“Express” to HavanaThe Russian Express project and Russian Film Week are launching in Cuba

Havana will host a series of cultural events Russian Express, aimed at promoting and popularizing the Russian language and Russian culture abroad. The project will be a focal point of the 34th Havana International Book Fair, where Russia is the guest of honor this year.

According to the Minister of Culture of the Russian  Federation Olga Lyubimova:

“This project has an important cultural and educational mission, introducing the world to Russian culture and the richness and cultural distinctiveness of the Russian language. It makes a significant contribution to building constructive and fruitful cooperation with our international partners.”

On 10 and 11 August, the soloists of the Rossiya State Academic Russian Folk Ensemble named after Lyudmila  Zykina, under the direction of Dmitry Dmitrienko, will present a musical program in Havana. It will feature Comandante Fidel, variations on the theme of Kalinkasong, as well as classics by Mikhail Glinka, Matvey Blanter, and Isaak Dunaevsky.

The educational program includes a geography master class for schoolchildren and an intensive course on business correspondence for students led by philologists from MAI and MGIMO. Simultaneously, Russian Film Week organized by ROSKINO kicks off in Cuba: the forum will open with the screening of Soviet classic Don Quixote, and the screening of Cheburashka 2 will be preceded by a lecture on the Russian language.

The project was initiated by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs  of the Russian Federation. It is organized by the Federal State Budgetary Institution of Culture ROSCONCERT with the support of the Ministry of Culture of Cuba, the Russian Embassy, ​​and the Russian House in Havana.