The Head of the Russian Cultural Centre in Cairo and counsellor of the Russian Embassy Aleksey Tevanyan, in collaboration with the Coordinating Council for Russian Expatriates, headed by Ludmila Salama, organised the annual celebration titled ‘Winter Farewell’, on 20 March.

Attending were members of the Russian diplomatic mission in Cairo and President of the Egyptian Association of Graduates from Russian and Soviet Universities Sherif Gad.

The celebration took place at the outer space of the Russian Cultural Centre in Dokki in compliance with preventive measures against the coronavirus and included an artistic performance by the Russian children’s choir and the Russian folk arts troupe composed of the members of the Russian community in Egypt, where they presented a number of Russian folk-dance performances and songs that reflected the rituals of the Russian people’s celebration of the end of the winter season.

For his part, Tevanyan stated that the Winter Farewell celebration is a constant tradition organised annually by the Russian Centre and is open to the Russian community in Egypt as well as Egyptian friends.

“It is a good opportunity for Egyptians to learn more about the Russian culture through artistic performances presented in the famous traditional Russian costumes, and a display of handicrafts.”

The celebration also offered a number of competitions and folk games designed for children, an exhibition of Russian handicrafts and traditional Russian food, as well as a workshop in the art of puppet making, presented by Anna Timasheva.

Salama, head of the Coordinating Council for Russian Expatriates in Egypt, expressed her extreme happiness with the great interest of the Russian community in Egypt in the Winter Farewell celebration and said, “I was also pleased with the admiration of Egyptian friends for the various traditional Russian foods and handmade products.”