Ugandans, Russians cement friendship at cultural festival

The fourth edition of the Russian cultural festival took place at Nyange Resort and Marina Hotel, off Entebbe road, on International Labour Day.

The festival is aimed at strengthening the friendly and business relations between Uganda and Russia through culture and art.

Among the activities at the event were a music concert and performances, a Russian quiz which cme with prizes and painting competitions.

There was also a section for the cducation expo, where representatives from Derzhavin Tambov State University and Novosibirsk State Agrarian University, emphasised the need for Ugandans to explore education opportunities in Russia.

While there were vendors selling Ugandan foods, there was also an opportunity for tasting Russian foods such as Pirozhki cookies, Caviar sandwich, Vinegret sandwich, Mimoza salad and Seledka pod shuboj salad in addition to a variety of traditional Russian souvenirs.

Russian vocalist Natalya Kirilova put her vocals to brilliant use in operatic fashion during her performance at the festival, speaking volumes about Russians being among the leading powerhouses in performing opera music.

Other performances included ballet dancing by children from The Dance Studio UG choreographed by Dennis David Kazibwe.

Then members of the Russian-speaking women in Uganda (Rosinka) took to the stage, dressed in Russian celebratory colourful gowns and delivered disarming musical and poetry sessions that revved up the evening. The other musical performances were delivered by students studying the Russian language in Kampala.

The deputy head of mission for the Russian Embassy in Uganda, Evgeniy Anatol’evich Kalashnikov, said: “I am glad to be part of this ever growing festival for four editions now. This was a festival mentioned by the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin to the Ugandan president Yoweri Kaguta Museveni on the sidelines of the Russia-Africa summit and it means a lot. We thank the organisers of the Russian Culture festival for growing this festival and we are ready to support it. The audience came in good numbers."