Saint-Petersburg Excursions

The Jubilee, 40-th, festival of Scottish culture, has begun in St. Petersburg on January 28, 2011. Since 1971, the Days of Scotland are traditionally opening the calendar of international events in Saint-Petersburg. The delegations of the St. Petersburg Forum of the city of Paisley, Reid Kerr College and the World Federation of Robert Burns had come to Saint-Petersburg to participate in the events. The program of the Festival is devoted to a wide range of cultural and historical linkages between the two countries, and entails a long-term contacts of cultural groups and educational projects. In honor of the anniversary, two colleges - the Petrovskiy College and the Reid Kerr College - have proposed to develop and select by a vote, the traditional Scottish fabrics design - a tartan, which will be assigned a registered number and the name "Saint Petersburg". The competition was attended by pupils and students of educational institutions in Scotland and Saint-Petersburg. The national registry of Scottish tartans have samples that bear the names of the "New York", "Paris" and others. Saint-Petersburg will become the first city in Russia, to which a Scottish tartan will be dedicated to. The design and colors will symbolize the history and culture of the city, as well as a rich tapestry of relations between the Saint-Petersburg and Scotland. The solemn transfer of the new tartan to the Saint-Petersburg officials will be held at the opening ceremony of the Days of Scotland in Saint-Petersburg.

As an artist, he does not need any "promotion", or in advertising. At least one of his works is known to all Russian citizens without exception. Fourteen years ago, the two-headed eagle, which - the emblem of Russia, was painted by his hand. An exhibition of graphics and paintings of Eugene Ukhnalov, an artist with a particular vision of the world and unique creative style, will take place а at the museum of modern art Erarta, from January 21 to February 13, 2010. Uhnalov was born in 1931, in the Stalin's times. During the blockade of Leningrad, he was evacuated to the Urals, and in the age of 17, he was arrested on a false denunciation. He had worked in the sci-tech offices in the camps of Vorkuta, and, when he returned to Leningrad, he became the chief architect of the Hermitage. He worked on the restoration of facades, interiors and design exhibitions. He is the member of the Union of Artists, a member of the Heraldic Council of the President of the Russian Federation. Uhnalov is one of the authors of the Russian national emblem. His works are exhibited in collections of the Hermitage, Russian museum, Gallery Erarta, and in private collections around the world. The exhibition "The Door in the Wall" will feature the works of different periods - from youthful drawings of mid-1940s, to the subtle surrealistic interpretations of classical architecture, created in recent years. Admission is free.

http://www.erarta.com/

Two exhibitions, devoted to the 310-th anniversary of Corps of Engineers "Sappers of His Majesty" and "Fortresses of North-West Russia" will open on January 20, 2011 at the Military Historical Museum of Artillery, Engineers and Signal Corps. The keys to the great Russian walled cities, plans of fortifications, the table of uniforms and flags of the Imperial Corps of Engineers, a means for undermining the creation and clearance - all these attributes of the demining and engineering services, as well as children's drawings of the fortresses of Northwest Russia will be represented in the museum of Artillery, on the eve of the anniversary of military history.

A new exhibition of the Pavlovsk museum is a repository of funds, that is open to the public.The exhibition presents the complete collection of the porcelain items of Russian production, from the collections of the Pavlovsk Palace. This is the porcelain of XVIII - early XIX centuries. It was produced at the Imperial Porcelain Factory and private factories of Gardner, Popov, Batenin, Yusupov and others. Also, the exhibition presents the collection of art pottery of Imperial Kiev-Mezhegorsky Factory, as well as other private porcelain factories. The exposition is completed with examples of the Soviet porcelain - products of the Leningrad Lomonosov Porcelain Factory (this name was given Imperial Porcelain Factory to after the revolution). The most valuable part of the collection - are the items from"Historical Collections", related to the history of Pavlovsk and its owners. A new exhibition occupies three rooms, furnished with the most modern equipment, specially designed for displaing this collection. It is the hermetically closed display cabinets, intended for storage and display items. This open storage of stock porcelain meets all the modern requirements for museum work, and Pavlovsk is one of the first Russian museums, using such innovative facilities.

Sabir and Svetlana Hajiyev have graduated from Academic Institute of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture of Iliya Repin in St. Petersburg. Artists create their work together, using a variety of techniques: from traditional oil paintings and watercolors to original graphics, which they keep in secret. There are many realized interiors and projects in their artistic heritage. Hajiyevs participate in the international exhibitions since 1994. There works were demonstrated in UK, Poland, USA, Holland, Switzerland and in various cities of Russia. Currently, the guests of Saint-Petersburg may see their interesting works at the Gallery ARKA, at the address: Bolshaya Morskaya, 6.

The ballet fairytale Shurale, choreographed by the legendary Leonid Jakobson, was relaunched at the Mariinsky Theatre in 2009. The premiere was held at the resumption of the XVII International Music Festival " White Nights ". The libretto is based on the classic poem of Tatar poet G. Tukai "Shurale". It is about the love of the beautiful maid Syuimbike and the brave hunter Ali Batir. The evil forest spirit - Shurale tries to stop their feelings and kidnappes the girl. On January 9, 2011, the young and talented dancer of Mariinsky ballet - Maria Shirinkina will be dancing the part of Syuimbike in the ballet Shurale for the first time. This is the first major role of Maria in the multi-act ballets of the theater. Maria Shirinkina was born in the city of Perm. She is dancing in the Mariinsky Theatre from 2006, mostly in the classical and neoclassical ballets. She had successfully performed in the ballets La Sylphide, Giselle, Le Corsaire, Swan Lake, Raymonda, Apollo, Jewels and Symphony in C. Last summer, she had a debut in the main party in the one-act ballet by George Balanchine's the "Scotch Symphony".

http://www.mariinsky.ru/

The exhibition is devoted to 200 anniversary of the birth of Prince Grigory Gagarin - one of the most talented Russian artists-dilettantes, the creator of the museum of "Christian Antiquities, an enthusiastic collector and the vice president of the Imperial Academy of Arts. For the first time in a hundred years, such a large exhibition presents the items from his collection, as well as the masterpieces, created by the talented prince, himself. You can see here the paintings, book illustrations, landscape sketches, theatrical designs, decorative art, architectural designs, church painting, icons and copies of frescos, the early photographic works, large-format lithographic albums and books from his personal library, and also, the archival documents related to the military, academic, social, educational and collecting activities of the prince. The "Portrait of Sofia Andreyevna Gagarin in the garden", presented at the exhibition, had become a genuine discovery for the researchers, because it's location was previously considered unknown. The Institute of Russian Literature (Pushkin House), Russian Academy of Sciences, Scientific Research Museum of the Russian Academy of Arts, State Historical Museum, State Tretyakov Gallery, the Russian Ethnographic Museum and private collectors were attended in creating the exhibition.

Excursion to the Mikhailovskiy Castle

The "National Show of Russia" is a colorful, organic and highly professional dance performance. The breathtaking action is bewitching and carrying to a mysterious and dream world, created by the magnificent scenery, special effects and the latest technologies. The decorations are made in the best theater workshops of St. Petersburg. There are 12 changes of decorations on the background of computer graphics. A special point of interest is more than 300 costumes, that capture the imagination of their identity, loyalty to the folk style, originality and richness of design. By themselves, they are the "museum collection of folk dresses with pearls, silver and beads. The show also offers several comic interludes with huge puppets, and the original special effects. Music for many scenes of the play is written by the famous composer, Honoured Artist of Russia, Vladimir Kornev. The decorations are based on sketches of Boris Golodnitsky. Costumes are made on the sketches of Helen Piatrovskaya. The " National Show of Russia" is the pearl of the Russian dance scene. It has got a stunning success in 17 countries and enthusiastic reception of performances, both in the State Kremlin Palace (Moscow), and in Hammersmith Apolo Theatre (London), and at many other venues. People, who visited this show in different countries, usually comment at the end of presentation - "sensational", "Excellent!", "Terrific!" ... This show will be interesting both to the Russian audience and foreigners.

• Concert Hall Oktyabrsky
• Address: 6, Ligovsky prospect
• Concert starts at 19.00
• City transport:500 meters from metro station Ploschad Vosstaniya
• Tickets: from 300 to 2500 rubles in the box offices of the Concert Hall