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of Educational and Cultural Affairs American Figure Skating Champion Michelle Kwan Envoy to Russia Figure skating champion, Michelle Kwan recently returned from Russia where she was on her second tour as a State Department American Public Diplomacy Envoy. Kwan’s activities in Russia helped commemorate the 200 th anniversary of U.S.–Russia diplomatic relations being celebrated this year. Through her efforts Kwan has promoted a cross-cultural dialogue with international youth and increased understanding of America by sharing her story and life experiences.
During her five-day visit to Russia, June 14 – 19, 2007, Michelle Kwan criss-crossed the country. She traveled to the Russian steppe to meet with participants at the English Access Microscholarship Program in the Russian republic of Kalmykia, visiting Volograd, and made a final stop in Moscow. Her activities included meeting with alumni of US government-sponsored academic and cultural exchange programs. payng tribute to victims of World War II at the Stalingrad war memorial in Volgograd, and attracting a star-studded crowd to the U.S. Ambassador’s residence in Moscow to celebrate US-Russian Sports Diplomacy exchanges. Kwan’s visit to the Autonomous Republic of Kalmykia helped to celebrate and mark the official closing on June 16, 2007 of the first ever English Access Microscholarship Language Summer Camp in the capital, Elista, sponsored by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The participants – talented, under privileged youth, aged 14-17 -- were nominated from all over Elista to attend the English language program. Michelle encouraged her audiences in Kalmykia to work hard and to dream big, just as she had to become an Olympic medalist and the most decorated female skater in U.S. history. Her visit helped to showcase a series of summertime intensive English language camps supported by the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. The model that has been successfully implemented throughout Russia and as a result of Michelle’s visit, the Kalmyk Regional Government has made a long-term commitment to funding camps in the future, something it had not done before this trip. Kwan also visited Elista’s new Buddhist temple, which was recently constructed as part of a revival of traditional life in the area. The visit underscored the strength that comes from the diversity of ethnic and religious beliefs in any society. She also met with children at Chess City, a unique facility dedicated to world class chess training and competition.
On her way through Volgograd, Michelle met with 40 young Russians who gathered at the American Corner on a Sunday afternoon. Volgograd, the former Stalingrad, was the scene of the World War II battle where 1.5 million people died in a devastating fight that helped turn the tide of the war. Reminding her audiences of the shared experience of the U.S. and Russia in World War II, Michelle laid flowers at the famous monument honoring the dead The culmination of Kwan’s trip was in Moscow, where she talked about the importance of sports diplomacy at a U.S. Embassy event celebrating the 200 th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and Russia . She spoke about the contribution of sports diplomacy to U.S. Russian relations; how her own story is interconnected with Russia because many of her best coaches and toughest competitors were Russians who have become her good friends.
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