The International Exhibition Fair “Russian Linen”, traditionally held in Vologda, won high acclaim from professionals. This year, the forum was held for the 12th time and spanned five days from 26 February to 1 March. The Governor of Vologda oblast, Vyacheslav Pozgalev, thinks that linen is of strategic importance to Russia.
“It would be no exaggeration to say that linen brings salvation to a nation. As we all know, Napoleon left his army without clothing after he lost his campaign in Egypt, thereby, losing Egyptian linen and English wool. Napoleon announced a reward of 1 million francs to anyone who could organise linen production and dress the French army in uniforms made of domestic materials. In other words, linen is a fabric of strategic importance. In addition, it is a vital raw material in the production of gunpowder. Since Russia produces no cotton after the disintegration of the Soviet Union, linen remains the only natural material for our textile mills.
Today, linen is produced in 24 oblasts of Russia, and Vologda is the fourth-largest linen producer, growing linen on more than 7,000 hectares (17,297 acres) of cropland. A whole set of facilities make up a linen production cycle from field to counter, and production facilities are modernised on a regular basis. Vologda is the most rapidly-developing linen region. The most spectacular event of the ‘Russian Linen’ Exhibition is a show of linen collections by 45 fashion houses across Russia. Linen clothes are elegant, comfortable to wear, and made of environmentally-friendly materials. Moreover, linen has a healing effect on the body”.
According to Governor Pozgalev, “Linen is one of the most powerful antiseptics. No cases of skin diseases were registered in the tsarist army because the soldiers were all dressed in linen. Today, linen bedding may be crucial in the treatment of allergies. The advantages of linen are so clear that many politicians and cultural figures order linen bed spreads from us. There is even linen wallpaper and the richest clinics in US have walls covered with spun linen”.
Linen finds ever wider uses in construction, chemical, medical, pharmaceutical, and defence industries every year. The Vologda forum, featuring the best of domestic linen produce and the latest of linen-related innovation technologies serves a convincing proof that, despite the economic crisis, the Russian linen industry is maintaining its high position on the market.
2 March 2009
Vyacheslav Pozgalev
Governor of Vologda Oblast
Voice of Russia World Service
http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=41352&cid=59&p=02.03.2009 (in English)
