 | As a result of the great success of the Russian Season festival, a number of Russian performances will be featured at Hurghada Cultural Palace Theatre
After the recent stop of cultural festivals in Hurghada due to the coronavirus, a Russian initiative organised the Russian Season festival, bringing life back to the city of tourism and festivals in which the largest Russian community in Egypt resides.
The Russian Season festival was held from 15 to 17 December under the auspices of the Russian Fund for Classical Literature, with the support of the Russian Centre for Science and Culture in Cairo, and the Russian Ministry of Education.
General Consul of Russia in Hurghada Victor Voropaev, and the counsellor of the Russian Embassy and General Director of the Russian Cultural Centres in Egypt Alexey Tevanyan were present at the festival that introduced the identity and size of Russian culture to Hurghada’s audience.
The events began with an introduction to ancient Russian games and acrobatic performances by a Russian folklore group, then food blogger Ekaterina Shinskaya talked about the secrets of Russian cuisine. Children also learned about the secrets of making cartoon films and were introduced to the basics of drawing by painter Vladimir Vakhrushev.
Then, theatre and film artists Ivan Ivashkin, Artem Tulchinskiy, and Olesya Abramova recited their favourite passages of Russian literature, while director and producer Jan Voss gave a lecture on the influence of Russian culture on international cinema.
Voropaev announced that the plan is to turn the Russian Season festival into a full week of celebrations next year, after the festival’s success in attracting a large number of attendees this year.
Marina Smirnova, head of the Russian Fund for Classical Literature, said that culture has always been a source of support for facing life experiences, “therefore, the decision was made to hold the festival in order to introduce Egyptians in Hurghada to Russian folklore and arts.”
For his part, Tevanyan stated that the main value of the festival lies in introducing Russian culture and language, and integrating Russian citizens living far from home. He expressed his happiness at the public turnout, proving the success of the festival and the great interaction with the large Russian community in Hurghada.
“The return of festivals to Hurghada is a return to the normal life of this charming city, which includes many nationalities with different cultures,” Tevanyan added.
Sawsan Abdel-Rahim, director general of the Red Sea Culture Palace, praised the festival held by the Russian community in Hurghada, describing it as being distinguished in terms of organisation, the level of technical training among children, and the dazzling performances, as well as the quality of the Russian food that was offered.
She welcomed the presentation of a number of Russian performances at the Hurghada Cultural Palace theatre. | | |