Voices of witnesses and descendants in lyrics and in prose, to music and without it. "I Ask for the Floor! Year 1917" directed by Veniamin Smekhov will be shown on 11 and 12 November in the Main Hall of the St. Petersburg Academic Philharmonic of Dmitry Shostakovich. 

The International Festival EARLYMUSIC celebrates its 20^th anniversary. It is the first and the largest Russian festival that links Russian cultural space with European beginnings and presents baroque, renaissance, medieval and classic music in authentical performance. 

The project has been created for the purpose of support of the Anatoly Lunacharsky Award that had been established in 2015 for promotion of culture workers of noncreative professions - workers of museums, theatres, libraries, film studios and other Russian cultural institutions. 

The section “Creative Industry and Urban Science” at the VI St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum will become a venue for discussing the most critical issues faced by the architectural community of Russia and the world as well as presenting the most brilliant projects of two capital cities from the recent past. The section will be headed by Principal architect of Moscow Sergey Kuznetsov for the second year in a row.  

A similar event took place last year within the the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum on 1-3 December 2016. The topic of the previous meeting was the joint projects of the two countries in the field of the development of theatre art.

Ministry for Culture of Russia, the VI St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum and the Igor Butman Music Group present the first Russian jazz conference “Jazz Across Borders”, that will be held on the site of the State Academic Chapel on 17-18 November, 2017.

The artistic director of the Alexandrinsky theatre gave an interview to "Interfax" and told about the "Alexandrinsky" festival, about the events of the VI St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum and about the topical problems of modern theatre. 

Deputy Minister for Culture of Russian Federation Alexander Zhuravsky in his interview with TASS within the Eastern Economic Forum told about the cultural projects on the Far East and about the cooperation with neighbouring countries. 

Russian and foreign experts will share practical experience of preserving the cultural monuments in zones of military conflicts. Oleg Ryzhkov, the head of the section “Cultural Heritage Preservation”, told about it in his interview with TASS.

One of the brightest modern organists of Britain, the leading organ master in his country and abroad James Parsons will give a recital in the oldest Catholic church of St. Petersburg on 7 September. Under the auspices of the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. 

The Republic of Kazakhstan will take part in the VI St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum that will take place on 16-18 November 2017. This year Kazakhstan has achieved the status of ‘guest state’ that will emphasize once again the special relations between the two countries and will become an important step for development of mutual cultural cooperation between Kazakhstan and the Russian Federation. 

On 7, 8, 28 and 29 September at 19.00 on the main stage of the Bryantsev Youth Theatre the premiere performance about out Planet will be presented. Under the auspices of the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. 

This year the key topic of the Festival will concern the period of youth of the writer, that passed against the background of the “second thaw” period, in the 1960-s – 1970-s, at the period of cultural shock, intellectual ferment and underground culture, when the joyful Soviet youth had just started to branch off the state ideology, to read dissident literature and to create its own punk and rock culture. 

On 9 and 10 September the Baltic House Theatre Festival invites everyone to the premiere of a new performance "Taras" by the story of Nikolai Gogol "Taras Bulba". 

In ten years the Festival has become one of the most prestigious theatre events of Europe. This year "Alexandrinsky" takes places under the auspices of the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. 

The first Russian festival of posters and cinema art will begin tomorrow. For the whole month various stages of the city will host different exhibitions, lectures, film shows, art workshops. All the events will be dedicated to movie posters as an art form. 

On 2 September the Book Yard on Fontanka will accomodate the Park of intellectual amusements: educational and entertaining stage with lections, exhibitions, workshops and quests. 

On 15 August on the Palace Square of St. Petersburg hundreds of citizens and guests of the city gathered in the Roundelay of Piece. 

On 19 August the Kirov Central Park of Culture and Recreation will host one of the most favourite fests of the citizens: musical and poetical "Literature. Music. Park". Among the special guests - writer Pavel Sanaev, opera singer Ksenia Nesterenko, film critic Anton Dolin, fashion historian Megan Wirtanen, artistical director Sergey Fevralyov and others. 

The museum of contemporary art Erarta presents the exhibition of photographs by the icon Italian fashion-photographer Gian Paolo Barbieri that will take place from 1 September to 5 November. 

A grand retrospective project will be shown in Petersburg from 15 August to 3 September. 

On 13 August Leningrad Zoo turns 152. This day the Direction of the Zoo prepares a lot of surprises for its guests: the bright festive events, announcement of the results of the marmots` best names competition, and the ceremonial opening of the new pavilion "Otters". 

The festival theme of this year - "Park of dreams". Interactive performances, installations, authorial light art objects will create a fantastic world full of apparitions and reminiscences. 

The marathon weekend gathers the best ethnic musicians from different regions of Russia and its neighbouring countries. The festival heroes not only preserve national traditions, but also translate them into the language of modern music, performing folk music of Buryatia, Bashkiria, Kazakhstan, Russia, Karelia in ethno-rock and ethno-electronic sound.

The applications will be accepted from 01 August 2017 to 20 October 2017. To apply for accreditation you should review the rules carefully and fill in the enrollment form on the website.

During fifteen years the Festival has become one of the main traditions of Petersburg summer and gathers more than 3000 professionals and amateurs of choir singing from all over the world every year. 

On 30 July at 20.00 the Turetsky Choir will arrange a real "Song Fest" on the Palace Square, on the Navy Day. The concert will be organized under the auspices of the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. 

Today, on 21 July 2017, the Presidium of the Union of Museums of Russia headed by the general director of the State Hermitage Museum Mikhail Piotrovsky will hold an exterior session in Kostroma. The event will take place under the auspices of the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. 

The exhibition of Uri Katzenstein - an Israeli artist, sculptor and musician - will take place at the Museum of Anna Akhmatova from 13 July to 13 August. Under the auspices of the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. 

A working session with the participation of the Deputy Minister for Culture of Russia, the representative of the Culture Committee of St. Petersburg and the heads of the sections of the Forum took place on 11 July 2017 in the St. Petersburg Court Chapel.   

The VI St. Petersburg International Festival "All Together Opera" will be held in St. Petersburg from 12 to 22 July, 2017. The outstanding masterpieces of classical opera will be presented to the general public in the most beautiful squares and parks of the city. Under the auspices of the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. 

The Lukoil President Vagit Alekperov and the Governer of the Khanty-Mansijsk Autonomous District-Yugra Nataliya Komarova signed the additional agreement to the Agreement on cooperation between the oil company and the Government of the region on 27 June in Moscow. 

The tradition of celebration of Mayakovsky's birthday was established in 2013 in connection with 120-year-anniversary of the writer. The V Festival of Vladimir Mayakovsky is an important cause to apply to poetry, to the history of Russia, to the issue of personal choice of the poet. The organizers will try to give cause for reflections going out the stereotyped perception of Mayakovsky's art that people of different generations received after the school-timed literature tuition. 

The panel session took place on 23 June within the first International Cultural Forum “Baikal-Totem”. The participants shared the best cases in the area of cultural project development in the Russian regions. 

Gatchina State Palace invites everyone to the VIII International Festival "The Night of Music" which will take place on 8th of July, 2017. The programme includes the popular pieces of Tchaikovsky, Beethoven, Bizet, Ravel, Gershvin. 

Festival "Swing of the White Night" demonstrates that St. Petersburg is one of the major European centres of jazz art and shows the high level of Russian and foreign jazz performing. 

On 29 June the XIX International Dance Festival OPEN LOOK in St. Petersburg will start with a promenade dancing performance through bridges, parks and embankments. 

The first International Cultural Forum "Baikal-Totem" - the regional event and partner of the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum will take place on 23-25 June 2017 in Irkutsk and Baykalsk.  

The performance of Theodoros Terzopoulus by the play of Bertolt Brecht - on the main stage of Alexandrinsky Theatre. 

Under the auspices of the Forum: the performance "The Raven" by the play of Carlo Gozzi.

The exhibition "Flying Fish Season" will take place from 20 June to 19 July within the III International Triennale of Graphics "White Inter Nights-2017". 

The exhibition dedicated to the famous pop-singer will take place in the concert hall of the Sheremetev Palace. 

On 15 and 16 June, 4 and 9 July 2017 the Theatre "Zazerkalye" presents the famous performance by Georges Bizet. 

F. Chaliapin Memorial Apartment presents the exhibition devoted to the great Russian singer and actor F. Chaliapin at the epoch of Revolution and the early years of Soviet regime. 

The performance will be presented on 17 and 18 June on the New Stage of Alexandrinsky Theatre. 

The Bryantsev Youth Theatre will present to the audience the premiere performance of a play by the most famous Polish avant-garde playwright Sławomir Mrożek. 

A unique musical and theatrical project which is aimed to revive the historical and cultural traditions of St. Petersburg. 

The visitors are welcomed to take part in interactive and outdoor games and start on a virtual trip to the ocean bottom. 

The Deputy Culture Minister of the Russian Federation Alexander Zhuravsky held a meeting with the representatives of the non-profit and profit-making organizations. 

The new performance of Valery Fokin - under the auspices of the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. 

Every weekend from 3 to 17 June - old and rare Russian and foreign movies accompanied by live sound of saxophone and cello - in the open air cinema in the garden of the Anna Akhmatova Museum in the Fountain House. 

For its 19^th edition the largest contemporary dance festival in Russia OPEN LOOK has prepared a program full of premieres, discoveries and creative provocations. 

The outstanding philanthropes of Russia will be awarded for the support of national cultural projects. The awarding ceremony will take place within the VI St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum (16-18 November 2017). 

Among the participants - foreign teams from England, France, Spain, Italy, Netherlands, Poland, Belarus and South Korea, three Russian street theatres with new performances and more than 20 street theatres from St. Petersburg. The festival is being organized under the auspices of St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. 

The Imperial Gardens of Russia, the international festival of garden and park art, is an annual large-scale event held by the Russian Museum that takes place on its grounds, in the Mikhailovsky Garden. 

The Saint Petersburg State Youth Theatre on the Fontanka ends the theatrical season with a performance based on a Russian classical novel. Under the auspices of the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum - on 11 and 12 June. 

The festival takes place at the St.Petersburg A. Bryantsev Young Theatre under the auspices of the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. 

The annual Ball of Nationalities will commemorate the Day of St. Petersburg. The representatives of different ethnic groups will walk along the Nevsky prospect in a festive procession that will end on Vasilievsky Island with a big concert of ethnic bands and performers. The event is being organized under the auspices of the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. 

The N. Akimov St. Petersburg Comedy Theatre presents the play of one of the best British playwrights Noël Peirce Coward for the first time in Russia. The performance is being shown under the auspices of the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. 

The ecological festival will take place on the Day of St. Petersburg on 27 May. 

The St. Petersburg Chamber Opera for the first time turned to the works by Charles Gounod. In his modern, expressive version of the classical opera director Yuri Alexandrov deals with the philosophical issues of being, the man’s vocation, and the confrontation of hell and heaven, responding vividly and passionately to today's world events. 

One of the largest and the most important bookwork events in Russia will take place in the Mikhailovsky Manege (Winter Stadium) of St. Petersburg and will gather the representatives of more than 250 publishing houses of Russia and foreign countries. It is divided into two parts - the cultural and business programme. 

The exhibition of books, documents, photos, personal belongings of the poet will take place at the Anna Akhmatova Museum in St. Petersburg. 

The St. Petersburg State Children Music Theatre `Carambole`presents the first Russian version of the famous Broadway musical in Lensoveta House of Culture. The performance is being organized under the auspices of the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. 

The exhibition will take place in the State Museum-Preserve "Gatchina". It is dedicated to the foreign trips of the owners of the Gatchina Palace in the period of more than hundred years: from  the European voyage of the Grand Duke Paul I in 1782 to the "Russian week" of Nicholas II in Paris in 1896. 

The members of the Commonwealth of Independent States will sum up the results of the programme 2015-2017 and propose the new strategy for the further development of the touristic industry within the main session of the CIS Tourism Council that will take place on May, 19 in the State Hermitage Museum of St. Petersburg. 

The exhibition will shed light on the process of ballet performance creation, from creative conception to its realization on stage. The exhibits plunge visitors into the history of St. Petersburg ballet school, from Giselle to Konyok-Gorbunok (The Little Humpbacked Horse) toSwan Lake and Petrushka. The exhibition is accompanied by interactive program and a special game space, which should attract both adults and children.

More than 110 museums, galleries, libraries, concert and exhibition halls will take part in the worldwide action. The event will be organized under the auspices of St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. 

The VI International conference `Ethnomusicology: history, theory and praxis` will be dedicated to the 155-year-anniversary of the N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory and to the 90-year-anniversary of the department of musical ethnography. 

A unique sport festival for people with special needs will take place on 20 May in the Central Park on Elagin Island. The event is being organized under the auspices of the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. 

The Tulip Festival is a magnificent event which turns the Elagin Island into a residense of omnifarious floral colours for several weeks. The tulips are, without any doubt, the symbol of spring, and the festival itself is one of the brightest and most expected annual events in Saint Petersburg. 

The theatre `Shelter of the Comedian` presents the comedy performance by the stories of Vasily Shukshin. The event is organized under the auspices of the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. 

Under the auspices of the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum - the 53-rd international festival `St. Petersburg Musical Spring`, the oldest festival of composers and music performers in Russia. 

On 7 May in Alexandrinsky Theatre - the Croatian performance of the famous ballet by Pyotr Tchaikovsky `Anna Karenina`. The event is organized under the auspices of the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. 

On 4 May in the Lensoviet Academic Theatre - the premiere of the play `The Marriage` by the Polish writer Witold Gombrowicz. The event is organized under the auspices of the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. 

The Gala concert of the St. Petersburg jazz orchestras will take place on 30 April, the International Jazz Day. 

St. Petersburg State Museum of Theatre and Music houses a great collection of scene and costume designs by Léon Bakst, one of greatest theatre designers of the 20th century, a member of the Sergei Diaghilev circle and the Ballets Russes. The exhibition features over 50 works, including drawings, costume designs, rare photos, postcards and porcelain sculptures. 

On 26 April in the Tovstonogov Bolshoi Drama Theater the Sergei Kuryokhin Award Presentation will be held. From 25 April to 20 May the Sergey Kuryokhin Art Center will host the exhibition of the works of the nominees. 

Under the auspices of the Forum: the premiere of the performance `Winter Ice` by the Dutch writer Peter van Gestel. 

Under the auspices of the Forum: the premiere performance of the Viktor Rozov tragicomedy `From Evening Till Midday` in the St. Petersburg Theatre `Shelter of the Comedian`on 21-23 April. 

The Biblionight - 2017 in St.Petersburg will be held under the auspices of the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. More than 100 public libraries will host various entertaining and educational events for all ages on April 21 - 22. 

The St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum launches the online registration for the Professional Event Flow participants. The Forum will take place on 16-18 November. 

Shortly before the openning of the International Festival of Theatres of CIS and Baltic countries “Meetings in Russia” Sergey Shub told us about life of Russian theatres abroad. 

For the 19th time an International Festival of Theatres in CIS and Baltic countries will be held in St. Petersburg. This year it is organized on 6-13 April 2017 under the auspices of St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.

The Vice-Minister of Culture of Russian Federation Alexander Zhuravsky told about it during the board session of the Ministry of Culture. The VI St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum will take place from 16 to 18 November 2017. 

Daniel Pollack speaks about Russia, Russian people, role of music and participation in the Forum 

The 3rd annual Anatoly Lunacharsky’s award giving ceremony will be held in 2017

International conference "Collaboration of culture organizations and society. Cooperation of Russian and international culture organizations" was held in Sochi

Meeting of the Organizing committee of the St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum was held in the Mariinsky Theatre on February 9.   

Within the X Winter International Art Festival in Sochi the St. Petersburg Cultural Forum in cooperation with the European Festivals Association and the Ministry of Culture of Russian Federation will hold the international conference. 

The participants of the conference noted that during the last 25 years the Commonwealth has become the unique stage for integration in the area of culture. 

Classic and modernity, masterpieces and experiments, professionals and spectators, aknowledged masters and rising stars

Within the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum more than 50 agreements in the field of culture were concluded.

The 2016 Festival of Chinese culture in Russia ended up with `Russian-Chinese dialogue of performing arts` that took place in St. Petersburg on 2 December within the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum 

Discussions about various cultural issues took place at the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. Particularly, matters of circus industry, which included the whole range of problems of contemporary Russia circus, were or great interest.

Dozens of projects were presented and numerous important agreements in the sphere of tourism, museum industry and other spheres of culture were signed at the Cultural Forum. Some of these prospective enterprises should be described in detail.

A master class of the artistic director of the Higher School of Performing Arts Konstantin Raikin took place on the New stage of the Alexandrinsky theatre at the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. We have prepared a summary of the master’s speech, in which he told about theatre university applicants, difficulties of the profession and coexistence of art, religion and daily life.

The “Marketing of culture: a search for an actual language” panel discussion took place at the Business venue of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. Famous Russian and foreign experts in the sphere of communications shared their views on promoting culture today without losing its fundamental content.

For three days St. Petersburg became the center of concentration of stars, cultural events, bright premieres and heated debates. Ralph Fiennes, Fyodor Bondarchuk, Valery Gergiev, Gabriel Prokofiev and many others came to the Northern capital of Russia due the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum taking place from 1 to 3rd of December.

DJ-sets in the “Dance-floor” club, master-classes in the “Palm” creative cluster, dozens of premieres of plays and movies, unique exhibitions – this year the objective of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum was joining classical and contemporary art. We have prepared a brief report on what it was like.

The program of the V St.Petersburg International Cultural Forum was very eventful: discussion of acute topics, dynamic negotiations, spirited debates, noisy social events – for three days the Business Venue of the V St.Petersburg International Cultural Forum became the center of cultural life and territory of fruitful dialogue between business and society.

The “Under the Auspices of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum” festival program continues. Today the Concert hall of the Mariinsky theatre will host a concert of a famous pianist and the first honored ambassador of the Cultural Forum Daniel Pollack.

The “World of Russian nobility. French art of XVIII-XIX centuries from the collection of duke Yusupov in the Hermitage. ” exhibition opened in the Yusupov palace as part of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. The best part of the collection will be exhibited in the Nikolaevsky hall for the first time in a hundred years.

Answering questions of the journalists at the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum, the general director of the State Hermitage Museums Mikhail Piotrovsky commented on the situation in the sphere of development of the museum industry.

A presentation of Anatoly Bely’s “Cinema poetry” project took place on December 2 at the Business venue of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. Actors of the MDT – Theatre of Europe participated in the “Reflections” poetry evening. The project, dedicated to the Year of Cinema in Russia, explores the connection between cinema and poetry.

The “Post-literature or the future of culture in the digital era” virtual dialogue took place on December 2 at the “Education” section of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. The transformation of literature into new forms and formats, the situation on the book market and the level of reading culture – these and other issues were discussed by famous writers and experts.

“It’s a great honor for me to participate in the Year of Cinema closing ceremony. Since I was a child I have been greatly inspired by Russian culture. I am very glad to have worked in your country with many talented people”, - started the famous British actor Ralph Fiennes in Russian.

A session famous ballet masters, a general rehearsal of “The Stone Flower” ballet of Yuriy Grigorovich and the Anatoly Lunacharsky Award and the “Musical Olympus” Award ceremonies will take place on December 3 at the Cultural Forum.

Marina Merkulova’s “Oedipus in Epidurus” documentary film was presented on December 2 at the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. The movie is dedicated to the “Oedipus Rex” play of the director of the Vakhtangov Theatre Rimas Tuminas with Russian and Greek actors in the ancient amphitheatre of Epidaurus. Later that night the play premiered on the stage of the Alexandrinsky theatre.

The “Innovations in media as an instrument of popularizing cultural objects” round table will take place on December 3 at the Business section of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. RT International Television Channel will participate as the partner of the event.

On December 2 the Governor’s Symphony Orchestra of the Irkutsk Regional Philharmonic presented Georgiy Sviridov Symphony #1 in the State Academic Capella of Saint Petersburg at the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.

At the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum the Festival of Festivals gathered leaders of international cultural festivals, cultural figures and governmental officials to discuss the uniting role of culture. At the end of the event pianist Daniel Pollack, the first honored ambassador of the Forum, was presented with a symbolic gift.

An agreement on intentions in the sphere of realizing investment interests in the sphere of cultural heritage in the “Gatchina” museum-reserve was signed at the Business venue between the “Gatchina” museum reserve and “Megafon” company.

At the night event of the “Prokofiev. 21st century” international symposium at the “Dance-floor” club British composer and DJ Gabriel Prokofiev presented a new brilliant mix of electronic and classical music. The performance of Sergey Prokofiev’s grandson was opened by the minister of culture of the Russian Federation Vladimir Medinsky.

Best workers of museums, circuses, theatres, libraries, schools and conservatories received 10 awards in 9 nominations. Winners were congratulated by heads of section of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.

On the third day the Business venue of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum gathered experts in the sphere of protection of copyright and neighboring rights today. The director of the department of legal regulation of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation Natalia Romashova moderated the event.

The “Preservation and valorization of monuments of industrial architecture: Italian and European experience” conference took place on December 3 at the “Cultural heritage preservation” section of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum in the Scientists’ house of the Russian Academy of Science of the Russian Academy of Science. Participants from Italy, Great Britain, France and the Netherlands discussed projects of “cultural conversion” of industrial architecture.

A presentation of a building of the State Hermitage Museum in the former ZIL factory in Moscow took place today, on December 3, at the “Creative industry and urban science” section of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. Participants discussed this absolutely new urban solution – the project of the “Hermitage-Moscow” Museum of Contemporary Art as part of the “ZILART” large construction project.

A discussion on the topic of “Music and cinema: together or apart?” took place today, on December 3, in the General Staff building of the State Hermitage museum.

A presentation of “Soyuzmultfilm” projects took place on December 3 in the General Staff building of the State Hermitage museum. The director of the studio Gleb Davydov told about the development strategy, moving into a new building and plans for launching a children’s channel.

Events, dedicated to the 125th anniversary of the great composer Sergey Prokofiev and the revival of “The Tale of the Stone Flower” ballet under Yuriy Grigorovich’s direction on the stage of the Mariinsky theatre, took place on December 2 at the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.

Heads of sections shared their thoughts about the achievements of this year’s forum and future cultural projects at the session on December 3, dedicated to the results of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum

On December 3 in the General Staff building of the Sate Hermitage museum participants of the “Music” section of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum summarized their work. The main issues of this year’s Forum were music in cinema and the anniversary of Sergey Prokofiev.

The “International cooperation in the sphere of circus art and street theatre” took place on December 3 at the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. Participants discussed issues of popularizing circus art and other challenges of modernity.

At the Business Venue of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum on 3rd of December the Vologda regional state philharmonic hall of V. Gavrilin and Regional public foundation of cultural, scientific and educational support «St.Petersburg heritage and future» signed the Agreement on cooperation. 

Business Venue of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum gathered experts in the sphere of «digitalization» of culture and art as part of a special project – a series of lectures «Culture 2.0». 

At the session of the Union of Museums of Russia on December 2 at the V Saint Petersburg International Cultural Forum the Union of Museums of Russia and the Association of Museums of Finland officially prolonged the Memorandum of Understanding in the sphere of museum industry. Also the Union signed an agreement on cooperation with the Union of Concert Organizations of Russia.

The work of the “Cultural heritage preservation” section of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum started with a presentation of the “Cultural heritage” XII national award, which is given for significant contribution to the preservation and revival of immobile objects of historical heritage of Russia.

On December 1 leading experts in the sphere of cinema discussed the prospects of Russian cinema on the global level at the “Lenfilm” studio. After the conference the “Glavkino” studio, the “Lenfilm” studio and the Russian-Chinese fund for development of culture and education signed an agreement on the creation of a Chinese remake of the famous Soviet “Amphibious Man” movie.

The “Patron of the Year” official award ceremony, established by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, took place on December 1 at the Business venue of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. This year the ceremony was traditionally held in the Marble Hall of the Russian museum of Ethnography. 

An informal evening event for guests of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum took place on December 1 in the Park of Culture and Reading on Nevsky Prospekt. The “Bookvoed” chain of bookstores together with “Lenfilm” studio organized the “Night. Forum. Cultural reception – 2016” event, dedicated to the end of the Year of Cinema in Russia and the upcoming Year of Cultural Tourism between Russia and France.

Long-standing cooperation between Saint Petersburg State University and the State Hermitage museum was reestablished at the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.

Participants of the conference «Commonwealth of cultures – commonwealth of nations» that took place on 1st of December at the V Saint Petersburg International Cultural Forum in the General Staff Building of the Hermitage discussed the prospects of development of cultural ties and national cultures in the CIS region, how culture can strengthen the Commonwealth and what Russian theater abroad is.

Participants of the “3D era. New cultural revolution” round table, which took place on December 2 in the General Staff building of the State Hermitage museum, discussed possible threats of the digital and 3D revolution, talked about what we will leave for the next generation and how to preserve the prestige of museums. The discussion was organized as part of the “Museums and exhibition projects” of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.

At the “Using language as the official one: legal requirements and social reality” the head of the “Education” section of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum, rector of Saint Petersburg University Nikolai Kropachev said that it is necessary to adopt general requirements for the official state language in order to achieve effective communication.

On December 2 the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum gathered leading artistic director of ballet troupes from countries of the CIS at the round table. Boris Eifman, People’s Artist of Russia, artistic director of the Boris Eifman Ballet Theatre, participated as the moderator of the event.

At the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum European experts shared their experience in supporting cultural projects and working with artists as well as means of attracting the society to learning about art and their historical heritage. The meeting took place on December 2 at the “Interaction of different cultural institutes as an opportunity to create a common cultural space” round table.

A presentation of the Centre for Social and Cultural Planning, which is a subdivision of Saint Petersburg State institute of Culture, will take place at the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.

Today on December 2 the project of a museum of contemporary art in the former GES-2 building in Moscow was presented at the “Creative industry and urban science” session of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.

The “Cultural heritage in conflict zones” plenary session took place on December 2 at the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. Experts of museum industry and political figures participated in the discussion: general director of the State Hermitage museum Mikhail Piotrovsky, minister of culture of Iraq Mifud Muhammad Javad al-Jazairi, head of Department of the Confidence-Building program of the Directorate of political issues of the Council of Europe (France) Anna Cappello.

On December 2 at the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum participants of events, dedicated to the Year of Cinema in Russia, told about achievements and problems of national cinema.

Signing ceremony of important international documents, which embrace several spheres of cultural cooperation, have been signed on December 2 at the Business venue of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.

On the second working day of the Business Venue of V Saint Petersburg International Cultural Forum a presentation by the International cultural forum «Baikal-Totem: dialogue between East and West» took place. The discussion moderator was a writer, dramatist and VGTRK TV host Andrey Maximov.

“The Great Silk Road” panel discussion took place at the meeting of the “Tourism” section of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum on December 2. Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Alla Manilova participated as the moderator of the event. A unique project of experts of the Russian Museum of Ethnography – a map with historical and cultural areas of Russia, which are connected with the Great Silk Road – was presented at the event.

Scientists, professors and experts in the sphere of culture discussed problems of preserving national cultures in the atmosphere of globalization and the international experience in terms of preserving world historical heritage at the “Cultural traditions and identity in the globalized world” round table at the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.

The “Development of crafts in Russia: new horizons” plenary session took place at the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum on December 2. In the Atrium of the Commandant’s House of the Peter and Paul fortress state officials and experts discussed problems and prospects of development of crafts in Russia from the cultural, economic and legal point of views.

Seventeen cultural establishments in the Russian Federation, which achieved great success in attracting extra-budgetary investments and efficiency, have received “Bonus certificates” for 148 million rubles overall. 

At the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum the minister of culture and sports of the Republic of Greece Lydia Konniordou told that as a result of the cross-cultural year in Russian and Greece the countries managed to strengthen ties and expand partnership.

Today, on December 1, the plenary session of the Forum will take place, the “Prokofiev. 21st century” international symposium will open today, and the “Patron of the Year” award ceremony will take place today. The first events, dedicated to the 25th anniversary of the CIS, the Year of Cinema in Russian and other important cultural issues of the year are about to start.

Events from two sites of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. 

Composer, grandson of Sergey Prokofiev, British electronic musician Gabriel Prokofiev and director of Glinka All-Russian Museum Union of Musical Culture Mikhail Bryzgalov told about the musical part of the program of the first day of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.

Please note that the timetable of events in the Peter and Paul fortress has changed in the personal online account!

At the opening of the “Prokofiev. 21st century” Gabriel Prokofiev shared his impressions of the Sergey Prokofiev Museum in Moscow, and professor Simon Morrison shared his thought about what we still have to do in terms of exploring works of the great composer.

Vladimir Urin, head of the “Theatre” section, general director of the State Academic Bolshoi theatre of Russia at the meeting with journalists on the first day of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum said that this year the section will focus on the topic of “Theatre education, economy and the quality of education”.

State officials, experts, investors and developers have discussed the role of culture in modern city development at the “Culture as a city development driver” plenary session of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.

The “Cultural Heritage Preservation. Research and Restoration” science and research conference will take place on December 1 at the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. Experts in the sphere of museology, arts and cultural objects’ preservation participated in the event in the General Staff building of the State Hermitage museum.

The “Culture and Business: together, cannot be apart. Culture as a corporate responsibility tool” panel discussion took place at the Business venue of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. 

Ralph Fiennes, a British actor and director, and Fyodor Bondarchouk, the chairman of CINEMA section at the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum opened “Russian Cinema as Viewed by the Foreigners” conference at LENFILM film studio.

At the Business venue of the V Saint Petersburg International Cultural Forum on 1st of December the agreement on creation of Russian-Chinese Association of universities of culture and arts was signed. The Association will comprise 18 Russian and 8 Chinese higher education institutes.

The work of «Preservation of cultural heritage» section of the V Saint Petersburg International Cultural Forum started with a presentation of XII national award «Cultural Heritage» that is given for outstanding contribution into preservation and revival of real estate objects of Russian cultural heritage.

The head of the “Literature and Reading” section of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum Ludmila Verbitskaya talked about the necessity of popularizing literature among students and adults.

Chief editor of cultural projects of “Russia Today” Ria.ru Anna Kocharova will take part in the “Marketing of cultural projects: the search of an actual language. Does culture need marketing?” panel discussion of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.

A presentation of a concert hall in the “Zaryadye” park took place on December 1 in the General Staff building of the State Hermitage museum as part of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. Chief architect of Moscow, the head of the “Creative Industry and Urban Science” section Sergey Kuznetsov and the artistic head and general director of the Mariinsky theatre Valery Gergiev told about the importance of joint work on creating concert venues.

American photo-journalist Allan Tannenbaum told about his “John and Yoko: A New York Love Story” exhibition in KGallery, which starts today as part of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.

On December 1, on the first day of the Business venue of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum several major agreements on cooperation between the Russian Museum and its partners were signed in the Marble Hall of the Russian Museum of Ethnography.

“Cultural heritage preservation – priority national project” plenary session has gathered state officials and cultural figures from Europe and Russian at the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.

The session of the IX Coordination Council on tourism with deputy minister of culture Alla Manilova and the head of the “Tourism” section Maya Lomidze took place on December 1 in the conference hall of the “Moscow” hotel. Experts discussed specific measures and solutions, necessary for increasing the level of competitiveness of Russian regions on the Russian and international tourist market, in the context of the coming FIFA World Cup 2018 as well.

Mediation of press between the state and culture as well as reflecting art projects in the press, were discussed at the “Mass communications” section of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.

The “Preservation of world cultural heritage: national strategies and global challenges” plenary session of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum on December 1 gathered state officials from different countries and cultural figures to decide, how culture should oppose global challenges. Irina Rossius participated as the moderator of the event.

At the “World cultural heritage preservation: national strategies and global challenges” plenary session composer Gabriel Prokofiev and pianist Daniel Pollack shared their views on the function of academic music in the era of advanced technologies.

On December 1 Russian and foreign art-critics, representatives of museums and cultural figures suggested answers to the most important questions in the sphere of global and national contemporary art as part of the “National and global in contemporary art” intellectual marathon.

At the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum Hannes Hofbauer presented his book – “Enemy Image Russia. A History of Demonisation”. With other representatives of culture and science he discussed how culture can help to resolve the political crisis.

Director of external communications of Rambler & Co Matvei Alexeev will participate in the plenary session of the coordination council on tourism, dedicated to increasing competitiveness of Russian regions on Russian and international tourism markets. The session will take place at the “Tourism” section of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.

Orchestra of Mariinsky Theater and pianist Denis Matsuev will give a concert in honor of the closure of the Year of Prokofiev in Russia in Mariinsky Theater on 1st of December at 22:00 under the auspices of V Saint Petersburg International Cultural Forum.

Juggling will be the main topic of the «Circus and street theater» section at the V Saint Petersburg International Cultural Forum. On 29th of November at an informal meeting with journalists the head of the section Vyacheslav Polunin told about how world’s best jugglers would be met in St. Petersburg.

Soon participants of the Public Events Flow will have an opportunity to get new tickets to the events. 

The V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum will become not solely a place for discussing important issue, but the venue for signing key agreements on internal and international level in the spheres of culture, science and arts. Dozens of delegations from cultural establishments, ministries, creative unions and private organizations will come to the Forum.

An agreement on cooperation between Saint Petersburg State University and the Russian Museum will be officially signed on December 1 at the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. This was a bilateral initiative.

Today, when the world is in the state of political and economic crisis, culture remain the most effective, consistent, evident and available way of mitigating conflicts on the interpersonal level, as well as on the level of societies and states. Culture and art unite the world through universal aesthetic values and ethical principles. 

Today at the “Manege” exhibition hall at the “Contemporary art: specificity of global cultural exchange as part of the “Fine Arts” section of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum the Centre for Development of Public-Private Partnership and the ROSIZO museum-exhibition centre have signed an agreement on cooperation.

From 30 November to 4 December the Mariinsky Theatre will be presenting a number of significant events as part of the V St Petersburg International Cultural Forum: the closing concert of the Year of Prokofiev, the world premiere of Igor Stravinsky's orchestral opus «Funeral Song» and the opening concert of the Year of Stravinsky, premieres of past seasons as well as the current one and recitals by famous pianists.

On 30th of November the biggest Russian exhibition of Greek artists of XX-XXI centuries starts its work as part of the V Saint Petersburg International Cultural Forum. From 1st to 3rd of December participants of Professional Events Flow will be able to see the exhibition for free by presenting their badge at entrance. 

Due to huge interest to the event and record number of participants registration to the Publiv Events Flow of V Saint Petersburg International Cultural Forum closes on 29th of November.

General director of the “RZhD Tour” company Sergey Ilyaguev will present a report at the plenary session of the coordination council on tourism, dedicated to increasing competitiveness of Russian regions on the national and international tourism markets. The session will take place as part of the “Tourism” section of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.

The round table on the topic of “Silver Necklace of Russia” will take place at the “Tourism” section of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.

Magic musical about battle between good and evil, harmony of worlds of grown-ups and children will be presented as part of V Saint Petersburg International Cultural Forum on the big stage of «Music Hall» theater. Music director of the «Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland» is a famous conductor Fabio Mastrangelo.

The ceremony of giving awards to laureates of the Russian award «Patron of the year» launched by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation will take place in the Business venue of V Saint Petersburg International Cultural Forum on 1st of December at 19:30. 

Giving awards to remarkable people of art and heads of cultural projects is an important and widespread practice, nevertheless ordinary cultural professionals who make its functioning possible stand in the background. 

The V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum will gather more than 750 foreign participants, including prominent artists, cultural aficionados, scientists and renowned experts. We should tell more about a few of the guests.

Head of the program office of the European Council in the Russian Federation Petr Zikh will take part in the plenary session of the coordination council on tourism, dedicated to increasing competitiveness of Russian regions on the Russian and the international tourist market. The session is organized as part of the “Tourism” section of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.

The minister of culture and tourism of Krasnoyarsk Krai Elena Mironenko will participate in the round table “On introduction of new principles of statistical accounting in the sphere of domestic tourism”. The round table will take place as part of the “Tourism” section of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.

The Business venue of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum will become the venue for signing a series of important agreements, which entail several branches and spheres of cooperation. Leading experts in the sphere of culture from Russia and foreign states, state officials, politicians and businessmen will participate in agreement signing ceremonies. Tourism will become one of the most important topics of this year’s Forum.

The V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum will mark the end of the Year of Cinema in Russia. The beginning of the Year was officially opened at the previous Cultural Forum. Numerous films have been shot, a number of cinemas have been constructed, and other means of popularizing Russian cinema were taken during the year largely as a result of the previous Cultural Forum. The results of this comprehensive work will be presented on December 1-3 at the Forum in Saint Petersburg.

This year, when contemporary art is an especially burning issue, the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum will become the venue, where the audience, experts and artists will have a chance discuss numerous issues, weigh all the arguments and evaluate decisions, presented by contemporary culture.

The “Culture 2.0” auditory, dedicated to cultural development in the era of digital technologies and new media, will take place at the Business venue of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum.

The photo-project will be presented at the Business venue of the Forum in the Russian Museum of Ethnography in the format of a slide-show.

“Prokofiev. 21st century” international symposium of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum will take place from December 1 until December 3, 2016 at the main sites of the Forum, and also will take place in the “Palm” creative space and the “Dance-floor” club.

Translation of new cultural image of Russia through modern musical art” panel discussion.

The session of the “round table” will take place under the aegis of the Working group on creating conditions for the disabled in the cultural life of society of the Presidential Commission for disabled.

The gala-concert on December 1 at the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum on the stage of the “Coliseum Arena” will become the main event of the tour of South African artists, dedicated to the “Seasons of Culture” between Russian and South African Republic in 2017-2017.

On December 2, 19.00 the “Rehearsing Prokofiev: The Tale of Buffoon who Outwits Seven Other Buffoons” ballet will be presented on the stage of the Hermitage theatre in Saint Petersburg. The play will take place as part of the Public event flow of the Cultural Forum and will become one of the final events of the Year of Prokofiev in Russia.

Eric Serra is famous as a film-composer, who worked with the famous director Luc Besson.He created the music for “The Fifth Element”, “Leon: The Professional”, “The Messenger: Joan of Arc”, “Arthur and the Invisibles” and many other. Serra received the “Caesar” film award for his sound-track for “The Big Blue” movie. Eric Serra also wrote the music for the “GoldenEye” film from the James Bond series.

Rehearsal of Sergey Prokofiev’s ballet, directed by the great ballet master Yuriy Grigorovich, will take place in the Mariinsky theatre on December 3 as part of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum and will be dedicated to the director’s and composer’s anniversary.

“Prokofiev. XXI century” international symposium will take place from December 1 until December 3, 2016 as part of the V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum. The event is organized by the Glinka All-Russian Museum Union of Musical Culture, the Directorate of St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum with support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation.

 1^st of December will be the date of the award ceremony of «Patron of the year» national campaign. The event will take place in the Business venue of V St. Petersburg International Cultural Forum and bring together top Russian philanthropists. The overall  contribution of the award nominees this year exceeds 2 billion roubles.