On June 24, an opening ceremony of the Days of Russian Culture took place at the Heydar Aliyev Palace, organized by the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan. The event was attended by officials from both countries, culture and arts figures, and art lovers. During the ceremony, Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation, Andrei Malyshev, thanked the Government of Azerbaijan for their warm welcome and support for the Days of Russian Culture.
It was mentioned that Azerbaijan and Russia are bound by centuries-old friendly relations and a shared historical path of development. The Days of Russian Culture in Azerbaijan were last organized in 2019: "We aim to make this an annual event from now on. These cultural projects facilitate the further development of relations between the two countries at the strategic partnership level. I believe that today's joint performance by Russian and Azerbaijani art masters will be seen as the best example of their cooperation," stated Deputy Minister of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Murad Huseynov, highlighting in his speech the dynamic development of cultural relations between Azerbaijan and Russia.
After the performances, a magnificent gala concert took place. The audience cheered the concert featuring Alexei Melnikov on piano, Sergey Dogadin on violin, and mezzo-soprano Maria Barakova, with accompaniment from the State Symphony Orchestra named after Uzeyir Hajibeyli, conducted by Honored Artist of Russia Ivan Rudin. The collaboration between Azerbaijani vocalists and Russian performers that evening also received enthusiastic applause.
The program featuring pieces by P. Tchaikovsky, S. Rachmaninov, D. Shostakovich, and N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov provided the audience with unforgettable moments. Notably, as part of the Days of Culture on June 25, the Azerbaijan State Academic Russian Drama Theater will host acting master classes by Russian experts Alexandrina Kologriv and Natalia Kulikova, as well as vocal master classes by Alina Ivakh.
On the same day, art lovers can watch the performance of the play "Family Picture" (1847) by Alexander Ostrovsky at the Academic Russian Drama Theatre.
