Culture
Schedules of Baku museums and nature reserves changed due to Eurovision
To tie up with the Eurovision song contest, the working hours of museums and nature reserves of Baku have been extended, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism told Trend on Thursday.Azerbaijani Eurovision websites suffer from hacking
Azerbaijani websites eurovision.az, eurovisionaz.com, esctoday.com and ann.az for the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest have been attacked by hackers, RIA Novosti reports.The websites are still down.Baku will host the 57th Eurovision Song Contest at the Baku Crystal Hall in 2012. It will have a capacity of 23,000 spectators and will have large monitors for 16,000 more to watch the show live. Semi-finals will be held on May 22 and 24, with the final on May 26.Baku hosts 3rd International Art Festival Maiden Tower
Baku has opened the 3rd International Festival Maiden Tower at Icheri Sheher today, initiated by the heydar Aliyev Fund and the Directorate of the State Historic-Architectural Reserve Icheri Sheher, the Museum of Modern Art and the Maiden Tower Art Gallery, Trend reports.The ceremony was held at the Small Karavansaray. Mikhail Jabbarov, director of the reserve, said that the festival popularizes the Maiden Tower, one of the oldest monuments in Azerbaijan and the symbol of Baku.
Krasnodar ensemble Druzhba gets 10 awards in Czech Republic
The Druzhba ensemble of Krasnodar has attended the Blooming Czech Republic Festival, Yuga.ru reports.The festival was held in Teplice at the congress hall of Prague. The Russian ensemble won 10 awards. Soloer Jeanna Vodopyanova won the Classical Dance Award, Veronica Fridinskaya won second place in the People’s Dance nomination, Maria Nakonechnaya took third position in the Variety Dance nomination.International guitar music festival begins in Krasnodar
An international guitar music festival began today in the Russian city of Krasnodar, Yuga.ru reports.Baku subway to operate 24/7 for Eurovision
The Baku subway will operate 24/7 during the semi-finals and final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2012, Trend cites the assistant chief of the Baku subway, Mamed Bayramov, as saying.The subway will operate 24 hours a day on May 22, 24 and 26. It has 23 stations and its lines exceed 34.6 km. It transports 200 million passengers annually. The newest station opened is Darnagul, launched on May 29, 2011.Mehriban Aliyeva opens art exhibition in Baku
The Center of Modern Arts in Baku has opened an exhibition of Azerbaijani and foreign artists Birləşən Körpülər, Trend reports.Tbilisi to host Expo Georgia international exhibition
Georgia will host an international exhibition on construction and interior, Expo Georgia, Trend reports.The exhibition will open in Tbilisi on May 16. Tbilisi mayor supported the organization of the exhibition. Turkish, Iranian, Polish and Italian companies are the partners of the exhibition.Armenia to be fined for quitting Eurovision
Armenia will pay a fine for quitting the Eurovision Song Contest, News Armenia cites the delegation head of Eurovision Goar Gasparyan.The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) fined Armenia in early May. Director of the EBU department for media Annica Niberg-Frankenhauser said that Armenia will pay 50% of the contribution to the contest as a fine.The Public TV Company of Armenia announced quitting the song contest on March 7 for Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev’s statement calling Armenians an enemy.Tbilisi to hold German Festival
Germany and Georgia mark the 20th anniversary of diplomatic relations. Tbilisi will hold the German Festival on May 14-20, Georgia Online reports.The German Embassy and other German organizations offer exhibitions, demonstration of films, literature discussions, concerts, information activities, excursions and others events.
Russian Eurovision team has left for Baku
The Russian Eurovision team, Buranovskiye Babushki, has left for Baku
Eurovision Organizer Defends Azerbaijan Song Contest
Ingrid Deltenre heads the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which organizes the Eurovision Song Contest being held in Azerbaijan, a country widely criticized for human rights violations, at the end of May. In a SPEIGEL interview she defends the choice of the controversial location and warns that politicizing the contest could kill it.1120 films from 70 countries compete for participation in Yerevan International Film Festival
1120 from from 70 countries in Europe, America, Asia and the Caucasus region compete for participation in the Ninth International Film Festival in Yerevan "Golden Apricot", said the agency "Novosti-Armenia" referring to the founder of the festival Harutyun Khachatryan. "I am very pleased that in addition to well-known in the cinema world countries of Europe, Latin America and Asia, the festival also raised interest among the countries of our region," said Khachatrian on Friday at a news conference.T-34 monument unveiled in Grozny
A monument of the T-34 tank has been unveiled at the Honorary Alley Memorial Complex of Russian Hero Ahmat-Haji Kadyrov, Rossiyskaya Gazeta reports.The name of Matash Mazayev, a legendary Chechen tanker of the Great Patriotic War, was inscribed on the monument.The monument was made as a present to Chechnya by the Federal Bailiff Service and the Council of Veterans of the Krasnodar Territory for Chechnya’s contribution to fighting fascism. The tank was reconstructed at the machine factory of Sedin.
Bakhan Muzakayev: “The revival of the Russian Theatre is very important for Chechnya”
Interview by Timur Utsayev, exclusively to VK The Russian school forms the foundation of all contemporary genres of Chechen art. On May9 the Lermontov State Russian Theatre of Drama is due to be re-opened in Grozny. It was first created in 1938, but in the last 30 years the troupe of the Theatre didn’t have its own stage. The creative director of the theatre, Bakhan Muzakayev, told ‘VK’s’ correspondent about the new era that is about to open for his troupe.
Caricature as a basis for friendship
The 100th anniversary of Azerbaijani caricature is celebrated in Israel
Azerbaijani president and his wife open the venue of Eurovision-2012
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and his spouse today attended the opening of the Baku Crystal Hall, which will host the "Eurovision-2012" song contest.The president cut the ribbon symbolizing the opening of the complex. Ilham Aliyev and his wife also took part in the opening section of the Baku-Alat, leading to the area of the state flag. Construction work for the Baku Crystal Hall concert hall and sports complex was completed in April.
Eurovision – reason for criticism
It is difficult to build democracy in 20 years, Europe has been building it for centuriesBuranovskiye Babushki to fly to Moscow
The Buranovskiye Babushki Band will fly to Moscow on May 8 to rehearse their song. Then they will head to Baku, RIA Novosti reports.The band from Udmurtia of Galina Koneva saw an Afro-American in Moscow for the first time in their life and almost got lost in the city, it was stated by Olga Tuktarev, their artistic supervisor.
Songs instead of politics
Eurovision is a way to see that the new generation has different values and priorities
Dikalu Muzakayev: “We can create a united all-Russian culture only through the spiritual and cultural components”
Interview by Timur Utsayev, exclusively to VKAfter the war, the notion of culture was almost leveled in Chechnya. The Chechen Minister of Culture, Dikalu Muzakayev, told a VK correspondent about efforts aimed at the revival of culture in Chechnya.- What are your topical priorities in developing cultural life in Chechnya?
Sochi opens art exhibition of Sukhumi, Tbilisi
The literature and memorial museum of N. Ostrovsky in Sochi has organized an exhibition of paintings by Archil Piriyev and Zurab Jangveladze “Reflection”, Yuga.ru reports.About 50 works will be presented.Both artists graduated at the Saint-Petersburg Art Academy of V.I. Mukhina. The paintings depict Sukhumi and old Tbilisi, canals of St. Petersburg in an impressionist manner.Symposium on Armenian-Turkish relations opens in Erzurum
75 Turkish and foreign scientists from Azerbaijan, the UK, the USA, France and Iran studying Turkish-Armenian relations have arrived in the Turkish city of Erzurum for a symposium today, Trend reports.The symposium will be held over 15 sessions starting on May 4. Erol Kurkcuoglu, Director of the Center for Studies of Armenian-Turkish Relations at the University of Ataturk, said that they will study documents of Armenian-Turkish relations.Freedom House calls Georgia most liberal state for press in region
Freedom House has composed a rating of world freedom of press. Armenia came 149th on the list, entering the section of non-free press countries, together with Pakistan and Angola, News.am reports.Azerbaijan and Russia take 172nd position, together with Zimbabwe. Iran, Belarus, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan have even worse ratings.Georgia has the best rating in the region, being 111th on the list, having a partly free press. Turkey shares 117th position with 4 other states.Problems of Karachay-Cherkessia discussed in Russia
Discussions of Karachay-Cherkessia and its prospects have been held in Russia, ITAR-TASS reports.Bars El and the Elbrusoid Foundation attended the talks. Over 250 scientists from all over Russia arrived. The previous conference on Karachay-Cherkessia was held in 1959.
Chingiz Huseynov and his "Fatal Fatali"
On the 200th anniversary of the birth of Mirza Fatali Akhundov, writer Chingiz Huseynov has presented his novel "Fatal Fatali" - a book about a foreigner in an Empire
