― 6 апреля 2014 г.
Kazan is Getting Ready to Welcome its Guests
The city of Kazan which has been declared Cultural Capital of the Turkic World 2014 is getting ready to welcome its guests from the Turkic World. The title of Cultural Capital of the Turkic World 2014 had been awarded to Kazan in a ceremony held in Eskisehir on March 21st, 2014 in the presence of the Minister of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan (RF) Ayrat Sibagatullin and the Deputy Mayor of the Metropolitan Municipality of Kazan Leyla Fazleyeva.
The first proposal as to the declaration of Kazan as Cultural Capital of the Turkic World 2014 had been made by the President of the Republic of Tatarstan Mr. Rustam Minnihanov during his visit of TURKSOY Headquarters in May 2012. This proposal was then unanimously approved by the Ministers of Culture of Turkic Speaking Countries who came together at the Meeting of the Permanent Council of TURKSOY in Ufa in September 2012.
Since the beginning of 2013, preparation activities are under way in Tatarstan. Of course, another important issue here is the fact that the year 2014 has also been declared as Year of Culture both in Russia and the Republic of Tatarstan (RF). The official opening ceremony of the latter took place in Kazan in the presence of the Minister of Culture of Russia Vladimir Medinskiy and the Prime Minister of the Republic of Tatarstan (RF) Ildar Halikov. Thus, many cultural fora, festivals and concerts will be held in the Republic of Tatarstan (RF) this year. While some of the latter will be traditional events organized by cultural insitutions of Tatarstan under the auspices of the Year of Culture, some others will take place within the framework of the official programme supported by the state.
The opening ceremony of Kazan – the Cultural Capital of the Turkic World 2014 will be held in Kazan on April 26th, 2014, the anniversary of the Birthday of the great Tatar poet Abdullah Tukay which is also traditionally celebrated as the Mother Tongue’s and Poet’s Day in the Republic of Tatarstan (RF). These celebrations which have been held for many years will once again feature theatre performances, poem readings and a garland ceremony at the statue of A. Tukay next to the Opera Theatre. The afore-mentioned opening ceremony and gala concert will take place on the same day at the Musa Celil State Opera and Ballet Theatre.
Throughout the year, the city of Kazan will also host various academic fora, painters’ gatherings as well as festivals and exhibitions. Here are more details on some of these events:
On May 13th-15th, 2014 an international symposium entitled "Intellectuals of the Turkic World: Mehmet Akif Ersoy and Abdullah Tukay” will be held at the Kazan Federal University. This symposium will be organized by the Kazan Federal University in cooperation with the national library of the Republic of Tatarstan (RF) along with academic and social institutions.
On June 2nd-8th, 2014 the city will host the Third Forum on Theatre and Education within the framework of the International Nowruz Theatre Festival of Turkic peoples.
This festival which gathers theatre ensembles from many Turkic speaking countries and regions has been held very year since 1998. The afore-mentioned forum which will take place under the auspices of this festival will feature a series of meetings and seminars gathering actors and theatre directors as well as theatre performances. The Meeting of Theatre Directors of Turkic countries which is traditionally held every year by TURKSOY will also take place in Kazan this year.
The Republic of Tatarstan (RF) also attaches particular importance to the preservation of intangible cultural heritage. Within this framework, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan (RF) organized the Fourth Seminar on Intangible Cultural Heritage in Kazan-Arsk in 2011 and the Festival of Leathercrafts of the Turkic World in Yelabuga in 2012. This year, the city will host the «Tugerek Uyen» Festival of Tatar Folklore gathering experts from various countries between June 16th-19th, 2014 who will discuss various academic aspects of the Preservation of Intangible Cultural Heritage.
The Second Festival of Leathercrafts of the Turkic World will be held at the National Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan (RF) between September 15th-19th, 2014. During this festival, craftsmen from TURKSOY member countries will come together in workshops where they will share their know-how with participants. Besides, the festival will also be an opportunity for experts to exchange views on how to preserve and develop various traditional leathercrafting techniques.
As every year, TURKSOY will once again organize an International Symposium of Sculptors gathering sculptors from Turkic countries in June 2014.
On July 22nd, an exhibition on Ayaz Ishaki, a famous Tatar author, journalist, publisher and politician will be opened at the National Museum of the Republic of Tatarstan (RF).
The Seventh Bolgar Forum which takes place within the framework of this year in which Kazan will be the Cultural Capital of the Turkic World will be another event gathering scholars who will discuss current issues pertaining to archeological heritage, history, culture and religion. This forum will be held under the auspices of the first President of the Republic of Tatarstan (RF) Mintimer Shaymiyev. The forum which will be held in kazan in August 2014 will feature two seminars entitled «Experiences in the Preservation of Monuments in the Turkic World» and «The Eurasian Integration of Turkic-Slavic Peoples». The Sixth Bolgar Forum was held in Crimea in 2013.
The International Festival of Muslim Cinema which will be held between September 5th-11th, 2014 will gather cinema artists and directors from many different countries for the 10th time this year. This festival attracts a large audience every year in Tatarstan. Within this framework, cinema directors and artists of TURKSOY member countries will come together in various meetings.
Between September 23rd-25th, 2014, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Tatarstan (RF), will hold a conference entitled "Turkic Peoples’ Music and Literature: Origins and Evolution” in cooperation with the G.Ibragimov Institute of Linguistics, literature and Art and the N.Jiganov State Conservatory of Kazan. The papers presented at the conference will also be published in form of a bookt along with an encyclopedia on the subject of the forum.
The Music Festival of the Turkic World which will feature performances by the best artists and ensembles from various countries at the S. Saydashev Great Concert Hall will take place between October 3rd-5th, 2014. The festival will feature performances of works composed by artists of the Turkic World.
The city of Kazan will also host an exhibition on "Language as a Common Means of Communication”which will take place at the Kazan Kremlin Museum and in the "Manej” Exhibition Hall. This exhibition has been prepared by the Russian Museum of Ethnography of St. Petersburg based on its original collections. The exhibition will depict and illustrate various categories of daily life and culture of Turkic peoples such as «Traditional Garments », «Home», «Children’s Education», «Arts and Crafts» and «Beliefs». More than 250 items of the collection of the Russian Museum of Ethnography will thus help illustrate all characteristics of Turkic peoples’ customs and culture.
The results of all these events and activities carried out in Kazan as the Cultural Capital of the Turkic World 2014 will be announced during the ХХХII Ordinary Meeting of the Permanent Council of Ministers of Culture of TURKSOY Member Countries on November 12th, 2014. During the afore-mentioned meeting, the Permanent Council of TURKSOY will also discuss current issues of the Organization and its agenda as well as its activities foreseen for 2015.