42nd Annual Russian New Year’s Eve Ball

The dress code for the 42nd Annual Russian New Year’s Ball, held in the Grand Ball Room at the Mayflower Hotel Jan. 13, was “white or black tie/Russian costume.” Princess Selene Obolensky led the way in the traditional “boyar” pearl-encrusted gala headdress. The evening included entertainment by The Washington Balalaika Society and Sydney’s Orchestra and The Russian Dance troupe. Noting that it was “not Fabergé but very close,” Princess Obolensky presented an award to Raisa Scriabine as a leading “defender of the child.” In thanking everyone who made the evening possible to benefit the “Children of Berezichi,” residing at the Boarding Schools for Special Children in Ulianova and Sosenskaya, Russian Federation, she happily welcomed the fifth generation of family to attend the ball, two-year-old great grandnephew Ronan Obolensky.