Vegetarian Marriage in Moscow

The 22nd of April this year was marked by an event in the life of Moscow vegetarians: a second marriage of young Moscow vegetarians was celebrated. The first event of this kind took place three years ago when 20 year old Irina and Konstantine got married, both ethical vegetarians, members of the Vegetarian Society in Russia and of the Centre for ethical Treatment of Animals.
The second vegetarian marriage was celebrated between Elena Marueva, age 22, an ethical vegetarian for 8 years, and Oleg, also a vegetarian. Oleg is being trained as an engineer and is the breadwinner, while Elena is an undergraduate of the Moscow Veterinarian School (called Moscow Academy of Veterinarian Medicine and Biotechnology). Elena is an active member of the Centre for Ethical Treatment of Animals and of the Euronich. She does not wear fur or leather shoes and chooses cruelty free cosmetics.
When Elena entered the Veterinarian School, she was appalled by the cruelty of the animal experiments and is determined to do all she can to alleviate the animal's fate. During the time Elena has been there, many changes in the attitude towards the animals have taken place in the school as well as through the whole country. Animals are treated less mercilessly. A course in bio-ethics is read at the school and animals are considered sentient beings.
As a member of the Centre for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, Elena took part in demonstrations against meat eating and against wearing fur. She spoke about homeless animals on television, gave lectures about animal rights at universities and schools. She compiled and handed out leaflets about animal rights.
The wedding celebration took place in a restaurant together with relatives, friends and colleagues of the bride and groom. The food was completely vegetarian. It was a real feast: various appetisers, salads, fruit, stuffed vegetables, pies, vegetarian pizza, spaghetti, with vegetables and all kinds of greens and legumes. For the main course, a rice and a potato dish were served with mushrooms. Afterwards, a delicious array of cakes and tarts was offered for the dessert. Many toasts were said and young and old danced to the music. One of the guests, a young journalist who works as a producer at one of the TV stations, made a programme about young vegetarian teenagers. About a quarter of the guests (eleven people) were vegetarians, outnumbering the other guests who took part in the wedding party.