12th Dagestan festival of Russian culture "Maslenitsa" held in Makhachkala

Makhachkala, February 20, 2015. The Russian folk song festival "Mother Russia" featured the 12th straight republican festival of Russian culture "Maslenitsa" in Makhachkala today. In the foyer of the Russian Drama theatre, they deployed a fair where representatives of Dagestan municipalities and visitors from other Russian regions were treated to pancakes and sweets. Dance ensembles organized dancing, and choral ensembles sang Russian folk songs.

The festival was organized by the governmental commission on Russian-speaking people’s affairs, Dagestan ministry of culture, its House of Folk Arts, the Makhachkala administration, the Makhachkala department of culture, and municipalities of Kizlyar, Kizlyar region, and Tarumovka region.

The event assembled creative ensembles and performers from Kizlyar region, Tarumovka region, Makhachkala, Izberbash, Kizlyar, Kaspiysk, Derbent, Dagestanskie Ogni, and professional Dagestani groups – the State Terek Cossack song ensemble from Kizlyar, the State Song Theatre "Djislam", the Russian Gorky Drama Theatre, soloists from Dagestan Philharmonics, the Ademos show-ballet, and guests from Stavropol, Astrakhan, and Rostov regions.

The republican Maslenitsa festival has been held in Dagestan since 2000 in the great hall of the Russian Theatre. The event aims at preserving national Russian culture in Dagestan and identifying new original ensembles and talented performers. Like any other folk festival, this one also plays an important role in the continuity of song, dance and other ethnic and cultural traditions, in promoting peace, good neighborly relations, and international cultural cooperation.