERSBURG -- The former imperial capital is preparing for a performance both on and off the stage when British Prime Minister Tony Blair meets acting President Vladimir Putin at the opera Saturday.
Blair, the first Western leader to meet Putin since he took over from former President Boris Yeltsin, will see Prokofiev's opera "War and Peace" at the Mariinsky Theater, known in the West by its Soviet-era name, the Kirov.
A spokesman said in London that Blair was interested in getting to know Putin, who is the favorite to win the presidential election on March 26.
The media in Russia's second city could not resist exploiting the ironies of the venue.
The Chas Pik newspaper complained that the VIP audience had pushed up prices of tickets in the stalls to about 3,000 rubles ($105).
Other newspapers commented that the opera's subject matter - the experience of war - provided an appropriate background for the leaders' likely conversation.
"The subject of the opera has been known to all for a long time. The intrigues that develop between the spectators are much more interesting," Delovoi Peterburg newspaper said.
"The heads of government will be able to exchange experiences of fighting terrorists in Chechnya and Northern Ireland, and also joke about the entry of Russia into NATO."
Russia's campaign against rebels in Chechnya has been widely criticized in the West for indiscriminate force and brutality against civilians. But British officials say they are determined to deepen contacts with Moscow anyway.
"Russia is too important a country to ignore or isolate over Chechnya," Blair's spokesman said, echoing the sentiments of most Western nations, which are anxious not to alienate Putin.
But officials said Blair would make clear Britain's concerns and call for a political settlement.
Blair and his wife, Cherie, who is expecting their fourth child, were due to arrive in St. Petersburg, Putin's home city, late Friday and to hold talks with him Saturday.
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