Thursday night - New Year's Eve. Downtown Moscow: - A world of ice and snow. Even though the temperature shown on an outdoor electronic screen was four degrees Celsius below zero, it did not feel so cold as hundreds of Russians thronged
the streets in revelry.
"Ten, nine, eight..." Accompanied by a countdown for the New Year, Anton and his
girlfriend Oksana hugged each other tightly, embracing the coming year with a long, deep kiss. Both of them are students at Moscow State Technical university.
Beside them, thousands of people ventured out in the cold, celebrating with passionate
singing and dancing, as well as hearty greetings.
"Wish all your dreams would come true in the new year! Good Health and Success!"
"Wish you a happy and successful New Year!" "Happy New Year!" They shouted in front of TV cameras.
"The outgoing 2009 has been a year of happiness," Anton told Xinhua. "Because I've
met the girl of my life. Hopefully next year our relationship will further solidify and everything
we dream of will come true."
The New Year has always been moments of joy and warmth. This year is special for Muscovites, who have seen a rarely cold winter in about 20 years, in addition to an economic downturn that their country has suffered from the global financial crisis.
Russia, whose economy is heavily dependent on energy resources, was hit hard by the crisis as oil prices fell sharply in late 2008. Official statistics show a slump of its gross domestic product by 8.5 percent in 2009.
However, statistics showed that Russians held their heads high in front of the crisis, and
the majority of them believed the worst has passed.
A poll in late December said 28 percent of respondents believed things would get better next year, 43 percent believed at least 2010 would not be worse than 2009. Only 12 percent were still convinced that situations would only deteriorate in the coming year.
Busy shopping scenes in major stores and supermarkets on New Year's Eve have also reflected the same optimism.
Liudmila, a 43-year-old middle school teacher, had bought food, groceries and gifts for a New Year party with nearly 8,000 rubles (around 264 U.S. dollars) at a large supermarket.
"I don't think the economic crisis has greatly affected my life, and I believe the national economy would just get better and better next year," she told Xinhua.
Liudmila's opinion was echoed by a legal consultant named Berezina. When taking part in Thursday's New Year celebrations together with her six-year-old daughter Marsha and her husband, Berezina said: "Speaking of our family, the
past year went pretty well as every one was safe and sound."
Although their lives have been affected by the crisis, she said, hopefully they would be
better off next year.
At the same time, the Russians remained cool headed. "A lot of problems still prevail in our country," said Berezina. "I hope all of them,
particularly the judiciary ones, will find proper solutions in the upcoming year."
As for Vologya in his 60s, who has to work as a security guard due to his insufficient
pensions, the New Year wish was good health and a stable job. "Unemployment in Russia is still serious," he told Xinhua. "I also hope the government could stabilize the prices."
The Russian heads of state and government in their respective televised New Year addresses, also encouraged the people to move forward and seize new opportunities.
"We always look forward to the New Year. We look forward to it because our New Year's expectations are, at the very least, expectations of changes for the better, if not miracles," said Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Putin said life will bring a sense of satisfaction when people overcome difficulties and
move toward success.
He hoped that these temporary difficulties will lead to "substantial and grand" success
and Russians' lives will improve in all aspects next year.
President Dmitry Medvedev said: "The outgoing year has not been the easiest for Russia.
I would like to thank you for proving that we can take the brunt together and overcome difficulties."
He called on the Russian people to seize new opportunities in 2010, saying that Russia's
success depends on every single person of the country and the efforts made by everyone for
his family and country.