Days of Russian Spiritual Culture have been held in various countries since 2008. This year, these festivals have already taken place in eight countries, including Greece, Macedonia, Slovenia, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. The Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation and the Russian Orthodox Church, which organize the events, plan to hold them in Abkhazia, Slovakia, Spain, and on September 3rd the festival starts in Armenia. The festival will be held in five Armenian cities – Gyumri, Yerevan, Stepanavan, Yeghegnadzor and Abovyan.
The Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation, Alla Manilowa, said the main event is scheduled for September, when exhibitions will be opened in the cities of Armenia, performances by Russian groups will take place, particularly of the children's choral ensemble ‘Otrada’ and the band from St. Petersburg ‘Bis-quits’, the members of which perform musical compositions on Russian folk instruments.
The special envoy of the Russian president on International Cultural Cooperation, Mikhail Shvydkoi, stated that there is an internal civilizational attraction between Armenia and Russia, "When we are talking about the Days of Spiritual Culture in the CIS countries, usually they are oriented towards compatriots who live in one or another country. Armenia is a monoethnic country. 98% of the population are Armenians. And this is even more valuable, because in Armenia the need for Russian culture is high. The proximity of the two countries is not determined by the fact that the Armenian and Russian cultural environments are interrelated. It seems to me that this is a very significant moment when the Days of the Russian Spiritual Culture will be perceived, above all, by people speaking Armenian, for whom the Armenian culture is their human identity."
The solemn opening ceremony of the Days of Russia in Armenia will be held on September 3rd in Yerevan, at the Khachaturian Concert Hall. There will be a gala concert with the participation of soloists of the Mariinsky Theatre, who will be accompanied by the Symphony Orchestra of Armenia during their performance. In addition, in the foyer of the concert hall there will be an exhibition of children's drawings ‘Soul of Russia’. At the site of the Stanislavsky Yerevan Russian Drama Theater a set of events in support of Russian theaters abroad will be held, where directors, actors, writers and theater critics will give master classes for their Armenian colleagues.
A photography exhibition titled ‘The family in the culture of the peoples of Eurasia. The 20th century’’ from the collection of the Russian Museum of Ethnography will take place in the National Historical Museum of Armenia.
September 6th will be dedicated to the Year of Cinema in Russia. The Yerevan State Institute of Theater and Cinema will host master classes with the participation of students of the VGIK Film Institute, the film club of VGIK will be opened. The Russian actor Alexander Mikhailov will hold a recital at the Stanislavsky Yerevan Russian Drama Theater.
The Week of Cinema, which will take place in Yerevan, Gyumri and Abovyan from September 14th to 18th, will finish the Days of Russia in Armenia. The spectators will be shown classic movies and the best trends of recent years. The opening film will be ‘The Crew’ by Nikolai Lebedev. In the framework of the week, a retrospective of films by Karen Shakhnazarov is planned. The director will take part in the events along with well-known artists of Russian cinema.
