St. Petersburg cultural festival opens in Kiev today

A St. Petersburg cultural festival timed to the city's tri-centennial anniversary opens today in Kiev. The Russian Embassy in Ukraine told Rosbalt that the festival will take place as part of the 'Year of Russia in Ukraine' celebrations and include theatre performances, movie premiers and book and photo exhibits.

Festival activities will take place under the title 'St. Petersburg-Kiev. The Dialogue Continues.' The festival officially opens today in the cafй-store Russkaya Kniga with a book and photo exhibit. Meanwhile, tonight the St. Petersburg youth theatre Theater on the Fontanka will perform the opera Cries from Odessa based on Isaac Babel's work at the State Theater.

The cinema portion of the festival will take place with the participation of young Russian actors and winners of the 'Kinotavr' cinema festival 2003. The critically-acclaimed film Babushka will be shown tomorrow in the Kiev Dom Kino.