rusoch.fr
A small French city of Divonne-les-Bains has become a center of Russian culture for three days. Autour de la Russie Association held an autumn fair there. Lectures, concerts and exhibitions were devoted to the 100th anniversary of the First World War and the 200th anniversary of Ivan Turgenev. The money will be transferred to Russian families and children in need, Russkiy Ochevidec reports.
On the first day of the fair, residents of Divonne-les-Bains learned about the First World War, Russia's participation in it, as well as the heroic Expeditionary Corps which fought in France. The guests were also told that the grave of one of the war participants in the Corps, Serge Egolnikoff, is located in the Divon cemetery. Songs in Russian and French performed by Russian-speaking artists of the Eternal Melodies group fully corresponded to the event style: compositions were about the tragic events in Russian history and a strong character of Russian people.
The third day entirely covered the writer Ivan Turgenev and his anniversary. Oksana Muromtseva, a historian and a specialist in Russian culture, gave a lecture about the writer and the period of his life in France. The lecture was read in Russian, but with French simultaneous translation. At the end singer Nadezhda Utkina performed the Turgenev's poems put on music.
The hall which hosted the celebrations was decorated with drawings by the students of the Chernsky Technical School of the Tula Region who live in almost the same area where Ivan Turgenev did. At the request of the fair organizers, students painted landscapes of Turgenev places in the Oryol region, Russia.
Guests of the fair were greeted with tea, pies, soups and other dishes of Russian cuisine.
Russkiy Mir
