2014 is the UK-Russia Year of Culture, an opportunity for the two countries to come together and find out about each other's cultures outside the media. Our director in Russia, Paul de Quincey, explains the relationship and why we have reason to look up.
The British Council’s recent relationship with Russia has been rocky to say the least, and has tended to follow the ups and downs of the wider political relationship. The difficulties started in 2007/08 when Alexander Litvinenko was fatally poisoned with Polonium in London. The Russian government was suspected of being implicated; accusations and counter-accusations flew on both sides and a series of measures were put in place that exacerbated an already difficult situation. As a result, the British Council ended up closing many of its offices in Russia, stopping all commercial activity including teaching and exams, and only working in Moscow.
That was what the relationship looked like in 2011 when I took over as the British Council's director in Russia. So who would have guessed that, not even three years on, we would be celebrating the strength of the relationship with a bi-lateral Year of Culture?
Why we are having a Year of Culture
Firstly, let me be honest: we are not the first country to be involved; nor will we be the last, for this is a bit of a Russian tradition. France, Germany, Italy and now the Netherlands have all preceded us, and Greece will follow. And UK culture has never been given such prominence. This will be the first time ever that such a large-scale celebration of our two cultures has taken place. Expectations are high.
Probably the most important thing to understand is that these Years are bi-lateral, i.e., they happen in Russia and somewhere else – in this case the UK. So next year will feature events – science/creative/leadership workshops, theatre productions, art exhibitions, musical performances, literary events, film festivals, language competitions, educational fairs – mainly in Moscow, but also in St Petersburg, Voronezh, Ekaterinburg, Novosibirsk, and a number of other Russian cities. And while Russian events in the UK will mainly take place in London, there will be events in other cities too – Edinburgh and Norwich, to name but two.
This is not just about showcasing one's culture
But it’s also important to understand that this is not just about two countries showcasing their cultural prowess in each other’s country; it’s also about co-creation, finding out about each other’s cultural values and getting to know each other better on a personal, institutional and yes, dare I say it, governmental level. Because, as with any projects involving two (or many) different parties, there are always differences of opinion, and exploring those differences is what makes it interesting and, hopefully, enjoyable. And co-creating, working together on things which have a joint outcome – no matter how difficult – ultimately improve mutual understanding and trust.
What to expect from the Year of Culture
The aim of the Year of Culture is to celebrate and to look forward, to represent all of the art forms, education, English, science and sport, to present the four countries of the UK and to ensure that UK culture is seen outside Moscow.
A joint logo for the Year of Culture was commissioned and developed by two design companies – one Russian and one from the UK – as a sign of how we want to start and continue the Year - jointly and in partnership. The website will go live on 1 January 2014 and include the main events of the first three months of 2014.
So, in 2014, we expect to have between 150 to 200 events taking place in Russia. Here are some highlights:
- Performances by the Globe of Midsummer Night’s Dream in four Russian cities to mark Shakespeare’s 450th birthday and as part of the Chekhov International Festival; also, National Theatre of Scotland and Royal Shakespeare Company's Dunsinane; Cheek by Jowl’s Twelfth Night and Tempest; and Hamlet as part of the Globe to Globe World Tour.
- Northern Ireland Opera and Novaya Opera’s co-production of Benjamin Britten’s Turn of the Screw.
- The Hitchcock 9 – digitally remastered and re-scored silent films by Alfred Hitchcock shown at the fabulous Strelka venue in Moscow next August. Screenings accompanied by live British music.
- The first ever retrospective exhibition of the Young British Artists movement at the Ekaterina Foundation in Moscow, with works by Hirst, Emin, Taylor-Wood and others.
- An exhibition of more than a hundred pieces of Wedgewood pottery at the Russian Decorative Art Museum.
- To celebrate the legendary John Tavener, who would have turned 70 next year, a conference about his music and relationship with Russia with concerts performed by the Tallis Scholars and Intrada.
- The Scottish Ballet dancing pieces by, amongst others, the ever popular Matthew Bourne.
- Designing 007: Fifty Years of Bond Style at Moscow’s Multi-media Art Museum.
- Dressing the Screen – a fabulous exhibition of more than 80 fashion films showing the creativity of the UK’s iconic fashion industry.
- The biggest ever English teachers' conference in Russia with more than 1,000 delegates and as a live-streamed event.
- The launch of Researcher Links - a series of workshops for young science researchers across a range of areas.
- Akram Khan’s iTMoi – an exploration of Stravinsky’s inner thoughts through the medium of dance.
And much, much more!
In the UK, we launched the Year of Culture in London’s Science Museum today, firstly because international scientific collaboration is firmly part of our mission and because the Science Museum will host the first ever major exhibition outside Russia that tells the story of the USSR and Russia’s hugely important space programme.
Culture is one of the best ways to reach Russians
Given that Russian people generally take culture seriously, we are expecting this cultural bonanza to be noticed; and we know it will be. We recently partnered with the Pushkin Museum in Moscow and the Tate in London to put on the acclaimed exhibition of pre-Raphaelite paintings shown in Washington and London. We expected about 200,000 visitors – because that was roughly what it had attracted in London and was roughly the number of people who came to see the Turner exhibition at the same museum in 2008. But imagine our surprise when at the end of the exhibition, already extended because of its popularity, we discovered that 426,000 people had visited it and 150,000 unique visitors had visited the website.
Theatres and concert halls too are full, despite increasing ticket prices. It is very common to see parents with young children attending an evening Shostakovich or Benjamin Britten concert, because in Moscow that is part of life, part of growing up, part of one’s self-development and enjoyment.
But there is, of course, another level of impact – on the partners, on the corporate sponsors and on the government or government-funded organisations with whom we want to work over the next twenty years. So the relationships that we are busily building now, and the attention we pay to servicing those relationships in the next year and into the future is, we believe, crucial for the UK. I hope that along the way, we will also have done our bit, through cultural relations, to underpin the political relationship, create opportunities for others to exploit and pave the way for a positive and mutually beneficial future.
Visit the British Council Russia website to find out about our local offer.