On Thursday, October 5, the King of Saudi Arabia was received in the Kremlin. The arrival of Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud is significant not only because it is the first visit of the monarch, but also because the negotiations with the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques (al-Haram Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet’s Mosque in Medina) were supposed to dot the i’s in issues related to the oil market and military-technical cooperation. Among the Kremlin gilding, the Saudis, accustomed to luxury, were deciding the fate of a package of arms contracts worth over three billion dollars. And the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, who was celebrating his birthday, photographed with interest the place for the throne in St. Andrew's Hall.

Kings can do anything

Muscovites could learn about the king's upcoming visit not only from the news. At the beginning of October, the Russian-Suad Investment Fund placed posters on the highway from Vnukovo airport with greetings to “The Custodian of the Two Islamic Shrines, His Majesty the King of Saudi Arabia.” The delegation, numbering almost a thousand people, rented all the luxury rooms in the most expensive hotels in the Russian capital. In an effort to please guests accustomed to oriental luxury, the furniture in the rooms was changed, carpets were laid and low trestle beds were placed. The king himself stopped at Four Seasons. The hotel chain is partly owned by his nephew, Prince Alwaleed.

There are legends about how the king and his retinue travel. The amount of luggage carried is especially impressive - hundreds of tons are counted. Airplanes transport equipment, cars, elevators and even an escalator, the length of which when folded is 15 meters. That's where the trouble started with him. The technical specialists who arrived as part of the delegation independently collected this royal know-how. But something went wrong on Russian soil. The 81-year-old monarch stepped onto the escalator, traveled a third of the way, and the ramp jammed. The elderly king, leaning on a stick, barely climbed several steps on his own.

There were no glitches in the Kremlin. Since a state visit - the highest level possible - involves a magnificent welcoming ceremony, taking into account the age of the monarch, it was nevertheless reduced. According to tradition, the delegations of the two countries lined up along St. Andrew's Hall. In this ceremonial room of the Grand Kremlin Palace, restored in the 90s, a place for the throne is also designated. More precisely, a throne with replicas of the royal chairs. It was in this direction that Vladimir Putin led his guest, circling the arches of the hall with his hands and telling something with the help of translators.

When the king and president left the hall, the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, approached the throne. He stood out against the general background with his paramilitary attire - a dark green service jacket. Left alone for a few moments, Kadyrov took out his phone and photographed the place for the throne. And then he posed for his Instagram with the leaders of Ingushetia and Tatarstan. All three represented the Muslim part of the Russian Federation.

Arab journalists, meanwhile, warned their Russian colleagues against a mistake: the name of their king should have been pronounced in full and only in full. “In short, no way! Only Salman bin Abdulaziz!” - One of the guests spoke in excellent Russian, raising his voice with respect.

We waited ten years

Relations between Moscow and Riyadh have not always been smooth sailing. The first official visit of Saudi Arabian representatives to Moscow after the collapse of the USSR took place in 2003. For the current king, who took the throne in 2015, this is the first visit in a new capacity, but he has already been to Moscow in 2006, as the ruler of Riyadh.

But Vladimir Putin visited this Arab country only once - ten years ago, but remembers that trip with warmth. He was greeted royally, with a cannon salute and a cavalry escort. The monarch put the entire palace at the guest's disposal and generously invited him to change the schedule of the visit at his discretion. The road in front of Putin was strewn with rose petals, and the dancers spectacularly presented a dagger (one can imagine what the president’s personal security went through at that moment). The outfits of Russian journalists added color - they had to wear hijabs.

Just a few years before that visit, Russia accused Saudi Arabia of financially supporting Chechen terrorists. Riyadh expressed dissatisfaction with Moscow's attitude towards its country's Muslims. But in the name of the joint fight against terrorism, the parties entered into a dialogue. Then Putin left the kingdom with the kingdom's highest award - the Order of Abdul Aziz. Finally, he invited the then King Abdullah, the half-brother of the current ruler, to make a return visit to Moscow. The visit had to wait ten years - Riyadh preferred to look towards Washington.

Kalashnikov and wheat

Before Salman Bin Abdel Aziz’s visit, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov noted that the leaders’ meeting would be “a turning point in relations and will bring cooperation to new level, providing a fruitful contribution to stability in the Middle East and North Africa." Sources working in this area told the Kommersant newspaper that Moscow really has high expectations, especially in terms of military-technical cooperation.

According to the publication’s interlocutors, the Russian side has prepared a package of arms contracts worth over three billion dollars, including for the supply of several divisions of S-400 Triumph anti-aircraft missile systems. For ten years, Moscow has been trying to enter the Riyadh arms market, but it has never reached contracts.

As a result, only an agreement was signed through Rosoboronexport to organize licensed production of AK-103 assault rifles and cartridges for various purposes in the kingdom. Of the 14 documents certified by the delegations, one can highlight an agreement on research and cooperation in outer space and a program in the field of atomic energy use. Moreover, the Ministry of Agriculture agreed on the supply of Russian wheat to Saudi Arabia, although the export of Russian barley already accounts for almost half of the bilateral trade turnover worth more than $200 million.

Salman bin Abdul Al Saud positively assessed Russia's efforts to resolve the situation in Syria. And he did not fail to prick Iran. “We emphasize that the security and stability of the Gulf region and the Middle East will require Iran to renounce interference in the internal affairs of states and renounce activities to destabilize the situation in this region,” slowly, checking the written notes in large print papers, said the king. Adjusting his gold-rimmed glasses, he noted that relations between Moscow and Riyadh, in his assessment, are “characterized by a coincidence of views on many regional and international problems.”

“It was a friendly, detailed conversation, based on the mutual desire of Moscow and Riyadh to consistently increase mutually beneficial cooperation in all areas,” Lavrov said following the negotiations. His colleague Adel ibn Ahmed al-Jubeir used stronger language. In his opinion, “relations between the two countries are reaching new horizons that we could not even imagine before.”

Finally, King Salman bin Abdulaziz invited Vladimir Putin to visit. Russian President accepted the invitation and promised to visit Saudi Arabia again. But he didn’t specify a time frame.

The King of Saudi Arabia, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, has settled in Moscow with oriental luxury. MIR 24 correspondent Vladimir Seroukhov visited a fashionable hotel, which was completely purchased by the monarch.

The King of Saudi Arabia at night at the Ritz Carlton Hotel on Tverskaya Street with his large delegation - more than a thousand people. This is the monarch's first visit to Russia, and the luxury with which it is carried out is simply amazing. The delegation will travel around the city in cars of the most prestigious brands - top-end Mercedes, BMW, Jaguars and other luxury cars. The cost of each ranges from 6 to 10 million rubles - one might say, an apartment on wheels. There was even a story that the number of cars in the escort was equal to the number of letters in the king’s name, and it was quite complex - Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud.

The dear guest himself settled in one of the most prestigious hotels capital - the Ritz Carlton, and simply bought up all 334 rooms. The most luxurious of them costs 112 thousand rubles per day. The monarch will most likely feel cramped in one, even a luxury, room. He probably bought the whole floor for himself. By the way, the interiors of the Ritz were remodeled in the Arabic style; many brought their own carpets and furniture with them. The entire hotel per day will cost the king 14 million rubles per day, for 4 days (the length of his visit) - about 60.

However, the Ritz alone, of course, is not enough, so for the duration of the visit, all hotels in the center of Moscow are booked for accompanying persons - the Four Season, the National, and the Marriott.

It is estimated that hosting the retinue will cost an additional 160 million rubles. We add the price of the Ritz and we get that the delegation’s accommodation alone comes out to a quarter of a billion rubles.

Although this amount looks small compared to the multi-billion dollar contracts and investments that will be discussed in the Kremlin, which, by the way, the sheikhs, princes and ministers who will live near Red Square all these days have a wonderful view of.

It is believed that the king of Saudi Arabia descends from the Prophet Muhammad himself. The monarch arrived in Moscow wearing a keffiyeh - a cotton or silk scarf with a colored pattern, traditional for Eastern men.

King Salman's clothing is always the national loose shirt, ankle-length. It's called "tobe". And a long cloak - mishlakh, without which the king never goes out. The king's cloak is most often gold in color, but can be green or brown.

Interestingly, all Saudi Arabian officials are required to wear national dress during visits abroad. This was done in order to emphasize the national identity and introduce the world to the traditions of the kingdom.

Saudi Arabia occupies about 80 percent of the Arabian Peninsula. Due to the fact that its borders are not clearly defined, the exact area of ​​the country is not known. According to various sources, it can range from 1,960,582 km² to 2,240,000 km². Which puts it 13th in size in the world.

Saudi Arabia is often called the land of the “two holy holy places.” There are two main cities for Muslims - Medina. By the way, Saudi Arabia is one of three modern states named after their rulers. In this case we mean the Saudi dynasty.

The Kingdom is a world leader in oil sales and production. Thus, only the largest field in the country, Gavar, can accommodate almost 5 million Olympic swimming pools. The country's oil reserves amount to 260 billion barrels.

It is profitable to take in Saudi Arabia. Banks issue them at only 2% per annum. Since the Koran prohibits usury, the specified percentage goes only to cover the operating expenses of the bank.

In Saudi Arabia, everything that is directly or indirectly related to witchcraft and magic is prohibited. This is considered a serious crime and can be punishable by death. The government takes the magical threat so seriously that it has even banned the Harry Potter books.

Widespread in Saudi Arabia. In 2015, the authorities held them every other day. In most cases, execution is carried out by cutting off the head with a scimitar. Diera Square in the center of Riyadh – famous place public beheadings, known locally as “chop-chop square.”

Salman Al Saud is the first Saudi monarch to visit Russia. They are preparing for his visit with all care. Special billboards with greetings even appeared at Vnukovo airport

King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdul Al Saud. Photo: Jonathan Ernst/Reuters

Saudi king flies to Russia. Salman Al Saud will be the first Saudi monarch to set foot on our soil. Can we say that the arrival was delayed and what to expect from Saudi delegation?

For several days now, billboards with Russian text and Arabic script have been hanging near the Vnukovo airport: “We welcome the custodian of two Islamic shrines in Russia,” and in the background is a smiling King Salman Al Saud. In Russia, people have been waiting for the monarch. Previously, Putin met only with Crown Prince Mohammed in 2004 in Moscow and two years ago in Sochi. And then, finally, the king himself. Why only now?

Professor of the Department of International Economic Relations, Institute of Asian and African Countries, Moscow State University. Lomonosov“This is connected with many things, because when the Crown Prince was here, we agreed, say, to create a joint fund in the field of oil. There are very large funds involved; both sides must invest over $1 billion. Among other things, the king of Saudi Arabia understands perfectly well that it is necessary to negotiate with Russia on Syrian issues. The king must test the waters to see how far our ties with the same Iran go, and whether Iran will lay claim to some special role in Syria after the completion of the military operation against the Islamic State.”

Salman is 81 and rarely travels outside the country. According to Arab media, after suffering a stroke, the monarch suffered greatly. It is believed that the king suffers from Alzheimer's disease. However, Salman's condition does not change the status of the meeting.

associate professor of the department general history RSUH“The Queen of England visited us in 1994, but this is the first time the Saudi king is coming. This means everything will be widescreen. There will be a guard of honor, there will be a whole range of pompous protocol events. They can even give you a mini-tour. It all depends on the state of health of the king; it is not so much the guards who are important there as the doctors. Yes, he is of advanced age, plus he is a sick man. Ours, too, have probably prepared some kind of ward at the Central Clinical Hospital just in case, it’s just not advertised.”

All the rooms of the Ritz Hotel were purchased for the king.-Carlton until October 7th. It’s not just a delegation flying: the entire color of the country. For example, during a March visit to Japan, the king traveled to Tokyo on ten planes and transported 450 tons of luggage. He talks about the intricacies of the Saudi protocol former ambassador Russia in Saudi Arabia Andrey Baklanov:

Andrey Baklanov former Russian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia“The Saudis are distinguished by their particularly painstaking approach to preparing and conducting visits top level. Everything must be planned out and then, according to this carefully thought-out scenario, implemented. They first send a large advance group to the country where the event will take place, which works in different areas of the program. Accompanies pretty a large number of family members of the ruling dynasty and officials - employees of ministries and departments, and business representatives, and simply people who perform technical services.”

The king’s visit will be such that one can only sympathize with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who will also arrive in Moscow.

The cost of accommodation for King of Saudi Arabia Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and his retinue during his visit to Moscow from October 5 to 7 could be up to $3.3 million, according to a study conducted for RBC by specialists from the OneTwoTrip travel service.

Earlier, RIA Novosti reported that the Saudi king and a thousand people in his retinue will occupy all the available rooms in five-star hotels around the Kremlin and Red Square. They will stay at the Four Seasons (Moscow), Ritz Carlton, St. Regis Nikolskaya and National. In particular, the delegation completely rented the Four Seasons Hotel. The cost of the presidential suite alone is 1 million rubles.

“Depending on the accommodation, 1 thousand guests will need from 500 to 1 thousand rooms. Including accommodation in all Four Seasons rooms and suites at the Ritz Carlton, St. Regis and National provide about 326 rooms, that is, to accommodate the entire delegation, at least another 430 rooms of a different category are needed in these three hotels,” experts calculated.

If we take into account the cost of not only suites, but also standard and superior rooms, as well as a markup for group accommodation from 10 to 50%, then the total cost of accommodation for the Saudi delegation could range from $2.2 million to $3.3 million, experts say.

According to Kommersant, the furnishings in some rooms will be changed especially for the king’s arrival: carpets will be added, furniture will be changed. “The cost of such a transformation is difficult to calculate. We can talk about tens of thousands of dollars,” say OneTwoTrip experts.

According to Kommersant, Saudi prince Al-Waleed, nephew of the King of Saudi Arabia, owns a stake in the network Four hotels Seasons. “Without a doubt, this will make adjustments to the final price,” says the study received by RBC.

A slight drop in the ratings of specific hotels due to the inability of regular guests to check in for this period “will be more than compensated by income from the accommodation of delegations,” Vyacheslav Sapozhnikov, editor-in-chief of the industry portal Hotelier.PRO, told RBC. According to him, the reputation of hotels is a “long-lasting issue.”

Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud's visit to Moscow following the incident at Vnukovo-2 airport. When the king got off the plane and began to go down the escalator, it broke and the monarch had to go down on his own. As RBC Advisor to the Administrative Director of the President of Russia Elena Krylova, the Saudi Arabian delegation brought an escalator with them, but she could not clarify the cause of the breakdown.

During his visit, the King of Saudi Arabia held talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin. The Kremlin press service reported that increasing bilateral cooperation in the trade, economic, investment, cultural and humanitarian spheres will be discussed, and joint documents will also be signed.

During the visit, the delegation of the King of Saudi Arabia will live next to Red Square. Today, rent a room at the National, Four Seasons or St. Regis will not work: in one of the hotels, journalists were told about full occupancy, which, according to employees, happens extremely rarely. Reservations will open again after October 8th.
Some hotels had to cancel planned weddings and banquets; The main task now is to strengthen security: you can enter the building only after presenting your guest card.

Sergei Kolesnikov, vice-president of the Federation of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers, told Kommersant FM that this is normal practice:
“These events do not take place spontaneously, regardless of who comes: Saudi Arabia, the United States, the President of the Russian Federation or high-ranking officials. A representative of the special services selects not just a hotel, but specific rooms, this happens within a week or two. After the advance group, the day before arrival, special security measures are carried out: the room is checked again so that there are no misunderstandings.”

The organizers of the visit paid special attention to the convenience of the guests. The king of Saudi Arabia is known for his whimsical behavior: on his March trip to Indonesia, he took about 500 tons of luggage, two Mercedes-Benz S600 cars and even two electric elevators; Apparently, the Saudis did not come to Moscow lightly. Especially for the delegation, hotels change the furnishings of the rooms: the usual European furniture is sent to the warehouse, and in return they lay out carpets brought from Riyadh; In addition, pork dishes will be excluded from hotel menus.

This is not all that hotels can do for the sake of clients, noted Kirill Ryabkov, marketing director of the Quintessentially Russia concierge club:
“I worked at the Hyatt hotel where Madonna lived, and we did a separate room where she did yoga. The room had to be connected to her presidential suite, this was a requirement. One Australian pop star demanded that there be a certain scent of lilies where she walked."

There are a thousand people in Salman Al Saud’s delegation, and they were apparently lucky with their accommodation. Although it happened that wealthy guests bought the best rooms from the guests - the owner of the Helvetia Hotel in St. Petersburg, Yunis Teymurkhanly, told Kommersant FM about this case:
“The delegation, it seems, from the Emirates, was satisfied only with the presidential number: it was sold to someone from Russian oligarchs, and representatives of the Arab sheikh contacted the Russian with a request to give up this number. He categorically refused, bidding began, and in the end, when it had already reached astronomical figures, the oligarch’s wife could not stand it, saying: “You don’t want it, but I want it, I’ll buy it in France for the difference.”

Prices for the best 500 square meter Four Seasons rooms. m. start from 1 million rubles. per day., but for the delegation this is not a problem: especially, according to some sources, Saudi Prince Al-Walid, the king’s nephew, owns a share of this hotel chain.

Kommersant FM's interlocutors say that special conditions, in which the king of Saudi Arabia will live, cannot be called a whim: this, according to experts hotel business, guaranteeing their complete safety.

Trouble started upon arrival. The King of Saudi Arabia, Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, who arrived in Moscow on a state visit, discovered a breakdown of his escalator when getting off the plane at the capital's Vnukovo airport.

The golden escalator recently accompanies the Saudi monarch during his official visits. Thus, on March 1, 2017, Indonesian observers paid special attention to this detail. They noted 1,000 accompanying persons in the king's retinue, and estimated the weight of his luggage at 500 tons. Two weeks later, reporting on the Saudi king’s luxurious trip to Japan, the RT television channel noted that the monarch’s visit was served by two golden escalators, 10 airplanes, and 500 limousines. At that time, 1,200 luxury hotel rooms were prepared to accommodate the royal retinue in Japan.