There was nothing cold about it, but it was eminently 'cool'. In another sense, it was decidedly warm. Most enjoyable and profoundly cordial are the right attributes to portray the atmosphere of the visit to Malta by the flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the Moskva, formerly Slava. The only memories of the Cold War she brought with her were of the beginning of its end, which occurred in Malta in the closing days of 1989, when she was present here under her previous name Slava during the historic Bush-Gorbachev summit.
President Fenech Adami referred to this fact in his introductory remarks to the concert in the Mediterranean Conference Centre, which was given by the Ensemble of the Black Sea Fleet. The entertainment value of the performance was in no way inferior to the very popular James Bond film from which it took its title, From Russia with Love.
The twofold irony implied in the title as applied in this case gives it a strong positive tone, since a double negative means an emphatic affirmative. It really was lovely and delivered with love by the Russian naval personnel.
Ambassador Valentin S. Vlasov commented that since he came to Malta, he realised that the Maltese are very musical. "Music accompanies them throughout their lives. Each village has its own band. Young talents of Malta gain world acclaim and perform on prestigious world stages. A lot of Maltese children attend music, dancing or singing lessons. From Russia with Love is a performance that will try to show the soul and spirit of the Russians to the Maltese audience. I wish you all an enjoyable evening!" And we did indeed! We greatly enjoyed the Russian music, song and dance. The Maltese in the audience also appreciated very much the inclusion of well-known Italian and English melodies.
Admiral V. Masorin, Commander of the Black Sea Fleet, wrote in the programme: "We are happy to visit the ancient land of Malta and become acquainted with the history of its people. At the same time we would like to introduce Russian culture and folklore to the Maltese. The best ensembles of the Black Sea Fleet of Russia will be performing for you this evening. I hope that the visit of the Russian sailors and the performance of the Fleet musicians and actors will help us learn more about each other, increase the ties of friendship and strengthen mutual understanding between our two peoples."