Russian Week in London – Festival Maslenitsa 2021 Online Edition will take place 8 – 14 March 2021. You will make pancakes, learn about Russian crafts, enjoy Russian music, film and literature and even attend Maslenitsa concert.
Olga Balakleets, organiser of the festival, stressed the importance of carrying on this tradition in the UK in spite of the pandemic and lockdown. “We would prefer our audience to experience authentic Russian traditions by attending live events but at the same time we are happy to offer an extensive and colourful programme online. It shows our dedication to this beautiful Russian holiday, welcoming spring and everything warm and positive. Exactly what we all need, especially now”, she commented.
Russian Week Festival – Maslenitsa poster
Russian Week in London – Maslenitsa Festival in London has established itself as one of the most important events related to Russian culture outside Russia. The festival serves the Russian-speaking community in London as well as all lovers of Russian culture in the UK.
The festival was established in 2009 with the support of the Mayor of London, the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the Moscow City Government and Rossotrudnichestvo. The festival was held across the capital, at venues including Potters Field Park, Trafalgar Square (with more than 100,000 visitors on every occasion), The Victoria and Albert Museum, The Saatchi Gallery, Cadogan Hall and many others. In addition to spectacular programs, festival guests enjoyed a colourful fête and Russian cuisine including quintessential festive pancakes. The festival programme included fashion shows, theatre, film screenings literary events, art exhibitions and culinary masterclasses.
The Festival Programme Online Edition 2021 will include a drawing competition for children “Russian Spring: Maslenitsa”, a special offer from ZIMA restaurant, online honey cake masterclass with celebrity chef Alexei Zimin and a conversation about Russian and English culture with “Gift of Life” Patron Princess Catherine Galitzine, “Pancake and oladushek” masterclass with Karina Baldry, a Maslenitsa celebration with children’s studio Smorodinka, a lecture entitled “Russian crafts – the core of Russian art” based on the work of artists from Zhostovo and Pereslavl-Zalessky, an interactive concert-lecture with Marysya Menshikova and Vladimir Abramchuk, founders of ethno-studio Folkberry, Russian folk crafts masterclass for children, screenings of the silent classic The girl with a hatbox (1926) and Tsoy, a film by award-winning director Alexey Uchitel, a literary event centred on Maslenitsa in Russian poetry, an online visit to the New Tretyakov Gallery with an overview of current exhibitions.
To close the festival there will be a celebration of Forgiveness Sunday in a Maslenitsa Gala concert which will include performances by Pelageya, Varvara, Nadezhda Babkina and the Russian Song Ensemble, Nadezhda Kadysheva, Berezka Dance Ensemble, Igor Moiseyev Ballet, Buranovskiye Babushki, Terem Quartet, Moscow Sretensky Monastery Choir, Bayan MIX, Dina Garipova, Tina Kuznetsova, Lyudmila Nikolaeva and the Russian Soul Ensemble, Ivan Kupala, Pyatnitsky Choir, the group KVATRO and Moscow State Academic Dance Theatre Gzhel.
