2011 was the year of Russian culture and language in Italy and Italian culture and language in Russia.
As part of the program’s initiatives, the government leaders of the Sverdlovsk region invited President Sandro Buzzi last May to support a joint Italy-Russia project to create a book of interviews with people who have made a signficant contribution in cementing relationships between the two countries.

The goal of the project was to acknowledge the contributions of each interviewee in the political, cultural, scientific and educational, economic and business, public and humanitarian arenas. This publication served to honor those individuals who have made a significant personal contribution in developing the relationships between Italy and Russia, who support common projects and promote the development of economic, cultural, commercial, scientific and humanitarian collaboration between the two countries.