Events to mark the Year of Russia in France and the Year of France in Russia in 2010
The presidents of the Russian Federation and the French Republic agreed to declare 2010 the Year of Russia in France and the Year of France in Russia.
Chief of staff of the Presidential Executive Office Sergei Naryshkin heads the Russian team of the steering committee formed to organise and run all appropriate events. His deputies are Industry and Trade Minister Viktor Khristenko (in charge of economic issues) and Culture Minister Alexander Avdeyev (in charge of cultural events). Mikhail Shvydkoi, Special Envoy of the Russian President for International Cultural Cooperation, was appointed as a coordinator of all preparatory activities and events.
The French side of the steering committee is led by Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and Economy Minister Christine Lagarde. The Commissariat which is responsible for organising various events is headed by Louis Schweitzer.
The official programme of events to mark the Russia-France Cross Year was approved by Russian Prime Minister Putin and French Prime Minister Fillon in Paris on November 27, 2009. Despite budget constraints associated with the global financial crisis, the programme provides for more than 400 events in culture, education, youth exchanges, sports, science, economy and communications.
The most symbolic events include an exhibition that is unique in terms of the size and value of its exhibits, the “Holy Rus” exhibition at the Louvre and an exhibition of the National Picasso Museum at the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum, and the “The Art of Living in True French Style” exhibition in Moscow's Manezh. Also planned are guest performances by Comedie-Francaise, the celebration of Russia Day in Paris on June 12 and the opening of the Russian National Exhibition, which was timed to coincide with this holiday, a concert of French music on Vasilyevsky Spusk Ploshchad in Moscow (scheduled for September 4 and 5, 2010 to mark City Day in Moscow), and many other events.
A concert by the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra conducted by Valery Gergiyev was warmly received by the audience at Paris’ Pleyel Hall; this event kicked off the Russia-France Cross Year. The official opening took place in Paris on March 2, 2010. On that day the “Holy Rus” exhibition opened at the Louvre.
Key events of the Russia-France Cross Year coincide with the main political contacts scheduled for 2010. In particular, President Medvedev was to attend the opening ceremony of the Year of Russia in France and dedicate the “Holy Rus” exhibition at the Louvre as part of the programme of his state visit to France on March 1 to 3, 2010. In June 2010, Nicolas Sarkozy is expected to attend the Economic Forum in St Petersburg where France will be a guest of honour. On June 11, Prime Minister Putin unveiled the Russian National Exhibition at the Grand Palais, which continued until June 16. Russia Day was celebrated at nearby sites.
At the end of May, the French agency, RSCG, Russia's communications partner in organising events of the Year of Russia in France, announced the impressive initial results of this unprecedented project. Since the beginning of the year, more than 150 events were held all over France with more than 1.5 million people taking part in them.
The “Holy Rus” exhibition at the Louvre, which attracted more than 200,000 visitors, is seen as a major cultural event in France.
More than 250,000 people took part in an event of the Russian season held in Jardin d'Acclimatation, the central children's park in Paris.
About 2,000 people attended the concerts of the Mariinsky Theatre Orchestra conducted by Valery Gergiyev at Pleyel Hall in Paris.
The exhibition of works by early 20th century Russian illustrators drew more than 800 visitors to the Library of Sainte Genevieve in Paris.
The Wonderful Travelers Festival in Saint-Malo, which was attended by leading Russian and French writers and filmmakers, was a big success. French Culture Minister Frederic Mitterrand was among the guests of the festival.
In 2010, Russia was a guest of honour at major and prestigious international shows, such as an agricultural show (625,000 visitors), a book show (190,000), an international transport and logistics show (42,000) and the International Expolang Show (22,618).
In 2010, Russia was a guest of honour at the international fair in Bordeaux. Some 400,000 people visited the fair in ten days, which is an all-time high in the fair's 45 years, the fair organisers said.
