Welcoming participants and guests at the official opening ceremony at Cannes’ Palace of Festivals and Congresses, Ms Medvedeva said that this festival of Russian culture in the south of France will help the two peoples to “feel anew their spiritual closeness”.
Giving part of speech in French, Ms Medvedeva noted that this year’s festival programme is particularly “rich and diverse”. “This festival has long since become one of the most important and eagerly awaited events in the south of France’s cultural life,” the First Lady said.
Ms Medvedeva said that the secret of the festival’s ongoing success is that it “continues the rich traditions of Russian-French cultural exchanges”, and noted that many places in the south of France have links to Russian cultural figures, in particular, Nikolai Gogol, Anton Chekhov, Fyodor Chaliapin, and Ivan Bunin.
The festival, which runs from August 23 to 27, will give locals the chance to see Russian cultural life’s latest achievements in a wide range of areas. St Petersburg performers are the stars of this year’s line up, with the city represented by young soloists from the Mariinsky Theatre, the Boris Eifman Ballet Theatre, and the Leningrad Military District Ensemble.
The Pavlovsk State Museum and Estate’s exhibition showcases the historical links between Russian and Western European art. The late-eighteenth-early-nineteenth century Pavlovsk palace and park near St Petersburg served as a countryside residence for the Russian emperors and grand princes.
The Window on Russia exhibition presents Russia through the eyes of young artists from 30 different Russian regions.
A performance by young drummers from the Russian Defence Ministry’s Girls’ Boarding School on the square before the Cannes Palace of Festivals and Congresses provided the overture to the opening ceremony. The First Lady invited the girls to take part in the festival during her visit to the boarding school in March this year.
During her second day in Cannes, Ms Medvedeva took part in a wreath-laying ceremony at the memorial to French patriots who died during the Nazi occupation. Veterans of the French Resistance took part in the ceremony marking the 66th anniversary of the liberation of Cannes.
The same day, Mayor of Cannes Bernard Brochand presented Ms Medvedeva with the title of honorary citizen of Cannes.
“I especially want to thank the mayor and the French government for their expression of sympathy and the solidarity they have shown with Russia following the recent natural disasters,” the First Lady said, thanking the Cannes city authorities for the honour given her.
Ms Medvedeva noted the friendly reception the local people have given the Russian art festival. “This is a symbol of our friendship,” she said. “In Russia, we feel just the same warmth towards France.”
During the trip, Svetlana Medvedeva also visited the Archangel Michael Church, one of the oldest Russian Orthodox churches in France. The church was built in 1894 with donations from the Russian community. The Commander in Chief of the Russian army in World War I, Grand Duke Nicholas Romanov is buried here. The Archangel Michael Church belongs to the Moscow Patriarchate and is in the jurisdiction of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia.
The rector of the church, priest Maxim Massalitin told the First Lady about the history of the parish, his parishioners’ life and the plan to open a school at the church. Svetlana Medvedeva was interested in opportunities for studying in Russian.