State visit by Elizabeth II to Russia

[5] In September 1973, Prince Philip attended the European Eventing Championships in Kyiv as president of the International Equestrian Federation with his daughter, Princess Anne.

[4][10] Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd, who would attend the visit with the Queen, said that he was worried about the way in which "chattering people concerned with headlines and mass circulation" affected institutions such as the monarchy.

[4] In contrast, Russian media focused on the Queen and her popularity in the United Kingdom with newspaper and television coverage of the visit continuing for several days.

[3][11] Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Andrei Kozyrev was also scheduled to greet the Queen but did not return from New York where he was attending United Nations meetings on Iraq.

[3] Elizabeth II was greeted at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow by First Deputy Prime Minister Oleg Soskovets and a guard of honour.

[10] The Queen attended a performance of Giselle at the Bolshoi Ballet, sitting in the "czar's box" underneath the State Emblem of the Soviet Union.

[12] The next day, the Queen toured the Kremlin and Red Square and visited an English-language school before attending a state banquet hosted by President Boris Yeltsin.

[14][7] The Queen flew to Saint Petersburg on 19 October, where she visited Peter and Paul Fortress, went to a Catholic church and met local orphan children.

[3] In her 1994 Christmas Message, the Queen reflected on how times had changed, noting she "never thought it would be possible in [her] lifetime" to attend a service in Saint Basil's Cathedral.