Sakharov Festival kicks off in Nizhny Novgorod

On June 3rd, Valery Shantsev, the governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region, took part in the opening of the 12^th International Festival of Arts Named after Sakharov. The festival is titled "Russian Art and the World." More than 300 artists from six countries of the world will take part in the festival: Russia, France, Lithuania, Italy, Israel and the Netherlands.

In 1999, the Sakharov festival became the only Russian festival that became a part of UNESCO's European association of festivals. The festival was founded in 1992 by the Ministry of Culture of Russia, the Government of the Nizhny Novgorod region, the Administration of Nizhny Novgorod and the Nizhny Novgorod state Academic Philarmonic Hall.

Olga Tomina, the director of the Philarmonic Hall, said that the culture activists had good reasons to be grateful to the governor. It is governor Valery Shantsev that patronizes the main festivals of the Philarmonic Hall.

Anna Gor, the director of the Privolzhsky Department of the State Center for Modern Arts, said that the Sakharov Festival was the only event that could be referred to as one of Russia's large international cultural projects.

"Nizhny Novgorod has been raising its reputation among other cities. For the time of the festival, the city becomes a large musical center, whereas local residents can enjoy top level cultural events," Anna Gor said.