Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, 1996

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Author: William J. Clinton  | Date: April 19, 1996

Exchange With Reporters in St. Petersburg, Russia,
April 19, 1996

Q. Mr. President, can I ask you—anything you wanted to see in particular?

The President. I saw the Impressionists paintings. I wanted to see them. And I wanted to see the living quarters of Catherine the Great. [Laughter]

Q. How did it compare to yours?

The President. I like mine just fine. [Laughter]

Q. [Inaudible]——house, Mr. President?

The President. Well, she didn’t have to run for election. [Laughter]

Q. Are you going to see the Rembrandts here?

The President. Perhaps, yes. I love the desks. The thing that strikes me is the woodwork. I hadn’t counted on seeing all that. You ought to go back and see all the secret chambers in the desk back there. He put everything he had in there.

Q. Mr. President, you’ve seen some religious symbols today that have been opened in the last few years to the Russian people. What are your thoughts on seeing things that didn’t used to be open during the Soviet era?

The President. That’s a very good thing, not only making it available to the people, but also making religious expression legitimate again and making it—encouraging and nourishing it. I think it’s a real sign of the health of the Russian democracy that religion is respected and people are free to pursue it and express their honest convictions.

Note: The exchange began at approximately 2:30 p.m. in the White Hall Room at the Hermitage Museum. This item was not received in time for publication in the appropriate issue. A tape was not available for verification of the content of this exchange.

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Chicago: William J. Clinton, "Exchange With Reporters in St. Petersburg, Russia, April 19, 1996," Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, 1996 in United States. Executive Office of the President, Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Week Ending Friday, April 26, 1996 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1996), 32:2543 Original Sources, accessed March 28, 2024, http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=LU9JGHQK6S8P8DK.

MLA: Clinton, William J. "Exchange With Reporters in St. Petersburg, Russia, April 19, 1996." Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, 1996, in United States. Executive Office of the President, Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Week Ending Friday, April 26, 1996 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1996), 32:2543, Original Sources. 28 Mar. 2024. http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=LU9JGHQK6S8P8DK.

Harvard: Clinton, WJ, 'Exchange With Reporters in St. Petersburg, Russia, April 19, 1996' in Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, 1996. cited in , United States. Executive Office of the President, Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, Week Ending Friday, April 26, 1996 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1996), 32:2543. Original Sources, retrieved 28 March 2024, from http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=LU9JGHQK6S8P8DK.