On September 1 guests gathered in Gostiny Dvor to celebrate the beginning of the new business season. Leading figures known all over the country for their business successes were brought together by the Russian business television channel RBC TV, which was celebrating its third birthday that day.

It was a grand reception, with lots of champagne, clowns on stilts, prizes, gourmet hors d'oeuvres, and a presentation of posh autos. "We are glad that all of our friends, who we are used to seeing on TV as experts, could finally come together and meet each other", said RBC's General Director Yury Rovensky. Among the guests were Tatiana Paramonova, Alexander Yakovenko, Oleg Mitvol, Dmitry Zelenin, Yury Zhdanov, Vladimir Tarachev, David Yakobanishvili, Vladimir Engelsberg, Mikhail Barshchevsky, Vladimir Zaytsev, Helen Yarmak, Nikolai Drozdov, and Sergei Kapitsa, as well as many more well-known faces.

The evening began with a welcome cocktail and a raffle. Dmitry Zelenin was one of the lucky winners, receiving a round-trip ticket to London. Nikolai Drozdov won a voucher to the Foresta Tropicana Hotel in the Moscow region. Vyacheslav Zaytsev won a Vintage Audi and Tatiana Paramonova received an insurance policy from Oranta.

Having listened to telegrams from well-wishers Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Presidential Executive Office Vyacheslav Surkov, and the Speaker of the Federation Council Sergei Mironov, the guests turned to discussing their predictions for the future. The hosts of the evening (the channel's newsreaders Maria Stroyeva and Oleg Bogdanov) were very optimistic. According to them, on September 1, 2016 "the US Finance Minister will visit Russia to discuss the problems of American debt. Russia has already announced that it is ready to relieve part of the two-trillion dollar debt". The guests were not ready to look so far ahead into the future. Mikhail Barshchevsky, who appeared to be nervous and fidgety, said that he did not expect anything good in the new business year. He said, "What do you expect? This is a pre-election year!" Unlike the famous lawyer, Konstantin Borovoy was in good spirits, relaxed, smoking Hoyo de Monterrey cigars and smiling, but also gave apocalyptic forecasts. He said that oil prices had begun to slide and as Russia did not have a working economy, "we are on the verge of a very big and serious crisis". According to Borovoy, by the New Year the price of oil will not exceed $55 per barrel. Igor Bunin, the head of the Center for Political Technologies, pointed out that "more than merely intensive activity" was expected in Russian politics. "In the fall there will be a burst of political activity", he said. "There will be a lot of political maneuvering, which will primarily affect the future of the Russian party political system. Furthermore, the fate of Russian liberals remains important, as there is a danger that they could leave the political arena altogether for quite some time". At that point the guests were invited to their tables and all political discussions were set aside. The legendary Sergei Mazayev and the Ignatyev Brothers VIP Jazz Orchestra opened the concert. The guests also received a surprise show from a number of leading performers from the Bolshoi Theater and young singers from the TV show "The People's Artist". Helen Yarmak presented a new collection of fur coats. The celebration was concluded with a fire show and the presentation of a huge 80-kilogram cake.