Russian and British Veterans of the Arctic Convoys Celebrated the Unveiling of Russian Masts on HMS Belfast in London

LONDON, October 22, 2010 - Tuesday 19 October 2010 became significant and a memorable day for Russia
and Britain, when the grand unveiling of the new Russian masts on the
legendary HMS Belfast in London took place in the presence of HRH Prince
Philip The Duke of Edinburgh and the Head of the Russian presidential
administration Sergey Naryshkin. Russian veterans of the Arctic convoys from
Archangel, Yuri Kopytov and George Evtukov, supported Petropavlovsk Group
(www.petropavlovsk.net) and VTB Capital (www.vtbcapital.ru),
took part in the ceremony. Masts were manufactured at the "Severnaya Verf"
shipyard in St. Petersburg, Russia.

In his speech, Mr. Naryshkin stressed the need for bilateral support of
traditions and historical relations between Russia and Britain, and the
importance of preserving historical values for future generations.

Prince Philip and Sergey Naryshkin personally welcomed Russian and
British veterans and expressed their gratitude to Peter Hambro and Pavel
Maslovsky of Petropavlovsk Group and Alexey Yakovitsky of VTB Capital for
their continued support of the annual Victory Day celebrations on HMS
Belfast, and the organizer of the Victory Day celebrations in London Eugene
Kasevin.

Event Photo Gallery: www.kifir.info/hmsb/

The masts restoration project was supported by Russian companies United
Industrial Corporation (eng.opk.ru), Severstal (
www.severstal.com) and Sovcomflot (www.sovcomflot.ru), in
recognition of the heroism of the Arctic Convoys 1941-1945. HMS Belfast,
which stands on the River Thames in London, is "the last witness" and the
only remaining warship that escorted convoys during the Second World War.

The Head of the annual Victory Day celebrations in London and Chairman of
Russia's Finance & Investments Market Players Club, Eugene Kasevin, who was
accompanying Russian veterans on their trip to London, said that "this
restoration project of HMS Belfast masts is a fine example of Russian
generosity and respect for the historical friendship between Russia and
Britain."

Alexandre Bykov (PR Newswire) stated: This great event will help to boost
positive developments in building closer relations between two countries.

Victory Day London: www.victorydaylondon.co.uk

Club KIFIR: www.kifir.info

HMS Belfast: hmsbelfast.iwm.org.uk

Contact: Eugene Kasevin, kasevin at kifir.info +44(0)7961-000766, Russian contact number: +7-963-7165837