Celebration of Friendship and ArtSaint Petersburg hosted Cultural Exchange Events between Russia and South Ossetia.

The project Exchange cultural events between Russia and South Ossetia is aimed at strengthening friendly cooperation and integration in the field of culture between the Russian Federation and the Republic of South Ossetia. This year, on the eve of the celebration of the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory, the delegation from South Ossetia was welcomed in St. Petersburg.

On 6 March, the members of Simd Ensemble and the Minister of Culture of the Republic of South Ossetia Radmila Dzagoeva laid flowers and wreaths at the Piskaryovskoye Memorial Cemetery at the foot of the Motherland monument and the memorial plaque to the natives of Ossetia who gave their lives to defend the city. As Radmila Dzagoeva emphasized, this action is “a bow to the heroic defenders of Leningrad, a tribute of respect and memory to all Soviet people who died in the war against fascism.”

On  7 March, the Concert Hall of the Mariinsky Theatre hosted a concert by the State Song and Dance Ensemble of the Republic of South Ossetia Simd named after B. Galaev. The Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Culture of St. Petersburg Stanislav Moldovanov read out the greeting of the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Olga Lyubimova from the stage.

Olga Lyubimova, in particular, noted: “This traditional project is aimed at developing friendly ties between our countries and mutual cultural enrichment. It is gratifying that leading Russian and South Ossetian performing companies take part in annual exchange events! This year, the key topic of the project is the celebration of the 80th anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War.”

Radmila Dzagoeva, in her turn, welcomed the guests from the stage: “Russia and South Ossetia have centuries-old ties, we are united by a common history. Last year we celebrated the 250th anniversary of Ossetia’s accession to Russia, and this year, together with the multinational people of the Russian Federation, we celebrate the anniversary of Victory in the Great Patriotic War. Today’s concert is a dedication to the hero city of Leningrad, a tribute to the memory of millions of victims and a homage to those who heroically withstood the blockade.”

For the first visit to St. Petersburg in its history, the company, led by the Honored Worker of Arts of the Republic of South Ossetia Sergey Kochiev, prepared the program “Simd”  in the Victory Rhythms. They performed the Ossetian song about the seven Gazdanov brothers, the legendary Ballad of a Soldier by V. Solovyov-Sedoy and other musical pieces dedicated to the Victory in the Great Patriotic War that commemorate  the heroic deeds of the Soviet people. In addition, the company performed its best choreographic works: the folk mass dance Simd, Ossetian Folk Dance, Shepherd’s Song and other brilliant dances demonstrating the richness of the Ossetian culture.

After the concert, the Minister of Culture of the Republic of South Ossetia Radmila Dzagoeva shared her impressions: “The concert of the “Simd” Ensemble in St. Petersburg is an important event for the culture of South Ossetia, and not only because this is the first ever appearance of the company in the cultural capital of Russia. The dedication of the event to the anniversary of the Great Victory makes it an event of special value. The history of the Great Patriotic War is of particular significance to us, Ossetians; our grandfathers and great-grandfathers, together with all the Soviet people, have been fighting against fascism for four difficult years and, at the cost of enormous losses, won peace not only for their descendants, but also for the large part of the world.

In recent years, South Ossetia has noticeably intensified cooperation with the Russian Federation in the field of culture. We are jointly implementing a number of projects, one of which is the “Exchange Cultural Events between Russia and South Ossetia”. This project opens the doors of the best concert halls of the Russian Federation for us and gives the opportunity to present our national culture to thousands of people outside the country. I would like to once again express my deep gratitude to the leadership of the Ministry of Culture of Russia for their support and willingness to cooperate. We would like to extend special thanks to ROSCONCERT, whose role in organizing joint cultural events of our two countries is invaluable.”

The events organized by the Federal State Budgetary Institution of Culture ROSCONCERT were supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of South Ossetia.