The First International Festival "Rising Stars in the Kremlin" was held in November 2009. The event is traditionally held in Moscow’s best concert halls. Its concerts involve the most outstanding talented young people who have the right to take part in the activities of the CIS Youth Music Academy headed by Yury Bashmet, the Moscow Conservatoire’s International Summer School and the International Festival “Moscow Welcomes Friends” headed by Vladimir Spivakov. They are invited to perform at the CIS Youth Symphony Orchestra and also during festivals organized by the Russian Foundation of Social and Cultural Initiatives. Photo: Russia’s First Lady Svetlana Medvedev, First Lady of Cyprus Elsie Christofias, Armenia’s First Lady Rita Sargsyan, and Slovenia’s First Lady Barbara Miklic Turk.