TOKYO, March 22, Ksenia Naka. In Japan, despite the unfavorable situation, it was possible to preserve the Festival of Russian Culture due to the fact that there are many fans and lovers of Russian culture in Japan culture, said the new Russian Ambassador to Japan Nikolai Nozdrev in his first interview after arriving in Tokyo.
“Against the backdrop of a massive anti-Russian campaign, some organizations either stopped or greatly reduced the scope of cultural cooperation. But, nevertheless, as in many other countries, Russian culture cannot be completely abolished. Firstly, it is a very powerful cultural tradition. Secondly secondly, many of its adherents have traditionally always been here in Japan, which is why it is possible to successfully maintain such an important form of cultural presence as the annual Russian Culture Festivals,” the ambassador emphasized.
The head of the diplomatic mission noted that the scale of the Festival has decreased over the past two years, but expressed hope that it will be possible to restore it.
“This year we hope to at least restore them, because the interest is really great,” Nozdrev said.
The festival of Russian culture in Japan has been taking place since 2006, during which time it has been visited by more than 18 million people. The festival included more than 500 events – concerts, exhibitions and other cultural events – in all 47 prefectures of Japan, and more than 11 thousand Russian cultural figures took part in them. In 2021, the Japanese organizing committee was headed by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose tragic death in July 2022 shocked Japan.
Read the full text of the interview with Nikolay Nozdrev >>
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